Transcranial magnetic stimulation is coming to Cognitive Works in 2027, for depression that has not responded to adequate medication trials. It will be offered the way everything here is offered: after the diagnosis has been examined, not instead of examining it.
TMS uses a focused magnetic field, delivered through a coil resting on the scalp, to stimulate the part of the prefrontal cortex that is underactive in depression. Repeated daily sessions over several weeks change how that circuit fires. It is not electroconvulsive therapy: there is no anesthesia, no seizure is induced, memory is not affected, and you drive yourself to and from each session. It has been cleared by the FDA for major depressive disorder since 2008, and in published studies roughly half of patients with treatment-resistant depression respond and about a third reach remission.
TMS treats a disease. The question we ask first is whether depression is the disease you have, and whether it has been treated adequately. That is the four-perspectives approach applied to a procedure: a treatment that fails is often a treatment aimed at the wrong kind of problem.
TMS will be delivered in person at our Chanhassen office, supervised by the medical director, with one treatment room. That means a limited number of courses at a time and a waitlist rather than a sales call. Evaluations can begin before the room opens; the earliest courses will go to patients who have completed the evaluation. Insurance coverage criteria and self-pay pricing will be published on this page before the first session.
Name and a way to reach you. We will contact you when evaluations for TMS begin. No clinical details here, please. TMS is in person at our Chanhassen, Minnesota office.
Current patients can also ask about TMS at any visit.
Adults with major depressive disorder that has not responded to adequate trials of antidepressant medication. Most insurers require two to four adequate trials and a trial of psychotherapy. We re-evaluate the diagnosis before recommending it; depression that was never correctly diagnosed does not get better with a better treatment for the wrong problem.
Most people feel a tapping sensation on the scalp and some have a headache after the first sessions, which usually fades within the first week. There is no anesthesia and no recovery time; you drive yourself home. Seizure is a rare risk, which is why screening and supervision matter.
A standard course is about 36 sessions over six to seven weeks, five days a week at first, each session roughly 20 minutes in the chair, followed by a taper. Shorter theta-burst protocols take a few minutes per session and are offered when appropriate.
Most major plans cover TMS for treatment-resistant depression when their criteria are met; we handle the prior authorization and tell you the expected cost before the first session. Self-pay pricing will be published here before opening.
Yes. Everyone on the waitlist is offered an evaluation first; TMS is recommended only when the evaluation supports it.