At Phoenix Mental Health Services our psychiatrists are expert at managing treatment resistant depression. As well as many medical interventions, we have psychologists, psychotherapists and a CBT therapist, all of whom may have a role to play in treating this condition. The range of medical interventions is quite considerable and we can prescribe many different antidepressants, anxiolytics and adjunctive treatment for your condition. The NHS is constrained as to what medications can be prescribed (according to area) but, in private practice, no such limitations exist. It is also possible that, in addition to currently available treatments, nasal Esketamine can be prescribed.
As well as medical and psychological therapy, we are very pleased that we are now able to offer repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for both depression and anxiety – sometimes it is appropriate to treat both of these concurrently. This is NICE-approved and is suitable for a wide range of patients. It can also be an effective alternative for those who either cannot tolerate or do not wish to take drugs for this condition.
If, after an assessment by one of our psychiatrists, it is agreed that you would benefit from this, you will be treated by our experienced rTMS therapist. Depending on the individual, we can usually offer 2 treatments per day, meaning that significant improvement could occur as early as 2 to 3 weeks.
Therapy is almost pain-free and can be taken in combination with most medications. There are virtually no side effects other than a mild headache and perhaps some light-headedness. In between treatments, why not visit Perkys around the front of our building.
rTMS may be covered by your insurance company. Our understanding is that it is covered by Aviva. If you are insured by them, please note that all claims must be authorised by the Aviva Claims Department prior to treatment. Self-payment is always an option. Please enquire for further details.
Read our senior rTMS therapist, Jasmin Parmar, interview with MagVenture here. She discusses how our clinic got into using TMS, patient experiences with using rTMS to treat depression and how COVID-19 affected our practice and TMS clinic.