TMS Therapy in Westbury, NY: The Magnetic Alternative to Depression Medication

Standard TMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS) is the original FDA-approved protocol with the longest track record and the strongest research base. It runs as one daily session, five days a week, across roughly six weeks.

Each session delivers high-frequency magnetic pulses (typically 10 Hz) to your left DLPFC. The stimulation activates neurons in the underactive region and progressively restores normal activity patterns. Session length ranges from 19 to 37 minutes depending on protocol parameters.

Standard sessions deliver 3,000 pulses each. Across a full 36-session course, patients receive over 100,000 total pulses, which is the cumulative stimulation that produces durable changes in brain function.

Treatment Schedule:

• One session per day, Monday through Friday
• Six weeks of daily treatment (30 sessions)
• Six additional “booster” sessions over three weeks
• 36 total treatments

Session Experience: You’ll sit in a comfortable chair while we position the TMS coil against your scalp. The device delivers magnetic pulses that feel like tapping on your head. Most patients read, watch videos on their phone, or simply relax during sessions. You’re awake and alert throughout.

Timeline for Results: Most patients begin noticing improvement within two to four weeks. Benefits typically continue building throughout the treatment course and often persist for months to years after completion.

Accelerated TMS collapses the standard six-week course into a single work week by running multiple sessions per day. Our protocol delivers 50 total sessions across five consecutive days, adapted from the Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT) framework — the research approach that reshaped rapid depression treatment.

This format is designed for patients who need faster results, can commit one full week to treatment, or have completed standard TMS with limited response.

Stanford researchers developed SAINT after recognizing that six weeks is often too long to wait for severely depressed or actively suicidal patients. Their approach uses intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS), a newer form of TMS that delivers therapeutic pulses in concentrated bursts. Each iTBS session takes about three minutes rather than 19 to 37, but research shows equivalent clinical effectiveness.

A 2024 meta-analysis published in BMC Psychiatry examined accelerated TMS studies and found significant depression score reduction post-treatment, with no meaningful difference between accelerated and standard protocols. The analysis also documented sustained benefit at follow-up, with depression scores remaining lower months after treatment concluded.

Stanford’s original SAINT research reported response rates approaching 90 percent with remission rates near 80 percent in treatment-resistant patients. A 2024 pilot study published in Brain Stimulation using a pragmatic accelerated protocol reported 70 percent response and 55 percent remission at four-week follow-up, with effect sizes almost three times what’s typically classified as “large.”

Treatment Schedule:

• 10 sessions per day for 5 consecutive days
• Sessions spaced approximately one hour apart
• 50 total treatments completed in one week
• Each iTBS session takes approximately 3 minutes

A Typical Treatment Day: You’ll arrive in the morning and receive your first session. After each treatment, you’ll have about 50 minutes before your next session. Many patients work on laptops, make phone calls, read, or relax between sessions. Lunch is taken between sessions. You’ll finish in the late afternoon.

The five-day schedule typically runs Monday through Friday. You’ll need to arrange transportation for the treatment week since we recommend not driving during the intensive treatment period.

Timeline for Results: Many patients notice improvement within the first few days of treatment. Research shows depression scores typically decrease progressively each treatment day. Benefits are often well-established by the end of the five-day protocol and maintained at follow-up.

One-Day TMS (ONE-D) is the most condensed TMS format offered, delivering 20 iTBS sessions in a single day alongside medications designed to enhance neuroplasticity. It’s built for patients who need the absolute fastest treatment timeline available.

The ONE-D protocol builds on the same iTBS foundation as accelerated TMS but compresses the treatment window further. You receive 20 iTBS sessions spaced across a single day, timed to allow the brain to respond between each stimulation.

What makes ONE-D distinct is the addition of two medications that temporarily heighten neuroplasticity — your brain’s ability to form new connections. The goal is to maximize the plastic changes TMS produces during a brief, intensive treatment window.

One-day protocols represent the current frontier of TMS research. The ONE-D combination isn’t yet FDA-approved as a specific protocol, though its underlying components are established. Research has shown that multiple daily sessions are safe and effective, neuroplasticity-enhancing medications can meaningfully augment TMS effects, and compressed protocols can produce rapid improvement.

Early data from single-day intensive protocols is promising, though this approach has less long-term follow-up data than standard or five-day accelerated formats.

You’ll meet with a member of our psychiatric team for a full evaluation. We review your treatment history, current presentation, and treatment goals to confirm TMS is appropriate and to select the right protocol format. For standard TMS, we handle insurance verification and prior authorization end-to-end.

Session one includes motor threshold determination — the calibration step that identifies the minimum magnetic intensity needed to activate your motor cortex. This individualized calibration ensures treatment is matched precisely to your neural responsiveness.

You’ll be seated in a comfortable treatment chair with the coil positioned against your scalp. The magnetic pulses feel like light tapping. The sensation is unfamiliar at first but almost every patient adjusts within the first session or two. You stay awake and alert throughout.

TMS has an excellent safety profile compared to psychiatric medications. The most common side effect is mild scalp discomfort or headache during or shortly after treatment, which typically responds to over-the-counter pain relievers and often diminishes as the treatment course progresses.

Unlike antidepressants, TMS doesn’t cause weight gain, sexual dysfunction, emotional blunting, or withdrawal. It’s safe for elderly patients and doesn’t create drug interactions.

Our practice is led by board-certified psychiatrists, unlike TMS centers run primarily by non-psychiatric clinicians. Diagnostic assessment comes first, so the recommendation you receive genuinely reflects clinical fit rather than defaulting to the service the practice happens to offer.

TMS is one tool in our comprehensive treatment toolkit. If TMS alone doesn’t provide complete relief, we can add medication management, therapy, ketamine treatment, or other approaches without referring you elsewhere. Your care stays coordinated under one roof.

We’re one of the few practices offering standard, accelerated, and one-day TMS protocols. Whether you need insurance-covered treatment that fits around work or the fastest possible results, we have an option for you.