BILLINGS ADVANCED PSYCHIATRY

Ketamine improves neuroplasticity of the brain, increases resilience to stress, improves cognitive functioning (memory, concentration) and decreases suicidal ideations in unipolar and bipolar depression.

Svetlana Yakov, MD, Ph.D. psychiatrist, specializes in the management of advanced depression and bipolar disorders complicated by chronic suicidality that is not responsive to traditional antidepressant medications and ECT.

 Dr. Yakov, a board-certified psychiatrist, has a holistic approach to patients whose underlying metabolic, nutritional, endocrine, neurological, and post-surgical problems contribute to poor response to regular antidepressants and mood stabilizers medications. 

 She also provides personalized psychopharmacological therapy based on genotype testing.

Psychiatrist, Dr. Sveltana Yakov, is motivated to help Montanans with the management of treatment-resistant depression, bipolar, and PTSD complicated by suicidality. Her goal is to implement evidence-based- practices in our state to save many people’s lives in Montana state.

I have been a patient of Dr. Yakov since August 2025. For most of my life, I struggled with depression, anxiety, and ADHD. I tried countless medications, therapy, meditation, counseling, and every treatment I could find, always hoping for lasting relief. Then, in October 2023, my world fell apart when I found my 30-year old son after he died from an accidental fentanyl overdose. The grief was overwhelming. I isolated myself, drank too much, lost interest in life, and reached a place where simply getting out of bed felt like a victory. I was tired of living a life ingulfed with sadness and despair.

My grief counselor suggested that I speak with Dr. Yakov at Advanced Psychiatry Clinic about ketamine therapy, she had two patients who recently had begun therapy and the results were incredible. With little left to lose, I began treatment in August 2025. After only two sessions, I felt something I hadn’t experienced in decade —hope. The darkness that had consumed me began to lift, and it felt as though my life had gone from a cold, black and white to full of color & light. For the first time in years, I wasn’t just surviving—I was beginning to live.

Since then, I have rediscovered joy and purpose. I’ve learned to fly drones and create videos, taken up magnet fishing, built an app to help others enjoy the hobby, returned to the shooting range, my professional life is better than I ever could have dreamed and, most importantly, made precious memories with my granddaughters. The grief of losing my son will always be with me, but it no longer controls my life. I can remember him with love instead of being consumed by despair.

I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Yakov for her compassion, professionalism, and the care he has shown throughout my journey. S-Ketamine therapy didn’t erase my grief, but it gave me something I thought I had lost forever—hope. If you’re struggling and feel like you’ve run out of options, I encourage you to talk with Dr. Yakov. It gave me my life back, and for that I will always be incredibly thankful.

M.B.