Stories Behind the Science: Ketogenic Therapy, Depression and Severe Mental Illness
- Dr Erin Louise Bellamy
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
From Depression to Psychosis: Ketogenic Therapy Case Stories
Stories Behind the Science: Ketogenic Therapy, Depression and Severe Mental Illness
Statistics are useful, but stories are what most of us connect with. In this article, we walk through three published case reports that show what ketogenic metabolic therapy looked like in real people’s lives and what it did for their symptoms and functioning (Bellamy, 2025; Bellamy & Laurent, 2025; Laurent et al., 2025).
Important: These stories are not medical advice or guarantees. They describe carefully supervised interventions and are shared to illustrate what is possible, not what is typical.
Case 1: Lifelong depression into remission
Laurent et al. (2025) presents a case study of a 47‑year‑old woman with lifelong, treatment‑resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). Despite psychotherapy and multiple medications, she continued to experience severe depressive symptoms, hopelessness and functional impairment (Laurent et al., 2025).
Under supervision, she followed a structured ketogenic metabolic therapy protocol with an approximate 1.5:1 fat‑to‑combined protein and carbohydrate ratio and regular group and individual support (Laurent et al., 2025). Her PHQ‑9 score fell from 25 (severe depression) at baseline to 0 at both 2 and 4 month follow‑ups, indicating full remission. Her GAD‑7 anxiety score dropped from 3 to 0 over the same period (Laurent et al., 2025).
Alongside the quantitative data, qualitative reports described marked improvements in energy, concentration and sleep, better emotional regulation, and sufficient stability to consider returning to higher education and a new career direction (Laurent et al., 2025).
Case 2: Schizoaffective disorder and psychotic symptom remission
In a retrospective case series, Laurent et al. (2025) reports on two women with schizoaffective disorder who undertook ketogenic metabolic therapy under medical oversight after incomplete responses to standard pharmacological treatment. Both followed a modified ketogenic diet, and mood and anxiety were tracked using validated scales such as the PHQ‑9, GAD‑7, DASS‑42 and PCL‑5.
Both individuals experienced complete cessation of psychotic symptoms and substantial mood improvement, with large reductions on standardised symptom scales and improvement in suicidality and anxiety. Psychiatric medications were gradually reduced or discontinued under specialist guidance, and both women reported greater quality of life, social engagement and hope for the future (Laurent et al., 2025).
Case 3: Transdiagnostic remission across PTSD, ADHD and binge‑eating
Bellamy and Laurent (2025) describe a 38‑year‑old woman diagnosed with PTSD, ADHD, binge‑eating disorder, bipolar II disorder, depression, anxiety and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). She participated in the IKRT Foundations Program, a structured ketogenic psychoeducation program with ongoing weekly professional and peer support up to 24 weeks, including daily symptom and ketone tracking (Bellamy & Laurent, 2025).
Baseline assessments showed severe psychiatric symptoms, including maximal PTSD scores and severe binge‑eating behaviour, but by week 12 all psychiatric symptoms had resolved, with scores reduced to 0 across the PHQ‑9, GAD‑7, DASS‑21, PCL‑5, BES and CRAVED instruments (Bellamy & Laurent, 2025). The participant reported that optimal control of symptoms consistently occurred when blood ketone levels were maintained between 3 and 5 mmol/L, suggesting a potential therapeutic window that future research must test (Bellamy & Laurent, 2025).
What these stories do, and do not mean
These cases are powerful but must be interpreted carefully. They involve single individuals or very small samples, highly motivated participants and intensive professional support, so they cannot be assumed to generalise to everyone with similar diagnoses (Bellamy, 2025; Bellamy & Laurent, 2025; Laurent et al., 2025).
However, they do show that for some people with severe, long‑standing psychiatric conditions, ketogenic metabolic therapy can be associated with full remission and substantial functional gains, possibly by targeting overlapping metabolic and neurobiological pathways across diagnoses (Bellamy, 2025; Bellamy & Laurent, 2025; Laurent et al., 2025).
They also illustrate that carefully designed online program can deliver this therapy safely and feasibly, even to people who are house‑bound or geographically remote (Bellamy, 2025; Bellamy & Laurent, 2025).
Bringing these insights into everyday clinical practice
At IKRT, we integrate lessons from these case reports into our online programs:
Structured education. Clients learn how and why ketogenic therapy is used for mental health, so they are following a therapeutic protocol rather than an unsupervised “diet” (Bellamy, 2026).
Monitoring and safety. We encourage symptom tracking, ketone monitoring and collaboration with prescribers, especially for clients on psychotropic or metabolic medications (Bellamy, 2026).
Transdiagnostic focus. Our programs are open to people with depression, anxiety, bipolar spectrum and trauma‑related difficulties, and we work alongside therapists and psychiatrists when appropriate (Bellamy, 2025, 2026).
Useful Links
At IKRT, we offer a range of programs designed to educate and support you in ketogenic metabolic therapy. If you are interested in learning more, please visit:
If you want to make sure you are eating the right foods for ketogenic metabolic therapy, you can start here:
References
Bellamy, E. L. (2025). Ketogenic metabolic therapy for schizoaffective disorder: A retrospective case series of psychotic symptom remission and mood recovery. Frontiers in Nutrition, 12, 1506304. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1506304
Bellamy, E. L., & Laurent, N. (2025). Transdiagnostic remission of psychiatric comorbidity in post‑traumatic stress disorder, ADHD, and binge‑eating disorder using ketogenic metabolic therapy: A retrospective case report. Frontiers in Nutrition, 12, 1600123. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1600123
Laurent, N., Bellamy, E. L., Hristova, D., & Houston, A. (2025). Ketogenic metabolic therapy in the remission of chronic major depressive disorder: A retrospective case study. Frontiers in Nutrition, 12, 1549782. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1549782
