We asked a variety of local businesses the following question:
“We use a technology called TMS to improve our patient’s lives.” – Dr. Lorraine Innes, owner TMS of Westchester in Mount Kisco
For some people, antidepressants, therapy and/or pain medication aren’t enough. They don’t fully treat the symptoms, and it can make daily life more challenging.
Our philosophy has always been that you must treat the whole person, which means understanding a person’s entire history, not just their medical information and examining all potential treatments.
“We’ve found that Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS/MeRT) can improve our patient’s lives,” says Dr. Lorraine Innes, owner of TMS of Westchester in Mount Kisco. “It’s a non-invasive procedure that uses magnetic coils to stimulate nerve cells in the brain. TMS is an FDA-approved treatment for major depression, OCD and pain, and proven effective for brain optimization, sleep disorders, PTSD, cognitive problems, autism spectrum disorder and more.”
With TMS, an electromagnetic coil, placed on the scalp, delivers magnetic pulses that stimulate nerve cells to the affected region of the brain. It’s believed these pulses activate or calm the parts of the brain affected by different diagnoses.
“We’ve had incredible results,” Innes says. “For example, we treated a 19-year-old woman with depression and PTSD who just couldn’t progress in her life, despite being in therapy and on medication. After receiving TMS, she was able to progress more in her therapy, and she finished college and has become a successful therapist.”
Another memorable story is a 76-year-old retired nurse who had multiple spinal surgeries, experienced chronic pain and walked crouched over. After completing the peripheral pain treatment using TMS, she could stand up straight, had much less pain and smiled a lot more. She was a different person!
While TMS won’t work for everyone, between 80 to 90 percent of the people we have treated benefit, while 50 to 70 percent get better.
“We also treated a 66-year-old former CEO, who had sought treatment for depression for eight years, and nothing, including medication had worked,” says Innes. “But TMS changed everything. He finally felt like himself again, and he began to enjoy life once more.”
We also use the same technology to perform a treatment called MeRT (Magnetic Resonance Therapy), which optimizes brain function.
“Studies have shown that when the alpha waves in our brain are synchronized, organized and maximized, our brains work at their best,” Innes explains. “Then, a lot of other symptoms—like depression, anxiety, PTSD, cognitive problems, memory issues and sleep—will drop away.”
Similarly, research has found there’s a difference in the amount of alpha wave activity in children with autism, compared to neurotypical children.
“We recently treated an eight-year-old boy with autism,” says Innes. “His mother’s wish was to have a conversation with her son. By the end of treatment, she had her wish! Plus, he could interact with other people more easily, he was sleeping better, and he was willing to try new foods and activities.”
This technology has changed so many lives. One of our patients, a 71-year-old woman who struggled with depression and an eating disorder for years and had tried numerous treatments without success.
But after completing MeRT she told us, it changed her life. She explained it this way “I believe MeRT stimulates pathways that have gone dormant or never had a chance to develop as they do in people growing up in environments in which they felt cherished and important.”
On the EEG, we could actually see her brain “light up.”
TMS of Westchester is located at 280 North Bedford Road in Mount Kisco. For more information, visit tmsofwestchester.com or call 914.241.0758.
This article was published in the September/October 2024 edition of Connect to Northern Westchester.
The editorial staff at Connect To magazine.