How do you manage expectations around response time and durability of benefit in patients starting TMS?

Re: response time, I tell patients it is typical to not notice a lot of change in the first few weeks. Sometimes the clinician will observe brightening of affect earlier, but the patient him/herself often does not notice a whole lot. I use the 'going to the gym' analogy... a few days will not yield any appreciable difference, but with consistency, we see progress!

I always validate that when you are depressed, it is hard to get up and out, so we give a lot of positive reinforcement for regular a...

TMS is not a knee replacement or an appendectomy - something we simply “do” to our patients. We are treating people living with depression, not merely or only treating brain circuits. In my experience, managing expectations for TMS is fundamentally the same as engaging patients in any depression treatment. Treating clinical depression remains difficult, even with our increasingly powerful tools. Restoring reasonable hope, while remaining honest about uncertainty, is central to good care.

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