Living with depression and anxiety drains you of your energy and often makes it difficult to cope with responsibilities. The frustration builds when traditional forms of treatment fail to work. Approximately 8% of U.S. adults experience major depression in a given year, and for many, standard treatments like medication and psychotherapy don’t provide full relief. Fortunately, as mental health care evolves, brain science offers new options. For adults seeking an advanced intervention, high-quality TMS therapy in Florida has become an important choice. Restore offers specialized treatment options for those living with mental illness.

What Is TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation)?

TMS is a non-invasive medical procedure used to treat a variety of mental health conditions by increasing activity in specific underactive areas of the brain or by calming overactive areas. Unlike antidepressants and other prescription medications that affect the entire body, TMS targets specific areas of the brain that regulate mood.

How TMS Works

TMS delivers a magnetic pulse that stimulates the neurons in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that controls mood and impulse. In individuals with depression, these areas are often sluggish or fail to work properly. Stimulating these neurons helps reduce symptoms of depression and other mental health conditions.

Advanced Technology: BrainsWay Deep TMS

At Restore, TMS is delivered using BrainsWay Deep TMS, an advanced form of transcranial magnetic stimulation. Its proprietary H-Coil technology reaches deeper and broader brain networks involved in mood regulation than traditional surface-level TMS coils. BrainsWay Deep TMS is FDA-cleared for major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and smoking cessation.

In BrainsWay’s published post-marketing study in the journal Psychiatry Research, patients who completed 30 or more Deep TMS sessions for depression achieved an 82% response rate and a 65% remission rate. Individual results vary, and our clinical team will discuss what you can realistically expect based on your history.

What to Expect in a Session

Before starting a session, you’ll be asked to remove any jewelry, such as earrings or a necklace. You’ll sit in a comfortable chair in a quiet exam room. Your technician will give you earplugs to reduce the noise from the machine. A customized cap is placed on your head. Once the machine is turned on, you’ll hear a series of clicking sounds and feel a slight tapping on your head. Each session lasts approximately 20 to 50 minutes. You’ll be able to read a book or watch TV, and afterward you can return to work or normal activities.

Conditions TMS Can Help

TMS is most known as a therapy for depression, but it can also be used to treat several other conditions.

  • Treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Individuals who’ve tried two or more medications for depression without adequate relief often turn to TMS. It has become a well-established option for people with treatment-resistant depression.
  • Bipolar depression. Bipolar disorder is often treated with multiple medications, including mood stabilizers, antipsychotics and antidepressants. Some antidepressants have been known to trigger mania in those with bipolar disorder. TMS offers a non-medicated way to help manage symptoms without the increased risks of SSRIs.
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The FDA has cleared TMS as a way to reduce intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors associated with OCD.
  • Anxiety. Many individuals with depression also struggle with high levels of anxiety. TMS can be used to calm overactive areas of the brain associated with the fight-or-flight response.

TMS at Restore

At Restore, we understand that transcranial magnetic stimulation works best when included in a comprehensive treatment plan. TMS is one of the neuro rehab services we offer, and our clinical team works closely with your psychiatrist or therapist to ensure you’re experiencing improvements in your everyday life. The atmosphere at Restore is compassionate and supportive, so you can focus solely on healing.

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What a Typical TMS Course Looks Like

A typical round of TMS includes 20 to 30 sessions over the course of four to six weeks. A single course involves multiple steps.

  • Brain mapping. Your first TMS session includes mapping your brain. Your technician or physician uses a fitted cap to mark the exact location of your motor cortex and then sends multiple pulses to determine your motor threshold. This ensures the coil used in your TMS treatment is customized to your brain’s physiology.
  • The acute phase. During the active phase, you’ll attend sessions five days a week. The frequency of the sessions helps your brain build new, healthier patterns.
  • The taper phase. During the last two weeks of each course, treatments are tapered to help the brain maintain its new healthy patterns.

Side Effects and Safety Considerations

Like any other treatment, safety is a priority during TMS therapy. Unlike medications that can cause weight gain and nausea, the side effects of TMS are minimal and usually localized. You may experience some mild scalp discomfort during the treatment, and you might have a mild headache after the first few sessions. Some individuals report facial or eye muscle twitches during treatment, which stop the moment the pulses end.

Who Should Not Receive TMS

TMS is not appropriate for everyone. It generally cannot be used by people who have metal implants in or near the head — such as aneurysm clips, cochlear implants or metal plates (dental fillings and braces are fine). It may also not be suitable for people with a history of seizures or epilepsy, or those with active implanted devices such as pacemakers or deep brain stimulators. If you are pregnant, your clinician will discuss individually whether TMS is right for you. Every patient is screened before treatment to confirm they are a safe candidate.

TMS vs. Medication and TMS as an Adjunct

Some patients wonder if they need to discontinue medications once beginning TMS therapy for depression. In some cases, you may be able to taper off your medications once the therapy begins to work. For others, TMS works best as an add-on therapy.

When used with medications and talk therapy, TMS can prime the brain to be more receptive to other forms of treatment. For those who have side effects from medications, TMS is a drug-free alternative that can help you address your mental health without those side effects.

Insurance Coverage

TMS therapy is covered by most major insurance companies. However, most insurers will only cover treatment once you’ve shown that a certain number of antidepressants haven’t provided relief from your symptoms. At Restore, we work with your insurance company to handle the authorization process for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

TMS is generally best suited for adults with moderate-to-severe depression who haven’t found adequate relief from medication, who can’t tolerate medication side effects, or who prefer a non-medication option. A psychiatric evaluation and screening before treatment confirm whether TMS is right for you.
For many people, the improvements from TMS are lasting. Some people benefit from occasional maintenance sessions to help sustain the effects over time.
No. Electroconvulsive therapy uses electricity to induce a seizure while the patient is under general anesthesia. TMS uses magnetic pulses while you are awake. The two techniques are completely different.
Unlike electroconvulsive therapy, TMS doesn’t affect memory. In fact, many patients report that it’s easier to concentrate and focus after a course of TMS.

Begin Your Journey to Healing with TMS Therapy in Florida

Living with a treatment-resistant condition doesn’t mean you’re out of options. You deserve a plan that adapts to your personal situation and addresses the cause of your pain. If you’re ready to move forward with TMS therapy in Florida, contact Restore Mental Health to speak with one of our counselors. Your brain knows how to heal. We just offer the spark to help get it started.