Lori Calabrese, MD is a TopDoc psychiatrist in Connecticut, Expert Faculty for ASKP3, and an expert in Metabolic Psychiatry using food as medicine to treat psychiatric conditions. She is a Clinical Advisor to Metabolic Mind, a lecturer for Nutrition Network in their newest course Metabolism and the Mind and published the first case series in Metabolic Psychiatry describing complete remission of depression and anxiety using a ketogenic diet. She is the founder and medical director of Touchpoints 180, an innovative consultation service and treatment pathway using metabolic strategies for remission of psychiatric conditions and restoration of metabolic health.
She specializes in comprehensive, state-of-the-art psychiatric evaluation and innovative psychiatric treatment of adults and adolescents in South Windsor, CT, minutes from Hartford and provides consultations globally regarding metabolic interventions for mental health and wellness.
Watch Lori Calabrese’s Incredible Journey Treating Patients with IV Ketamine:
A Leader Among Her Peers
With over 20 years of experience, Lori Calabrese, M.D. is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and completed her residency training through Harvard Medical School at Massachusetts General Hospital, consistently recognized as the finest psychiatry residency program in the country.
She has served as clinical faculty at both Harvard Medical School and Yale School of Medicine and is often called “a doctor’s doctor,” because so many physicians and their families see her, and rely on her expertise and treatment.
Innovative Psychiatry
Dr. Calabrese is a specialist in interventional psychiatry, ketamine treatment, and metabolic psychiatry, and incorporates the newest scientific information regarding ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin and other psychedelic compounds, brain health and mitochondrial energy science, genetic testing, inflammation and the brain-gut microbiome connection into her consultations and the care of her patients.
Pioneer in Psychiatric Treatment
She was the first psychiatrist in Connecticut to expand her practice beyond psychopharmacology and psychotherapy to provide the most comprehensive translational and evidenced-based treatment options available — years before anyone else.
She offers cutting-edge IV ketamine infusions and an array of other ketamine treatments including intramuscular ketamine, intranasal ketamine, and KAP, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. IV ketamine treatment is scheduled during the day and with extended hours into the evening so that you don’t have to interrupt work or school to get well.
Dr. Calabrese has published seminal work using IV ketamine in depression with suicidal thoughts and has been invited to present the results of her extensive clinical experience using ketamine treatment at several national and international conferences, including the American Psychiatric Association, International Association for Suicide Research and the American Suicide Foundation International Research Summit on Suicide, the American Association of Suicidology, KRIYA Conference, the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Oxford UK Ketamine and Related Compounds, and the International Conference on Eating Disorders. She has been invited to serve as Expert Faculty for ASKP3, the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists, and Practitoners.
Lori Calabrese, MD on ResearchGate
2019 Landmark Publication on Ketamine Treatment
Lori Calabrese. Titrated Serial Ketamine Infusions Stop Outpatient Suicidality and Avert ER Visits and Hospitalizations. Int J Psychiatry Res. 2019; 2(6): 1-12.
This is the first peer-reviewed study in the world literature using serial titrated IV ketamine infusions in a real-world psychiatry office for adults and adolescents with treatment-resistant depression, complex psychiatric comorbidity, and suicidal thoughts.
It demonstrates my use of a series of titrated IV ketamine infusions to safely and rapidly treat severe suicidal ideation and avert suicide, ER evaluation and hospitalization. My work presents the largest number of patients to date reported from a single site in studies of IV ketamine infusions for treatment resistant depression and suicidality, and a potential breakthrough treatment option for psychiatrists to provide in their offices.
“We show compelling evidence that offering serial, titrated ketamine infusions to real-world suicidal outpatients with treatment resistant depression, multiple comorbid conditions, risk factors for agitation, and suicidal ideation may be a safe, effective, and life-saving intervention which can stop suicidal ideation and avert ER and hospital admission — and that this treatment can be effective even in patients who have previously attempted suicide, been hospitalized, failed ECT, and/or failed TMS.”
— Lori Calabrese, MD International Journal of Psychiatry Research, 2019
2020 First Ever Report of Ketogenic Diet Plus Ketamine for Anorexia
Barbara Scolnick, Beth Zupec-Kania, Lori Calabrese, Chiye Aoki, Thomas Hildebrandt. Remission from Chronic Anorexia Nervosa with Ketogenic Diet and Ketamine: Case Report. Front. Psychiatry, 30 July 2020 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00763
We report the case of a 29 year old woman with a 15-year history of severe and enduring anorexia nervosa who experienced complete remission of her symptoms after adopting a ketogenic diet and treatment with 4 ketamine infusions. Her remission has persisted for more than 5.5 years (yes, five and a half years!) and the anorexic “voice” in her head has completely disappeared and stayed away. This is a dramatic result and an innovative sequenced approach to chronic anorexia. We are so happy to be a part of trailblazing further research and study into ketogenic and ketamine treatment for one of the most deadly disorders in psychiatry.
This paper has generated more worldwide views than 95% of all articles published in Frontiers! The novelty of this approach garnered the attention of Faculty Opinions, and prized coverage on the Faculty Opinions Blog in 2021.
2021 Principal Investigator
A Clinical Trial to Determine if Sequenced Treatment with A Modified Ketogenic Diet and Ketamine can Result in Remission of Chronic Anorexia
Not only did we very carefully design and launch this clinical trial during the height of a pandemic but we’re thrilled to have had our research study registered on ClinicalTrials.gov through the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine — a big deal. This is so exciting for me as a psychiatrist dedicated to real-world on-the-ground patient care — and speaks volumes about the careful attention, rigor, safety, transparency, and ethical basis for my work, all of my work, in metabolic psychiatry with ketogenic metabolic therapies, and with expertly administered and properly supervised ketamine.
2022 Striking Results from our Clinical Trial Using a Therapeutic Ketogenic Diet and Ketamine Infusions in Anorexia Nervosa
Calabrese, L., Scolnick, B., Zupec-Kania, B., Beckwith C., Costello K., Frank, G.K.W. Ketogenic diet and ketamine infusion treatment to target chronic persistent eating disorder psychopathology in anorexia nervosa: a pilot study. Eat Weight Disord (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-022-01455-x
In our small, well-designed clinical trial we used a therapeutic ketogenic diet aimed to establish and maintain nutritional ketosis, but not weight loss, followed by ketamine infusions, to specifically target chronic persistent eating disorder symptoms and the “anorexic voice” — which interferes with recovery and often leads to relapse in anorexia.
Our peer-reviewed results highlight an innovative approach that is safe, effective, and can provide symptomatic relief in women with anorexia who are weight restored but continue to have severe preoccupations with fears of weight gain, body shape concerns, and difficulties with self-acceptance.
This article ranks in the 94th percentile of more than 400,000 articles of a similar age across all journals — pretty incredible for a small, pilot study.
Our research supports specific neurobiologic underpinnings in anorexia which can be normalized using a therapeutic ketogenic diet and ketamine infusions. We have inspired larger randomized controlled clinical in anorexia nervosa to test the effectiveness of our approach, beginning with a clinical trial examining a ketogenic diet in weigh-recovered anorexia nervosa currently being conducted at UCSD by our colleague, Guido Frank, MD PhD.
Academic Presentations on Ketamine
Current and Future Directions in Psychedelic Medicine, Neuroscience at Storrs 2023, October, 2023, University of Connecticut. Current and Future Directions in Psychedelic Medicine. (Psychedelic Medicine Panel Presentation). Scientific Presentations and Posters: Stopping Suicidal Thoughts in an Afternoon with Ketamine. (Poster).
ICED 2023 International Conference on Eating Disorders hosted by the Academy of Eating Disorders, Washington, DC, June, 2023. Broadening Out Impact: Enhancing Visibility Through Collaboration and Outreach. Stopping the Anorexic Voice with Keto and Ketamine: A Pilot Study (Oral Presentation)
XXVIIIth Annual Meeting of the Eating Disorders Research Society Philadelphia, PA, September, 2022. The Next Generation of Eating Disorders Research: Breakthroughs, Innovations, and Future Directions. Ketogenic Diet and Ketamine Infusions Target Chronic Persistent Eating Disorder Psychopathology: A Pilot Study (Poster)
Ketamine2022 Ketamine and Related Compounds for Psychiatric Disorders, University of Oxford, Oxford UK April 2022. Sequenced Ketogenic Diet and Ketamine Infusions for Chronic Anorexia: A Pilot Study (Oral Presentation)
The Ketamine Conference: A Molecular Masterclass, Online, August, 2020 Digital Tech and Innovation (Panel Presentation)
AAS20: 53rd Annual Conference of the American Association of Suicidology, Portland OR, April 2020. Crossroads: Preventing Suicide and Creating Lives Worth Living. Ketamine Infusions Treat Suicidality and Avoid Hospitalizations (Oral Presentation suspended due to COVID-19)
2020 Ketamine and Related Compounds for Psychiatric Disorders, Oxford, England, April 2020. Real World Effects of 6 IV Infusions in 231 Outpatients (Oral Presentation suspended due to COVID-19)
KRIYA Conference 2019: Ketamine in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. San Francisco, CA, November, 2019. Stopping Suicide with IV Ketamine Treatment (Oral Presentation)
Ketamine and Related Compounds for Psychiatric Disorders, University of Oxford, Oxford UK, March, 2018. Ketamine Lyses Suicidal Ideation in Outpatient Clinical Practice and Offers an Alternative to Hospitalization (Poster)
KRIYA Conference 2018, San Francisco, CA, November, 2018. Using IV Ketamine in a Psychiatry Private Practice to Treat Suicidal Patients and Avoid Hospitalization (Oral Presentation)
6th World Congress on Mental Health, Psychiatry, and Wellbeing, New York, USA, March 2019. Using IV Ketamine in a Real-World Psychiatry Practice to Stop Suicidal Ideation and Avoid Hospitalization (Oral Presentation)
American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 2019: Revitalize Psychiatry: Disrupt, Include, Engage, and Innovate, San Francisco, CA, May 2019. Ketamine Infusions Stop Suicidal Ideation and Avert Psychiatric Hospitalizations and ER Visits (Poster)
American Society of Ketamine Physicians (ASKP) Annual Meeting 2019 Denver, CO, September, 2019. Real World Results: When Ketamine Stops Suicide (Oral Presentation)
American Psychiatric Association IPS 2019: The Mental Health Services Conference: Improving Access through Innovation and Collaboration, New York, NY, October, 2019. Using IV Ketamine in Psychiatry to Stop Suicidal Ideation (Poster)
KRIYA Conference 2019: Ketamine in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. San Francisco, CA, November, 2019. Stopping Suicide with IV Ketamine Treatment (Oral Presentation)
IASR/AFSP International Summit on Suicide Research 2019: Suicide Prevention Research: A Global Imperative, Miami, FL, October, 2019. The Summit is sponsored by the International Academy of Suicide Research in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. [The Summit included over 400 researchers and clinicians from 30 countries across the globe.] Serial Titrated Ketamine Infusions Can Stop Suicidal Ideation in Outpatients with Treatment Resistant Depression and Avert ER Visits, Hospitalization, and Suicide (Oral Presentation)
First Published Report of Complete Remission of Depression and Anxiety Using a Ketogenic Diet
We are thrilled to be on the forefront of Metabolic Psychiatry with the first published case series demonstrating how we used a medically supervised ketogenic diet in real-world patients with complex psychiatric conditions (depression, several different type of anxiety disorders, binge eating disorder and ADHD) — as well as metabolic disorders — to bring symptoms to complete remission.
Within less than 2 months of its publication, our research paper garnered such interest worldwide that it has been ranked within the 99th percentile of more than 26 million research papers ever tracked by Altmetric.
Clearly, people are hungry for this knowledge.
We show what it took, how we did it, what we used—and traced serum ketones levels and other biomarkers meticulously to show the sequence of response and remission in just 7-12 weeks.
Although this is a small case series, and not a large prospective randomized trial, our results are representative of what we see in our consultations and in our entire practice, and show what is possible. We hope our work will inspire you to call us and consider this approach for yourself or someone you love, and that it will inspire research around the world with larger, randomized controlled trials.
Academic Presentations on Metabolic Psychiatry
Symposium for Metabolic Health — San Diego, 9th Annual Symposium, LowCarb San Diego in collaboration with Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners, San Diego, CA, August, 2024. What Does It Take? Getting Rid of Depression and Anxiety with a Ketogenic Diet (Presentation)
Metabolic Health Summit 2024, Clearwater FL, January 2024. Ketogenic Diet for Complete Remission of Anxiety and Major Depression: A Case Series (Poster)
8th Global Symposium on Ketogenic Therapies, International Neurological Ketogenic Society, San Diego, CA September 2023. Metabolic Psychiatry in Practice: Factors Associated with Rapid Adoption of KMT (Poster)
Symposium for Metabolic Health — San Diego, 8th Annual Symposium, LowCarb San Diego in collaboration with Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners, San Diego, CA, August, 2023. Getting Patients on Board: Factors Associated with Successful Adoption of Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy in Patients with Complex Psychiatric Comorbidity (Poster)
ICED 2023 International Conference on Eating Disorders, The Academy of Eating Disorders, Washington, DC, June, 2023. Broadening Our Impact: Enhancing Visibility Through Collaboration and Outreach. Stopping the Anorexic Voice with Keto and Ketamine: A Pilot Study (Presentation with Barbara Scolnick)
XXVIIIth Annual Meeting of the Eating Disorders Research Society Philadelphia, PA, September, 2022. The Next Generation of Eating Disorders Research: Breakthroughs, Innovations, and Future Directions. Ketogenic Diet and Ketamine Infusions Target Chronic Persistent Eating Disorder Psychopathology: A Pilot Study (Poster)
More about Dr. Calabrese
We serve a broad spectrum of adults and older adolescents. My areas of expertise include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, trauma, eating disorders, ADHD, alcohol and substance use disorders co-occurring with other psychiatric disorders, and psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and post-partum, and psychiatric disorders among the medically ill. We are particularly interested in the intersection between mental and metabolic health.
I am dedicated to providing superb care. That means I work tirelessly with my patients and their families and physicians to change their lives for the better.
Education
Wellesley College
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Residency Training
The John Hopkins Hospital Bayview Campus / Francis Scott Key Medical Center
Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts General Hospital
Chief Resident, The Avery D. Weisman Psychiatry Consultation Service, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Academic Appointments
Harvard Medical School
Yale School of Medicine
License, Certifications, & Awards
Licensed in Connecticut
Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Top Docs Connecticut Magazine 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023, 2024
Psychiatrist of the Year, Eastern Connecticut Health Network
National Institutes of Mental Health Best Resident in Psychiatry Award
The Thomas P. Hackett Award for Excellence in Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
International Rotary Foundation Undergraduate Fellowship
Professional Activities and Memberships
International Neurological Ketogenic Society
Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners, Founding Member
American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists, and Practitioners
American Psychedelic Practitioners Association, Foundational Member
American Psychiatric Association
Connecticut Psychiatric Society
Passion … and Innovation
I have dedicated my life’s work to finding solutions for those who suffer. As an expert in innovative psychiatry in the northeast United States in and around Connecticut, I dive in to help you move forward and get to your best self.
If you’d like to begin, please call or reach out.
Clinical Advisor
