Also called Major Depressive Disorder and clinical depression, it is a serious disorder that disrupts a person’s ability to feel, think, behave, and engage with others. Many people with depression find relief from their symptoms through a combination of medication and psychotherapy, but these don’t work for everyone. Sometimes, depression persists even after attempts at treatment with several different medications.

Fortunately, advancements in mental health technology have led to transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, a breakthrough treatment that helps alleviate symptoms in countless people with depression and other treatment-resistant mood disorders.

TMS is a non-invasive, drug-free treatment for depression that often works when antidepressants don’t. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2008, TMS has proven through clinical trials to reduce symptoms by at least 50% in half of patients with treatment-resistant depression—and one-third of those are able to achieve full remission and live symptom-free.

Brain imbalances play a significant role in depression. People who suffer from depression typically have low activity in certain regions of the brain. Advanced TMS Clinic, Inc. therapy uses magnetic fields similar to those used in MRI machines to stimulate nerve cells. Through a series of repetitive magnetic pulses that cause neurons to fire, TMS activates brain regions involved in mood regulation, modifying the connectivity of large-scale networks and essentially “resetting” the brain.

Patients who have suffered from depression most of their lives report feeling more engaged with their loved ones and more optimistic about the future within a few short weeks of beginning TMS treatment.