Many who come to us for depression treatment have tried other treatments. Some tried antidepressants, therapy, and other forms of treatment. But, unfortunately, there are those with “treatment-resistant depression,” or “Major Depressive Disorder” – depression that hasn’t been relieved by treatment. TMS has been proven to, when utilized properly, provide relief from that depression in as little as a session. When you conduct an evaluation of your health and history, we’ll create a treatment plan that’s right for your needs.

In 2008, the FDA approved TMS for treating depression. As of this writing, it is still the only depression treatment that does not require any surgery or even medication that has been approved by the FDA. No electrodes have to be implanted or anything of that nature. In fact, this treatment has been proven to be so safe as to have no long-term side effects, no negative effect on the patient’s memory, and so forth. 

What side effects there are usually consist of mild headaches, perhaps a bit of pain in your head. Our staff will sit with you and make sure that you’re ready to go after every session as you can drive yourself to and from the appointment if you like. These sessions don’t last very long, either, as a majority of them go anywhere from 25 to 40 minutes. You don’t have to worry about anesthesia or anything of that nature, as you’re awake during the entire session. When you complete a TMS session, you can go back to work, to school, to any other event in your life.

Our technician will make sure that you’re as comfortable as can be before beginning the procedure. Then, they’ll use the machine to determine exactly where your motor cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are – parts of the brain connected to depression. Once they’ve set the machine, they’ll deliver magnetic pulses to those parts of the brain. These are safe, small, repetitive pulses – essentially the same strength as those of an MRI machine. 

What happens, then, is that these magnetic pulses activate parts of your brain that can, in turn, lessen or even, in some cases, eliminate the symptoms associated with depression. You’ll most likely feel relief at the end of your first session.

TMS can be a very effective depression treatment, but it’s just one of the many treatments we offer. Indeed, TMS can be just one part of treatment for our patients. Here, we offer outpatient PHP and IOP. These two programs can both target your depression as well as any other mental health concerns you have, all while allowing you to go home to your bed at the end of the night. TMS can also be a great boon to “dual diagnosis” treatment, when a person struggles with both their mental health as well as addiction.

Afterwards, you may feel a slight headache, maybe a little bit dizzy, tingling, or even a little tinnitus. This will pass. Moreover, we’ll be right there to help. Often, we sit with a patient for a few minutes before they head out. But, that’s it. There’s no “recovery time” or anything like that. Instead, you can go right back to your schedule for the rest of your day.

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