Frequently Asked Questions

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 but the ministry never did anything with it. We are hopeful that TMS 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.

Pricing is dependent on the TMS Protocol and number of sessions recommended. Standard acute treatment requires between 30 to 50 sessions. Many individuals will benefit from stabilization and maintenance sessions after treating the acute course.

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.