EP 142 – Transforming Autism, OCD & PTSD With TMS & MeRT TherapyEP 142 – Transforming Autism, OCD & PTSD With TMS & MeRT Therapy
Kaleidoscope of Possibilities
Dr Adriana Popescu talks with Kelly J Ensen about how TMS and MeRT have supported her autistic son and many others living with depression, OCD, PTSD and related conditions. The discussion explains what TMS is, how it works, its costs, limits and benefits, and how it can complement therapy and medication in mental health and addiction recovery.
39:13•12 Oct 2026
Magnetising Change: TMS, MeRT and New Options for Autism, OCD & PTSD
Episode Overview
- TMS is a non-invasive, drug-free brain stimulation that aims to improve neural connectivity and can support conditions like depression, OCD, PTSD and autism-related challenges.
- Kelly’s son’s experience with TMS reduced his severe anxiety and OCD behaviours and allowed his medication load to drop from four drug classes at high doses to two at minimal doses.
- TMS is typically delivered five days a week for six to eight weeks, with newer accelerated protocols condensing multiple sessions into shorter timeframes.
- Common side effects are usually mild and temporary, such as headaches, scalp discomfort or temporary hyperactivity in children, but there are important contraindications that must be reviewed with a doctor.
- TMS is presented as a third modality to sit alongside therapy and medication, often making counselling feel more engaging and helping existing treatments work better.
“Think of your brain as a phone and think of the magnet as a phone charger.”
How do people find hope in the darkest times? This conversation between Dr Adriana Popescu and guest Kelly J Ensen shines a light on an option many people have never even heard of: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and its newer variants like MeRT. Kelly, from Brain Performance Technologies, shares how her search for help for her severely autistic son with escalating OCD and hoarding led her to TMS.
Standard medications at maximum doses weren’t working, and a frightening public meltdown pushed her into late-night research that eventually brought her to this non-invasive brain stimulation. For her family, those six weeks of daily 20‑minute sessions became a turning point, improving her son’s functioning, reducing his medication load, and changing the whole direction of her life. Across the conversation, the focus stays practical.
You’ll hear TMS compared in simple terms – “think of your brain as a phone and think of the magnet as a phone charger” – and get a plain-English picture of how it aims to reconnect parts of the brain that have gone offline from trauma, depression, anxiety, or autism-related stress.
Dr Adriana and Kelly talk through costs, side effects, who it might not be suitable for, and how insurance and politics still hold it back despite FDA clearances for conditions like treatment-resistant depression, OCD, PTSD, smoking cessation and more. The episode also highlights how TMS can sit alongside therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes rather than replacing them.
Kelly shares stories of veterans, first responders, teens and parents who report better sleep, more engagement in life, and renewed interest in therapy after treatment. For anyone affected by depression, OCD, PTSD, addictions, autism or traumatic brain injury – personally or in their family – this conversation offers a clear, down-to-earth look at a third option beyond just pills and talk. Could this be something to raise with a trusted health professional and add to your recovery toolkit?
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