Episode 66 - She Left the ER to Help People Heal. This Is Why. with Dr. Glareh Imani (Episodes from the Vault)
Dr. Glareh Imani shares the personal why behind opening Nameen Infusion and Wellness, patient transformation stories, and what clinic ownership really feels like from the inside.
This week we are reaching back to our very first season to resurface a conversation that has stayed with us. And there is a reason we keep coming back to it.
There are a lot of conversations about the mechanics of opening a ketamine clinic. This one is about the why behind it.
Dr. Glareh Imani is a board-certified emergency physician who opened Nameen Infusion and Wellness in Goodyear, Arizona after more than eight years in emergency medicine. Her background in neuroscience, her personal experience with ketamine, and a deep sense of gratitude shaped the kind of clinic she built and the way she shows up for her patients every day.
What makes this conversation stand out is how honest and human it is. Dr. Imani talks about the unexpected challenges of opening a clinic, the patient transformations that confirmed she had made the right choice, and the personal evolution that came with doing this work. She also reflects on autonomy, on what it means to finally be the one making the decisions, from clinical protocols to the waterfall in her reception area.
Recorded at the ASKP3 conference in Austin, Texas during our first season, this episode holds up beautifully.
If you are considering the pivot from your current position, or if you are early in building your practice and need a reminder of why you started, this one is for you.
What You'll Learn in This Episode:
Dr. Imani's honest account of what it took to go from the idea of opening a ketamine clinic to actually delivering on it, including what surprised her most along the way
How her background in neuroscience and her personal experience with ketamine shaped both her decision to open a clinic and her approach to patient care
What set and setting actually means in the outpatient clinic context, and how Dr. Imani thinks about the environment she has created for her patients
Two patient stories that capture what ketamine therapy can do when it is delivered with intention and individualized care
What the transition from corporate emergency medicine to clinic ownership actually feels like, including the autonomy, the trade-offs, and the parts you cannot put a price on
How Dr. Imani balances running a clinic, working emergency medicine shifts, and family life, including what she says makes it all possible
Key Takeaways:
The why has to come before the how. Dr. Imani is clear that going into ketamine therapy purely for financial reasons is the wrong foundation. The work is demanding, the hours are uncompensated in ways people do not anticipate, and what sustains you through the hard parts is a genuine sense of purpose. For her, that purpose is rooted in a deep personal gratitude for everything she has been given and a desire to help others experience transformation the way she has.
Personal experience with ketamine changed how she thinks about her patients. Dr. Imani has had ketamine infusions herself, and she describes the experience as bringing up things you have not been thinking about or have been repressing and giving you a different perspective. That first-person understanding shapes how she prepares patients, how she communicates what to expect, and the empathy she brings into the treatment room.
Safety in the outpatient setting is intentional and layered. Dr. Imani checks vitals at the beginning, middle, and end of every session, establishes baselines before anxiety from the appointment itself can affect readings, and keeps emergency equipment on hand. She also points out that as an emergency physician, her clinical presence itself is a reassurance to patients that most providers cannot offer in the same way.
Autonomy is one of the most underrated benefits of clinic ownership. The waterfall story says it all. Dr. Imani wanted a waterfall in her reception area because she loves the sound and believes it creates a calming environment for patients. She put one in. That kind of decision, small as it sounds, represents something profound about what it means to own your own practice after years of committee-driven institutional medicine.
Patient transformation is what confirms the decision. Dr. Imani shares two patient stories that illustrate the range of what ketamine therapy can do. One is a patient who came in curious and came out having discovered things about herself she did not know were there. The other is a first responder who came back after a gap, having experienced a life-changing shift in just three sessions, and was, as Dr. Imani describes it, a totally different person.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or on your favorite podcast platform. Watch the discussion on YouTube here.
Episode 66 show notes:
00:00:00 Teaser: "I'm Happier Now Because I Know I Can Help in a Different Way"
00:00:18 Episode Introduction
00:02:03 Background: From Neuroscience to Emergency Medicine to Ketamine Therapy
00:06:13 Her Personal Ketamine Experience and the Decision to Open a Clinic
00:08:19 Unexpected Challenges and the Backup for Everything Rule
00:09:00 Ketamine in the Hospital vs. the Outpatient Clinic: Set and Setting
00:10:33 Safety Standards and Why EM Training Is an Advantage
00:13:00 Patient-Centered Care, Setting Expectations, and the Tools She Relies On
00:15:08 Advice to Her Past Self: Start Sooner and Do Not Do It for the Money
00:18:02 The Power of Autonomy and What Clinic Ownership Actually Feels Like
00:19:40 Personal Evolution: Mindfulness, Journaling, and Resetting Yourself First
00:23:21 Patient Stories: Transformation That Confirms the Decision
00:26:24 Balancing a Clinic, ER Shifts, Family Life, and Why Community Matters
00:28:40 Rapid-Fire Questions Begin
00:37:00 Time Travel: Being a Teenager in Vienna as a Refugee
00:38:22 Gratitude, Resilience, and the Gift of Helping Others
00:40:10 Final Thoughts and Where to Find Dr. Imani
00:40:54 Episode Ending
Thanks for Listening
Connect with Dr. Imani
Professional Education Disclaimer: This content is intended exclusively for licensed healthcare professionals and should not be used by patients for self-treatment or self-education. The information presented reflects individual provider experiences and should not replace clinical judgment, professional training, or comprehensive research. Healthcare providers must conduct their own due diligence, consult current literature, and evaluate treatment approaches within their specific practice context and regulatory environment. This educational content does not constitute medical advice for specific patients or clinical situations - treatment decisions should always be based on individual patient assessment and adherence to professional medical standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is ketamine delivered differently in an outpatient clinic versus a hospital or emergency department setting?
In the hospital setting, ketamine is typically used at higher doses for anesthesia, procedural sedation, or pain management, with the focus on getting a patient from point A to point B as efficiently as possible. The outpatient ketamine therapy setting is a fundamentally different experience. Dr. Imani describes it as calm, intentional, and environment-focused, with dimmed lighting, eye shades, and music designed to help the patient drop into a deeper internal experience. The concept of set and setting, the patient's mindset and the physical environment they are in, becomes central to the therapeutic process in a way that has no equivalent in the emergency department. As Dr. Imani puts it, immediately after their session patients often feel lighter, more peaceful, and sometimes even energized and ready to take on the world.
What are some of the unexpected practical challenges of opening a ketamine clinic?
Dr. Imani points to something deceptively simple but genuinely important: having a backup for everything. A backup pump, backup chair, backup headphones. When you are running a clinical session and a piece of equipment fails or a headset runs out of battery, there is no supply closet down the hall to pull from the way there might be in a hospital. The operational realities of running a small clinic, sourcing equipment, managing supplies, and handling logistics that would otherwise be outsourced to an institutional support system, are among the things most providers do not fully anticipate until they are in it. Finding the right physical space, with accessible bathrooms, adequate parking, and the right layout, is another detail that matters more than it might seem early in the planning process.
How should ketamine clinic providers approach patient expectations around treatment outcomes?
Setting realistic expectations from the start is one of the most important things a provider can do. Dr. Imani is direct about the fact that ketamine therapy is a treatment, not a cure, and that it does not work for everyone. She emphasizes individualized care, adjusting based on whether a patient needs more or less, and maintaining open communication throughout the process. Under-promising and over-delivering is a better approach than the reverse. Patients who arrive well-informed, having done their own research, read articles, and listened to podcasts, tend to have a smoother experience and more realistic expectations, which makes the clinical relationship easier and more productive for everyone involved.
What safety standards should an outpatient ketamine clinic have in place?
Dr. Imani checks vital signs at the beginning, middle, and end of every session, and establishes a baseline reading at the consultation appointment before the anxiety of an initial infusion can affect the numbers. She keeps oxygen, an AED, a bag mask, and emergency protocols in place, with a clear plan to call 911 when needed. She also points out that as an emergency physician, her clinical training and comfort with high-acuity situations is itself a layer of safety that many patients find reassuring. Beyond equipment and protocols, she emphasizes preparing patients for common side effects in advance, which helps reduce anxiety during the session and keeps the therapeutic environment as calm and supportive as possible.
What does clinic ownership offer that corporate or institutional medicine does not?
Autonomy. Dr. Imani describes the experience of working within a large corporate emergency medicine group as layer after layer of administration, committees, and approval processes that could stretch a simple decision over months. As a clinic owner, she makes her own decisions about where the money goes, what the space looks and feels like, and how care is delivered. She installed a waterfall in her reception area because she loves the sound and believes it creates a calming environment for patients. Every client who walks in comments on it. That kind of intentional, personalized environment is simply not possible inside institutional medicine, and for providers who have spent years working within those constraints, the shift in agency that comes with ownership can be one of the most meaningful parts of the pivot.
How do EM physicians balance running a ketamine clinic with their existing clinical work and personal life?
Dr. Imani is honest that the balance is hard and requires genuine support. Her husband serves as her operations director and the backbone of how their household and business run together. She emphasizes the importance of having a solid partner, whether that is a spouse, a business partner, or a team, because doing this alone is genuinely difficult. She also talks about the importance of staying mindful, making time to reset personally so that she can show up fully for her patients. The sacrifices are real, including giving up some of the schedule flexibility that shift work provides. But for Dr. Imani, the fulfillment of doing work that aligns with her purpose makes those trade-offs worth it.