Your first TMS session is not just about starting treatment—it’s about building clarity, comfort, and trust.
Before this visit, you will have already completed:
- A comprehensive psychiatric evaluation
- A consultation with our TMS coordinator, where you had the opportunity to ask questions
Preparing for Your First Session
We recommend:
- Being well hydrated
- Eating beforehand
- Bringing a family member or support person, if that feels helpful to you
This is entirely your choice, but many patients find it reassuring.
Review and Informed Consent
At the beginning of your session, you will meet again with your psychiatrist to:
- Review the indication for TMS
- Go over contraindications and safety considerations
- Discuss risks and benefits
- Explain how to prepare for ongoing sessions
This is a collaborative process. We take time to ensure all your questions are answered before moving forward.
Motor Threshold Mapping: Personalizing Your Treatment
The first session includes a process called motor threshold determination.
This is how we individualize your treatment.
It involves:
- Identifying the specific brain area to be stimulated
- Determining the appropriate level (dose) of stimulation for your brain
- Adjusting both location and intensity based on your response
For Deep TMS, this process helps us ensure that stimulation is both effective and tolerable, tailored specifically to you.
You may notice small movements (such as in your hand), which help guide this calibration.
During the Process
We move step by step.
At any point:
- If something feels unclear
- If you feel uncomfortable
- If you need reassurance
We pause, adjust, and explain.
You are not expected to “push through” anything. Remember this is your treatment.
Our Focus in the First Session
We do not expect immediate symptom relief from the first treatment.
What we do focus on is:
- Establishing comfort
- Building trust
- Creating a therapeutic connection
This foundation is essential. Treatment works best when you feel informed, supported, and at ease with the process.
Call the Institute for Advanced Psychiatry of you want to lean more