From our survey
Caring about approval is not overcautious, approved is not the same as safe for your partner, and depression approval does not extend to PTSD.
When a partner's depression refuses to lift, spouses become researchers, advocates, drivers, and sometimes skeptics, often all in the same week. Somewhere in that process, the phrase "FDA-approved" starts carrying a lot of weight. For many Missouri families, it becomes the line between a treatment worth considering and one to avoid.
That instinct is reasonable. But a few beliefs about what approval means can lead partners astray. Here are six, checked plainly. Where it helps, we draw on a poll we commissioned that reached 443 adults, some in Missouri, the rest spread over nine more Midwest states; its results are final and validated.
False. You are in the majority. In our survey, 40 percent rated FDA approval a big factor when considering a new depression treatment, and 19 percent more rated it decisive. That is 59 percent for whom approval carries real weight. Twenty-seven percent said it would matter some. Being careful about a treatment for someone you love is not an overreaction. It is what most people do.
Not necessarily. Approval means the FDA judged that a treatment's benefits outweigh its risks for a defined group of patients. It does not mean it is safe for every person. Esketamine, sold as Spravato, is a good example. Its approval from the FDA targets depression that other treatment has not lifted, yet it carries real risks, including sedation, dissociation, and increased blood pressure. Those risks are why only certified clinics may administer it, followed by a watched stretch of two hours or more, and why it is not appropriate for some people, such as those with certain blood vessel conditions. A clinician has to weigh your partner's history, including blood pressure and any past substance use. Brain Recovery Centers lays out who Spravato treatment is meant for.
Too simple. Doctors can legally prescribe an approved drug for a use not on its label. That is called off-label prescribing, and it is common in medicine. IV ketamine for depression is off-label: ketamine is approved as an anesthetic. Off-label does not automatically mean unsafe or dishonest.
That said, it does mean the FDA has not reviewed the evidence for that use, and insurance is less likely to pay. At-home compounded ketamine products are a further step removed. They are not FDA-approved for depression, and the FDA has cautioned against compounded ketamine used with no one monitoring. The honest position is somewhere between "approved means safe" and "unapproved means scam." Ask questions either way.
False. This one matters for many Missouri households, where depression and trauma often travel together. Esketamine's approvals cover treatment-resistant depression and, separately, depressive symptoms when major depression arrives alongside acute suicidal ideation or behavior in adults. PTSD is not on that list. If your partner's struggle is primarily trauma, treatment options and FDA status are a separate conversation. Ask the doctor directly which condition a treatment is meant to address.
False. Most people have not. Our survey found 73 percent of respondents had simply never met the word Spravato. Another 21 percent recognized the name alone. Just 6 percent could explain the drug. Missouri's own 55 respondents were a touch less familiar still: 75 percent had never heard the name. So if you are just learning the name, you are not behind. Most of your neighbors are in the same place.
That unfamiliarity also explains why clinics advertising "ketamine therapy" can blur categories. When most people cannot name the approved option, a vague claim of "FDA-approved" goes unchallenged. It is fair to ask any clinic exactly which treatment they mean.
Usually false. One question asked which person's advice would be most likely to move someone toward a new depression treatment. Friends and family were named by 18 percent. Nearly three quarters, 74 percent, pointed to the person's own doctor.
That is not an insult to you. It is a map. Your strongest move is often to help your partner get to their doctor with the right questions, not to win the case yourself. A few ways to do that:
Across much of Missouri, access is as big a hurdle as trust. Esketamine happens in person inside a certified clinic, often two visits weekly early on, and your partner is off driving duty until the next day, after sleep. For a family in a rural county, the nearest certified clinic may be an hour or more away. Our respondents felt that too: 43 percent ranked short travel from home in their top two.
If avoiding medication is part of the picture, TMS is another option to ask about. It holds FDA clearance as a device for depression that persists despite antidepressants, involves no medication, and most people can drive themselves afterward. It does usually require weekday visits for several weeks.
FDA approval is a sound starting point for a cautious family. It is not the finish line. It tells you something about the evidence, not about your partner. That part is for a clinician who has actually examined them. Read this article as general information, not as medical advice for your household.
If your partner has talked about suicide or you are afraid for their life, please act now. Call or text 988 and a person from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will answer; the line is staffed at all hours, and it welcomes calls from worried spouses.
The survey ran on Pollfish's consumer panel until it closed on June 23, 2026, and 443 people had answered by that date, every one an adult between 18 and 64, living in Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Apart from the Missouri figure, results describe the full sample, and each is final now that validation has ended. Our publisher is the source of both the commission and the money behind this study.