TMS for Teens—a non-invasive outpatient treatment that stimulates the brain to treat depression is FDA-approved for ages 15-plus.
The FDA recently approved Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) treatments for adolescent depression. This gives parents and their teens a low-risk, non-medication depression treatment option to consider. While the FDA has newly approved it for teen depression, TMS has been used to treat adult patients for more than a decade. It’s powerful enough to fight treatment-resistant depression and safe enough to be the recommended depression treatment for pregnant patients.
Get to know this non-medication treatment option that is safe and effective for teen depression.
What is TMS, and how does it treat depression?
When patients are depressed, their brain scans show low levels of brain activity in the DLPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). TMS works by sending electromagnetic pulses a few centimeters into the brain, precisely targeting the area that helps control mood.
These electromagnetic waves stimulate the brain to increase activity. When this area of the brain reactivates, roughly 75% of patients report a significant lift in their mood.
Why was TMS therapy FDA-approved for teens aged 15 and older?
TMS therapy has been FDA-approved since 2008 for adults with depression who tried other treatments without an improvement in symptoms. This provided patients with a more lasting effect. That’s because the magnetic pulses created by a TMS machine stimulate neuronal activity in the brain and stimulate neuronal growth. In 2023, Stanford Medical research found that TMS corrects the abnormal flow of electrons in the brain.
Because it works differently than common antidepressant medications, TMS can be safely used in combination with other treatment methods or medications. Or it can be used as an alternative to antidepressants. Unlike many antidepressant medications that will need to be taken every day for years, TMS is completed in a series of short, in-office appointments over several weeks.
Many parents worry about how antidepressant medications will affect their teen’s development. TMS typically causes only mild and temporary side effects. Scalp discomfort and headaches are the most common side effects. They usually begin to fade right after the treatment ends.
In a recent article, A New Treatment for Adolescent Depression: FDA Approves Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Len Lantz, MD cites several studies over the past two decades that support the safety and effectiveness of TMS for teen depression.
Getting Help For Teen Depression
If your teen has not been seen by a mental health provider yet, you may have some additional questions. Here are some common questions I receive from parents at their first psychiatric appointment for their teen.
Is this depression?
If you or your child are concerned they might have depression, don’t hesitate to have them seen by a doctor. That concern likely suggests that they may indeed have diagnosable depression that is readily treatable. It’s all too common for parents or even practitioners to mistake teen depression symptoms for typical adolescent developmental changes or “growing pains”. Due to delayed diagnosis, teenagers tend to have more severe symptoms than adults when they are first seen by a mental health provider.
If you think your teen may have depression, it’s best to see a psychiatrist to discuss their symptoms. Whether your teenager has a depressive disorder depends on their symptoms, severity, length, and frequency. Before your appointment, note any symptoms your teenager experiences, when they began, and anything that improves or worsens symptoms.
The National Institute of Health states that suicide is the third leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 15-24. (It’s the number one killer of children ages 10-14.) Treating depression is the number one way to prevent teen suicides. We encourage parents to always take their child’s concerns seriously if they think they have depression. The earlier you seek treatment, the better.
DON’T HESITATE: If you think your child is in crisis or suicidal, call or text the national suicide prevention hotline at 988 immediately. Read more on teen suicide signs and prevention.
Did I do something wrong?
It is not unusual for a parent to feel like they did something wrong if their child has a mental health concern. Yet half of the world’s population will have a mental health disorder at some point in their life, and most begin in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood (Queensland Brain Institute).
Having your child come to you with a mental health concern is a sign of good parenting. You have taught them to recognize when something is wrong and to ask for help when they need it. The same goes if you recognize symptoms first and turn to professionals for help.
In today’s world mental illnesses are recognized as part of life and no longer carry the stigma they once did. If your teen has a mental health issue, you have the chance to show them the most important thing: seeking help.
What are the safest and most effective treatment options for depression in teens?
The best treatment for your teen will depend on their unique symptoms. For example, some patients have difficulty sleeping, which we can address with certain types of depression medications.
Generally speaking, however, one of the safest and most effective depression treatments on the market is now FDA-approved for teens. TMS is a non-invasive, non-medication treatment with minimal side effects that is an important option for parents to consider with their teen.
Will my child need depression treatment their entire life?
Depending on the treatment that you, your teen, and their medical provider decide, your teen may need depression treatment for years. One of the major benefits of TMS treatment for teens is that it is given over a series of several weeks. After the initial 6 weeks of treatment, some patients will not need any further treatments, while others will require occasional maintenance.
If being tied to an antidepressant medication for years is a concern, TMS may be the best option.
Brian Johns, MD is a Minneapolis psychiatrist and a mental health leader who helped shape ketamine treatment for depression in Minnesota and the nation. He co-authored a Minnesota VA Hospital medical trial to open the door for ketamine treatment to change–from a revolving-door hospital intervention, to an ongoing regimen at an outpatient clinic–while setting the benchmark for ketamine infusions nationwide. He then developed the region’s first ketamine infusion clinic. Over the past several years, he has administered or overseen thousands of ketamine treatments. Dr. Johns is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School and completed his residency in Psychiatry. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.