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No, Referrals are not required. Patients interested in receiving TMS are encouraged to reach out to the clinic directly either via telephone or e-mail. A member of our team will respond as soon as possible.

No, it’s not yet covered by OHIP. In 2016, Health Quality Ontario (HQO) submitted a report to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and it recommended that TMS Therapy be a covered benefit of OHIP.  We are hopeful that TMS Therapy will be covered in the next couple of years but we don’t know for sure.

Please contact your benefit or insurance provider to see if you qualify for full or partial coverage of TMS therapy. If you were involved in a motor vehicle accident, your insurance will likely cover it if it is necessary and reasonable. Blue Cross for Veterans Affairs and active Canadian Forces personnel will usually cover it for Treatment-Resistant Depression and/or PTSD.

An acute treatment course of TMS in Ontario typically costs between $8000 t0 $10, 000. Pricing is dependent on the TMS Protocol and number of sessions recommended required. Standard acute treatment requires between 30 to 50 sessions. Many individuals will benefit and be recommended maintenance sessions.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our team about pricing and payment options.

Many patients are able to stop their antidepressants once they respond to TMS Therapy. Some prefer to stay on them as the two therapies act synergistically to help relieve depressive symptoms. Also, studies have shown that TMS treatments can “revive” an antidepressant that had lost most, if not all, its beneficial effects on a patient. That antidepressant can also be used to do the Maintenance Therapy if continuing with periodic TMS treatments is not possible.

TMS therapy is not at all like Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT). ECT is a treatment based on using electricity to induce seizures. It is very effective and in many cases, it is a life-saver. ECT requires anesthesia and can have serious side-effects, including memory loss. It is only done in a hospital. On the other hand, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation uses electromagnetic pulses to non-invasively stimulate specific brain regions associated with major depressive disorder. No seizures are required for the treatment to be effective, and they are a very rare adverse event (< 4/50000) that we avoid at all costs. TMS therapy is performed in our office, requires no anesthesia, and has no systemic side effects.

Yes, TMS Therapy has been approved by Health Canada for clinical use in Canada since 2002.

Individuals who have failed ECT OR previously failed a complete course of rTMS (at least 30 sessions) are less likely to benefit from the treatment.

Individuals with a seizure disorder, implanted medical devices in or near the brain (cochlear ear implants, pacemakers) or who have ferromagnetic materials in the head or neck (dental work is fine) are not able to have TMS Therapy.

Living with a treatment resistant condition such as depression, OCD or PTSD can be insufferable and has serious consequences including harm to self and harm to others. TMS Therapy is a safe and effective treatment and it is worth trying if medications and psychotherapy are not working.

Similar to all treatments for mental health, the duration of benefit from TMS varies from individual to individual. Maintenance treatment is often recommended to reduce the risk of relapse.

Research has shown that TMS Therapy is a promising treatment to reduce anxiety. Many of our clients experience a reduction in their anxiety symptoms during and after treatment.

There are many different types of TMS and different protocols. We provide Deep TMS using brainsway technology. They have demonstrated clinically significant response rates in 4 out of 5 individuals treated for depression and 60% of individuals treated for OCD.

The cost effectiveness of TMS Therapy has been demonstrated across many studies. It appears expensive in Canada because individuals are paying for it directly without any subsidy from the government. TMS is a specialized treatment that requires expensive technology, training and staff. All of which are factored into the pricing.

TMS Therapy is a treatment that many would recommend as first line if it was more widely available in our current healthcare system. TMS is helpful for many concerns but the greatest evidencec is for individuals with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, OCD and PTSD.