Treatment-resistant depression, how TMS therapy actually works, how to verify your insurance, what to expect during your first session. Written for patients and families.
Where transcranial magnetic stimulation fits for PTSD after first-line treatments fall short — an off-label use of an FDA-cleared therapy, the controlled-trial and meta-analysis evidence, and why the strongest signal appears in patients whose PTSD co-occurs with depression.
Why Healing TMS Clinic was built as a TMS-first practice — Dr. Padmini Shamasundara's 27 years in psychiatry, and the case for keeping evaluation, TMS treatment, and insurance coordination inside one practice rather than referring treatment-resistant patients outward.
Why intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) and standard 10 Hz rTMS produce equivalent response and remission rates in major depression — the THREE-D non-inferiority trial, a decade of supporting evidence, and why iTBS runs about a third as long per session.
A step-by-step walkthrough of prior authorization for TMS — the clinical criteria payers review, the documentation packet the clinic assembles, and the typical 5-to-15-business-day timeline for commercial and Medicare Advantage plans.
How long a full TMS course takes for major depression — roughly six to nine weeks of weekday sessions, about 20 minutes per visit for iTBS or 40 for standard 10 Hz rTMS — plus what makes a course shorter or longer and how the taper works.
A clinical guide to who qualifies for TMS therapy for depression: the three conditions that establish candidacy, the absolute and relative contraindications a psychiatrist screens before treatment, and the common worries — tattoos, dental fillings, current SSRI use — that are not disqualifying.
The FDA-cleared Deep TMS option for OCD when SSRIs and Exposure and Response Prevention haven't brought enough relief — how the H7 coil targets the medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex, the standard protocol, and the response rates patients can expect.
A concrete walkthrough of your first TMS therapy session — the paperwork, the one-time motor-threshold mapping that sets your dose, what the treatment feels and sounds like, and what a normal next 24 hours looks like.
How psychiatrists define treatment-resistant depression when one or two antidepressants haven't worked, what the evidence shows about remission after sequential medication trials, and where FDA-cleared neuromodulation options like TMS fit in the treatment pathway.
For most patients considering TMS therapy, the financial question — *will my insurance pay for this?* — needs to be answered before the clinical conversation can move forward.
Patients considering transcranial magnetic stimulation routinely ask two questions: *what does the device actually do to my brain?* and *why does that change my depression?* Both have clear, well-studied answers.
Insurance verification takes about two minutes. We'll tell you whether your plan covers TMS for treatment-resistant depression and what your cost will be — before you book anything.
Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM