ALBANY — Pinnacle Behavioral Health prides itself on being on the “cutting edge” of discovering new treatments and modalities for mental health services. One of such treatments, TMS therapy, is proving to be a great success.
TMS stands for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and works to treat depression by creating a magnetic field around the brain that gets the brain’s neurons firing again. When an individual has depression, their neurons become inactive, so this stimulation is an effort to restore communication between neurons so they can once again produce dopamine, serotonin, and other chemicals.
Pinnacle incorporates Eastern practices like Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and Yoga in addition to therapy services and psychiatric medication management. Pinnacle’s Director of Operations, Rocco Pezzulo, explained that TMS is “another form” of this kind of energy treatment.
“A lot of mental health is not just stored in the mind, but also in the body. Mind and body are connected, so when you do things to move the energy in the body, it also gets the mind to kind of balance and heal as well,” he said.
TMS is not used in place of medication or therapy, but as a way to accelerate the healing process. Pinnacle has had over 10,000 TMS treatment sessions, with a reported 70-80 percent efficacy.
TMS is non-invasive, all-natural and spread out over a series of 36 sessions. “You’re in and out in about 20 minutes, like getting a cup of coffee,” said Pezzulo.
He noted that it is painless and feels like a tapping on the side of the head that some patients say sounds like a woodpecker. Some people have said to have had a light headache after their treatment, but otherwise experienced no discomfort.
It is not to be confused with Electroconvulsive Therapy, or ETC, which is more invasive and requires a hospital visit, anesthesia, and a pause from normal activity. “With TMS it’s the opposite,” said Pezzulo. “You can do all the activities you normally do. Exercise, lift heavy equipment, workout, go to work, drive…” Not only does this therapy allow for continued activity as normal, but it actually can be an enhancement. Pezzulo noted that some Wall Street elites were reported to have received TMS treatment in NYC to reach peak performance.
The practice is widely used in European countries for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and other disorders. In the United States, it is much less common and can only be used to treat depression, and in some cases OCD. Pezzulo said he hopes more people and practices become aware of the benefits and success of TMS treatments.
“I think this is the wave of the future,” he said.
Pezzulo explained that Pinnacle is always looking for new treatment options. “What I love about Pinnacle is that it doesn’t stay in its comfort zone and just do one thing over and over again,” he said.
Pinnacle Behavioral Health is located at 1 Pinnacle Place, Suite 102 in Albany.
For more information about Pinnacle’s TMS treatment and other behavioral health services, visit www.pinnaclebehavioralhealth.com. To schedule an appointment, call 518-509-4TMS (867).