Dr. Chris Taplin,a psychiatrist and founder of Ottawa’s TMS Life clinic, joins us for a deep dive into one of the most promising frontiers in psychiatric care: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS. As clinicians, many of us have encountered the heartbreak of treatment-resistant depression — watching clients struggle despite best-practice psychotherapy and pharmacology. TMS offers a non-invasive, evidence-based alternative that is reshaping how we approach these cases. In this conversation, we unpack the science, patient experience, clinical decision-making, and broader implications of this technology. Whether you’re a skeptic, a curious clinician, or already working with neuromodulation, I think you’ll find this a thoughtful, grounded look at where TMS fits in the future of mental health treatment.
Topics We Cover:
🧠 Understanding TMS
– What is TMS, and how does it work?
– FDA-approved indications vs. emerging off-label uses
– How TMS compares to ECT and other neuromodulation tools
🪑 The Patient Experience
– What a typical TMS session looks and feels like
– Common side effects and time course of therapeutic response
– What patients report during and after a course of treatment
🔬 Mechanisms and Research
– What brain mechanisms underlie TMS’s effectiveness?
– Neuroplasticity and circuit-level change
– Emerging biomarkers and predictors of treatment response
🌍 Broader Impacts
– How TMS is shifting the landscape for treatment-resistant depression
– What’s new and exciting in TMS research
– Future directions: Could TMS expand to anxiety, PTSD, or neurological conditions?
⚖️ Practical and Ethical Considerations
– Barriers to access and systemic challenges
– How to assess if a patient is a good candidate
– Ethical issues in offering brain-based treatments
👥 Personal Insights
– Dr. Taplin’s journey into TMS
– A powerful patient success story
– Guidance for clinicians exploring TMS integration
Dr. Chris Taplin, MD, FRCPC is a board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of TMS Life, a leading mental health clinic based in Ottawa, Ontario. He specializes in the treatment of complex and treatment-resistant mental health conditions, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and sports-related psychiatric concerns.
Dr. Taplin is a nationally recognized expert in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and completed specialized training in repetitive TMS at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). His clinical approach integrates TMS with evidence-based psychotherapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure and response prevention (ERP), and interpersonal therapy, offering a comprehensive and individualized care model for his patients.
A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Dr. Taplin completed his psychiatry residency in Ontario and has been in independent practice since 2022. He is deeply committed to improving access to innovative treatments and has contributed to academic efforts aimed at enhancing psychiatric education and recruitment.
Outside of his clinical work, Dr. Taplin enjoys spending time with his family, rock climbing, and connecting with nature.
