Justin Ray on Flagler Radio: Ketamine, Psychedelics & GLP-1s

Justin Ray, MSN, PMHNP-BC, founder of South Chesapeake Psychiatry, was the guest on Energize & Revitalize with Dr. Amy (Episode 71), a Flagler Radio health show hosted by Dr. Amy Coopersmith, a doctorate-prepared nurse practitioner. The conversation aired October 3, 2026, and covers some of the most-asked questions in mental health right now: hormones and mood, ketamine and esketamine, GLP-1 medications, and psychedelics.

What They Talked About

• Hormones, mood, and menopause. Why the hormone shifts of pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause can affect mood and thinking, and why lab testing should come before treatment. SCP offers BHRT evaluations for women navigating these changes.
• Ketamine, esketamine, and SPRAVATO®. Research on giving a ketamine-class medication right after delivery to help prevent postpartum depression (read our article), how these medications work on glutamate rather than serotonin, and what a typical SPRAVATO® treatment schedule looks like.
• Glutamate and neuroplasticity. What London taxi drivers taught researchers about the brain's ability to change, and why it matters for depression. Related: What London Taxi Drivers Can Teach Us About the Brain.
• GLP-1 medications. Early research on GLP-1s for alcohol use disorder, and the links between insulin resistance, inflammation, mood, and thinking. These uses are still being studied. Related: The Metabolic-Mood Connection.
• Psychedelics. Where psilocybin, LSD-based, and MDMA treatments stand in clinical trials, the practical questions raised by 6- to 8-hour dosing sessions, why microdosing hasn't held up in studies, and whether the benefit could come without the psychedelic experience. Related: The Psychoplastogen Question and MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD.
• When physical symptoms have a psychiatric driver. Stomachaches, panic attacks that feel like a heart attack, and conversion disorder, and why a medical workup comes first. Related: Why Do We Have Physical Symptoms with Mental Anxiety?
• Postpartum psychosis. Why getting treatment quickly matters. Watch Justin's video Postpartum Psychosis: The Diagnosis on Trial.

Justin writes about topics like these every week in The Neuropsychiatry Brief on LinkedIn. You can also watch the full episode on YouTube.