TMS is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. It's an FDA approved therapy for major depressive disorder, where we use electromagnetic pulses to reregulate the front part of the brain, which becomes deregulated in major depressive disorder. So TMS is FDA approved for people that have failed one medication trial. But the people that typically come to the treatment-resistant mood disorders clinic are people that have failed three or more medication trials and are still experiencing significant symptoms of major depressive disorder. 

I've taken just about everything that's on the market just through the years. And I would either be numb or do better for just a very short period of time, but I wouldn't be great. It would just be a little better than rock-bottom. 

Typically a patient is referred to our clinic by their psychiatrist or a primary care doctor that's tried to treat their depression a number of different ways and is still having-- the persons still having significant mood symptoms. 

After I was referred for my primary care physician, I met with Dr. Hamilton and his team. They interviewed and evaluated me and found that I was the perfect candidate for the treatment. I thought, well, this has to be safer than medication, because there won't be any side effects to it. So why not give it a try. 

TMS has a significant time commitment. The individual treatments are only a half hour long, but it's a four to six week every weekday commitment. 

I was willing to do that if it was going to change the rest of my life. And about two weeks in, I woke up one day and I started seeing things in a different light, where I was excited to get out of bed and get started on what I had to do that day. 

For someone thinking about what they might do besides take the medication, the first thing I would say is don't lose hope. There are a number of treatments that we use for treatment-resistant depression. We know that fully a third of patients that experience depression will experience treatment-resistant depression and will need a more individualized tailored approach. That can include things like TMS. 

There are so many smart wonderful gifted people that suffer from depression. I feel like they need to try this, because they have such gifts to offer the world. And depression pulls you back. 

We're here at the Northridge Clinic on [INAUDIBLE], which is convenient clinic for people that are trying to avoid the hassles of going downtown. 

The location at Northridge is fantastic, because the parking, you come right in. And the greeters out front are wonderful. Everyone's been terrific. 

At UVA, we're not in the business of selling a particular kind of treatment. We need to have a patient centered approach, which involves as many tools in the toolbox as we can offer to help a patient achieve recovery.