rTMS in Depression
Find out about AIM Neuromodulation's Out-Patient treatment program
Fully tailored to your exact needs
Offering outpatient & residential procedures
rTMS for depression
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain involved in regulating mood. It is most often offered to adults whose depression has not improved enough with antidepressant medication or talking therapy.
Is rTMS recommended in the UK?
Yes. NICE interventional procedures guidance IPG542 (2015) states that the evidence on the safety and efficacy of rTMS for depression is adequate to support its use, with normal arrangements for clinical governance, consent and audit.
What a course of treatment involves
Treatment starts with an assessment by a consultant psychiatrist, who will go through your history and current treatment and discuss whether rTMS is suitable for you. A typical course involves sessions on weekdays over around 4 to 6 weeks. You stay awake throughout, no anaesthetic is needed, and most people return to their normal activities straight afterwards.
Side effects
rTMS is generally well tolerated. The most common side effects are headache and scalp discomfort during or after sessions, which usually ease as treatment goes on. Seizures are a very rare risk, and we screen for this at your assessment.
Our treatment pathways
AIM Neuromodulation provide two treatment pathways. One is the more conventional outpatient treatment, the other the residential programme. The former follows a traditional model for application of TMS, with patients attending the clinic in Weston-super-Mare for daily treatments. These visits can be tailored to the requirements of the patient, but typically there are five treatments a week. As the unit is staffed 24/7, then treatments can be given at times to suit the patient, for example in the evening, and weekend treatments are also possible. Part of the package of care, will include the availability for follow-up outpatient treatments, typically one session each week or fortnight for around 5 sessions.
The residential programme is tailored to the needs of the patient. The admission to the unit will typically run to 2 or 3 weeks, this enabling the patient to undergo a medicated detoxification followed by the TMS treatment. Some patients will then elect to stay at Broadway Lodge, in order to engage in ongoing residential rehabilitation (this may be for a number of weeks or even months) whereas other patients will leave after this two or three week period, and engage in the conventional outpatient follow-up treatment sessions.
