TMS therapy in Rockville, MD

Yes, in nearly all cases. Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, United Healthcare, Tricare, Johns Hopkins EHP, Medicare and Maryland Medicaid all cover TMS for treatment-resistant depression. Plans generally require documentation that two or more antidepressants failed to help. We build that documentation and submit the prior authorization ourselves, and we verify your benefits before your first visit at no cost.

With insurance, most patients pay a per-session copay in the $0–$50 range. Without insurance, a full course of 36 to 45 sessions runs roughly $6,000 to $12,000. Call us and we'll tell you your actual number before you commit to anything.

No. The confusion is understandable but the two treatments have little in common. ECT requires general anesthesia, deliberately induces a seizure, and can affect memory. TMS uses a targeted magnetic pulse, requires no anesthesia, isn't designed to induce a seizure, and hasn't been associated with the memory problems that can follow ECT. You stay awake and drive yourself home.

In large real-world clinical studies of depression that hadn't responded to medication, roughly 50 to 60% of patients respond and about a third reach remission. For OCD, the pivotal Deep TMS trial found 38% of patients on active treatment responded compared with 11% on sham. These are averages from research and registry settings, not a guarantee of individual outcome. Your own likelihood depends on your history, and we'll assess that at the consultation instead of quoting you a number from a study.

The common one is discomfort or pain at the treatment site, in about one in three patients, mostly during the first week. Headache is also common. Both usually ease within the first week or two. TMS has no systemic side effects: no weight gain, no sexual dysfunction, no cognitive dulling. The one serious risk is seizure. In the largest real-world survey, covering over 586,000 sessions, it occurred at roughly one per 32,000 sessions, and we screen for the factors that raise that risk before you start.

About 20 minutes of stimulation. With check-in and setup, plan on 30 minutes in the office. Your first appointment is longer, closer to an hour, because that's when we map your treatment location and dose.

A standard course is around 36 sessions: daily treatment five days a week for roughly six weeks, then a short taper. About two months in total. Some people need a few more. Some do better with an accelerated protocol that compresses the course into one or two weeks.

Deep TMS uses an H-shaped coil that reaches broader and deeper regions of the brain than a standard figure-8 coil. It carries FDA authorization for both depression and OCD. Sessions feel similar and take a similar amount of time.

Accelerated protocols deliver several sessions per day, compressing a full course into one to two weeks instead of two months. The Stanford SAINT protocol pioneered the approach. In its randomized trial, 14 patients received active treatment and 15 received sham; 79% of the active group met remission criteria at some point during the four-week follow-up, compared with 13% of the sham group. At the single four-week timepoint the figures were 57% and 0%. The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis. It's a small study and the numbers should be read with that in mind. Accelerated TMS suits people who can't commit to a six-week weekday schedule.

TMS is FDA-cleared for reducing anxiety symptoms in adults who have major depressive disorder. It is not cleared for generalized anxiety disorder on its own. In practice, many of our patients being treated for depression report their anxiety easing as well.

In a one-year follow-up study, about 62% of people who responded to TMS maintained that response over twelve months, typically while continuing antidepressant medication, and around a third received additional TMS sessions during that year. If symptoms return, a shorter maintenance course often restores the benefit.

No. You can book directly with us, whether you're new to psychiatric care or switching practices. Call (240) 599-1001 or book online.

Consultations are often available the same week. Once you're approved, treatment usually begins within a few days. The main variable is your insurer's prior authorization turnaround, and we push that along on your behalf.

That's a decision for you and your prescriber, made gradually and with monitoring. Many people stay on medication throughout TMS and afterward. Nobody here will tell you to stop anything on your own.