Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) delivers painless, noninvasive magnetic energy into your brain to reactivate dormant cells. At Bright Horizons Psychiatry in North Bethesda, Maryland, Amir Etesam, MD, and his team use TMS for treatment-resistant depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and other severe psychiatric illnesses. Call Bright Horizons Psychiatry or request an appointment online today to benefit from TMS.
request an appointmentWhat is TMS?
TMS is a noninvasive treatment that activates parts of your brain that don’t work as they should when you have mental health problems. It’s safe and painless and is an established treatment for major depressive disorder (depression) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
The Bright Horizons Psychiatry team uses BrainsWay’s Deep TMS™ technology. The device has a headpiece that delivers small, repeated magnetic impulses into your brain. This stimulates electrical activity in brain cells within a specific area.
Evidence shows that reduced activity in places like your brain’s mood center plays a significant role in depression and other disorders. Research is ongoing into exactly how TMS works, but it seems the magnetic pulses reactivate these dormant areas, helping your brain to function better and improving how you think and feel.
What can TMS treat?
TMS is FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression and OCD, so many insurances cover it. You could also benefit from TMS for other mental health conditions, including anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and some personality disorders.
These treatments don’t yet have FDA approval, but they’re safe and effective.
Your Bright Horizons Psychiatry provider might suggest TMS if you’ve tried other treatments, such as psychiatric medication, but they haven’t helped. Combining TMS with antidepressants often gives optimal results.
What does having TMS involve?
When you visit Bright Horizons Psychiatry for TMS, you sit in a comfortable treatment chair, and your provider fits the magnetic coil over your head. They adjust it to ensure it’s comfortable and is in precisely the right place. Then they switch the device on, and you sit quietly for 20-30 minutes.
During that time, you can read, watch something on a mobile device, listen to music.
Afterward, you might experience a slight headache or tenderness where the coil was on your scalp, but this is easy to treat with over-the-counter acetaminophen or ibuprofen. You can return to work without needing any downtime.
Initial TMS treatment involves having five sessions a week for six weeks, then a tapering protocol where you reduce the frequency to six sessions over three weeks. Results typically last 6-12 months and sometimes longer. If your symptoms return, you can safely receive further TMS treatments.
Call Bright Horizons Psychiatry today or book an appointment online to see if you could benefit from TMS.