Patient Center

TMS is available for adult patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and OCD. To take TMS, patients must have failed to improve from previous antidepressant/anti-anxiety medication treatment.

TMS therapy cannot be used on patients with metal implants in or around their heads, except for standard amalgam dental fillings. These metal implants include, but are not limited to: a pacemaker, cochlear implants, a deep brain stimulator, an implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a vagus nerve stimulator, metal aneurysm clips or coils, staples, or stents.

In each TMS therapy session, the patient is comfortably seated in a chair and given a cloth cap and cushioned helmet. The helmet will produce rapid-fire magnetic pulses, similar to magnetic pulses in MRIs. The patient might hear or feel tapping in their head during treatment. We’ll provide earplugs for your convenience.

After treatment, patients can immediately resume their regular daily activities, including work.

A TMS treatment plan involves daily sessions for roughly four to six weeks. The total number of TMS sessions varies, depending on the patient’s diagnosis. We highly recommend that patients follow the course until its end, as regular treatments build better results. After your course is complete, we can also help with checkups and maintenance.

The most common side effect is temporary, mild pain or discomfort in the treatment site. Typically these symptoms fade after the first week of treatment. Patients sometimes also report muscle twitching, headaches, and jaw pain.

Deep TMS is an intensive version of regular TMS sessions. It requires almost half the time of other treatments and requires daily sessions over four to six weeks.

The FDA has cleared TMS for two conditions: depression and OCD. TMS is also being investigated as a treatment for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, bulimia nervosa, migraines, fibromyalgia, panic disorder, Parkinson’s disease, PTSD, alcohol dependence, smoking cessation, chronic pain, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, and autism.