Health provider ‘mending minds’ in Fareham clinic
Treatments offered for depression, anxiety, addiction and OCD
A HEALTH provider is opening a new clinic offering treatments for depression, anxiety, addiction and OCD.
Smart TMS already has eight clinics across the UK and since opening the first in London in 2015, has treated more than 500 patients.
The Hampshire clinic was previously in Havant but has now relocated to the Cams Hall Estate, Fareham.
The clinic offers TMS – transcranial magnetic stimulation – at £6,000 a course using electro-magnetic pulses to rebalance areas of the brain affected by conditions such as depression and addiction.
Chief executive Gerard Barnes said: ‘Smart TMS is delighted to be offering transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) from our clinic in Fareham.
‘TMS is an innovative new treatment for depression and other mental health conditions which has already changed the lives of thousands of patients.
‘It represents hope for many who have lived with these conditions for too long.’
He said that TMS gradually stimulates the brain’s pathways, in a non-invasive way, and patients are able to drive, return to work and continue normal activities after treatment.
It ‘inhibits areas of over-excitability or excites areas of underactivity to rebalance altered brain functions,’ Smart TMS says.
It also claims that the repetitive nature of the treatment builds the brain’s neuroplasticity.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence assessed the safety and efficacy of TMS in 2015 and approved it as a treatment for depression.
Smart TMS charges £6,000 for a six-week course of 30 half an hour sessions, covering five days a week.
The private healthcare company said that out of its patients who are treated for depression, 75 per cent see a significant reduction in their symptoms, and six in 10 enter remission.
The NHS and charities provide free mental health treatment – see nhs.uk or hubofhope.co.uk
Treatment can be available on the NHS although availability is limited with strict criteria for funding.
Smart TMS works with private medical insurers Bupa, Axa, Aviva, Vitality, Allianz, WPA, The Exeter and Healix.
In response to the pandemic, Smart TMS started a free mental health support helpline, which offers up to five free online support sessions with a practitioner.
To find out more, visit smarttms.co.uk