BOZEMAN — It sounds like science fiction, but it's just science.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive treatment that uses targeted magnetic pulses to stimulate parts of the brain associated with mood regulation.
“I have actually experienced depression on and off for about ten years,” said Liz Orman, a Bozeman resident who has undergone TMS.
Orman is among the 34% of Montanans who’ve reported experiencing depression. After trying multiple antidepressants with little success, she said TMS was introduced to her at Psychiatry Associates.
“Here at Psychiatry Associates, which had introduced TMS to me around the fourth antidepressant that I’d been trying…” Liz recalled.
During TMS treatment, patients remain fully awake while a machine delivers focused magnetic pulses to targeted areas of the brain.
“This isn't ‘wooey’—it’s science. It is absolute cutting-edge neuroscience to demonstrate brain connectivity,” said Dr. Jami Eschler, a psychiatrist at Psychiatry Associates.
She explained that TMS is especially helpful for those who are medication-resistant, like Liz.
“This can result in a significant response for those patients—up to 70% improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms,” Eschler said.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 163,000 adults in Montana live with a mental health condition—nearly three times the population of Bozeman.
And while treatments like TMS are becoming more available in places like Bozeman and Billings, access remains a challenge: nearly 600,000 Montanans live in areas with a shortage of mental health professionals.
To better understand the science behind the treatment, I spoke with Dr. Ana Stan, also a psychiatrist at Psychiatry Associates.
“The TMS coil that is applied to the frontal cortex delivers varying magnetic fields that are transformed into electrical fields that increase the connection between the regions involving mood,” said Dr. Stan.
She says those disconnected mood-regulating areas begin communicating again, something that can be seen in brain scans.
“This actually is a depressed brain with no electrical activity, and this is a non-depressed brain,” said Orman, showing her own results.
But for her, the difference goes beyond the scans.
“I would say there are providers in your community who sincerely care about you and your mental health, Psychiatry Associates being one of them,” Orman said.
