TMS Therapy

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North Alabama Family Psychiatry & Counseling, through TMS of North Alabama, is now offering NeuroStar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy, a non-invasive, outpatient treatment for Treatment Resistant Major Depression in adults.

TMS Therapy is a new and innovative treatment, cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for adults suffering from Treatment Resistant Major Depression, who have not achieved satisfactory improvement, or have not been able to tolerate the side effects of prior antidepressant treatment. TMS targets key areas of the brain that are underactive in people with depression. It is not ECT (electroconvulsive therapy).

TMS Therapy is a treatment that can be performed in a psychiatrist’s office, under his or her supervision. TMS Therapy is:

  • Non-invasive, meaning it does not involve surgery or invasive procedures. It does not require anesthesia or sedation, and the patient remains awake and alert during the treatment. The patient can resume their normal activities after the treatment session.
  • Non-systemic, meaning it is not taken by mouth and does not circulate in the bloodstream throughout the body. Systemic circulation of oral antidepressants is a major cause of adverse side effects associated with oral antidepressant therapies.

The typical treatment course consists of 5 treatments per week for 6 weeks, followed by 6 treatments over 3 weeks, for a total of 36 treatments over a 9-week period. Each treatment session lasts 19 to 37 minutes.

While the exact cause of depression is not known, the leading scientific theory is that it is caused by an imbalance of the brain’s neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers that send signals between brain cells. NeuroStar TMS therapy helps by increasing the release of these neurotransmitters, restoring balance.

With more than one million treatments performed, this novel treatment to achieving remission is bringing new hope to people every day. Call for a consult to see if NeuroStar TMS is the right treatment for you.

Click here to watch Dr. Anika Wilson explain and demonstrate TMS Therapy: