Depression affects more than 8% of all Americans at some point in their lives, according to data collected in 2020.[1] While depression is a common, it is serious disorder that can be debilitating. How people think, feel and manage daily activities, including sleeping and eating, can be affected by depression. Symptoms must be present for at least two weeks for depression to be diagnosed.[2]
[1] https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression
Depression is a treatable condition
There are many types of treatment for depression, including mental health therapy and prescription medication — as well as TMS.
What is TMS
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is an FDA approved therapy for adults with major depression who have not adequately benefited from antidepressant medication. TMS uses highly focused magnetic pulses to stimulate nerve cells in the brain known to affect mood regulation.
How TMS works
An outpatient, non-invasive treatment, TMS works by stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with a powerful magnetic field that causes neurons in the brain to depolarize in sync with each other. This type of synchronous firing is associated with improvements in mood and increased clarity of thought.
As this region of the brain become more alert, the cells that support neurons (neuroglia) begin to work harder, a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity, typically observed in young healthy brains. TMS has no known side effects. Patients undergo treatment five days per week with each session lasting approximately 20 minutes and can expect to complete four to six weeks of treatment, for a total of 20 to 30 sessions.
During TMS treatment, patients can continue with therapy and maintain their medication as recommended by their mental health treatment providers.
Depression help is just a phone call away
Wyoming Behavioral Institute psychiatrist and adult services director Dr. David Martorano first learned about TMS more than two decades ago and began following the research on the treatment, which at that time was considered new and expensive.
Since then, he has seen the cost decrease as the evidence builds that the treatment works for most people with treatment-resistant depression and has advocated for the addition of TMS to Wyoming Behavioral Institute’s outpatient services. As a result, WBI will begin offering TMS this year.
If you or someone you know is suffering from depression, call WBI’s outpatient clinic, 307-439-2139 or visit wbihelp.com.