Revolutionizing Mental Health: Exploring TMS and BeyondRevolutionizing Mental Health: Exploring TMS and Beyond
I Love Being Sober
Tim Westbrook talks with Dr Richard Bermudez about deep TMS, how it works on the brain, and its use alongside medication, therapy and ketamine. The conversation focuses on depression, anxiety and addiction recovery, with an emphasis on safety, durability and future applications of TMS.
1:34:10•3 Dec 2024
TMS, Ketamine and Recovery: Rethinking How We Heal the Brain
Episode Overview
- TMS is a non‑invasive, magnetic brain stimulation technique that can significantly reduce depression and anxiety, with around 60–80% of patients showing strong improvement when combined with other supports.
- Deep TMS uses specially shaped coils to reach broader and deeper brain networks than standard TMS, which can lead to better outcomes and fewer missed targets.
- TMS is FSA cleared for major depression (including late‑life depression), anxiety linked to depression, OCD and nicotine dependence, and often works best alongside medication and psychotherapy.
- The safety profile of TMS is highly favourable, with no systemic side‑effects and seizure risk rated as extremely rare, making it suitable even for many people with complex medical histories.
- Future directions include accelerated treatment schedules, adolescent indications and expanded applications in addiction, potentially offering more rapid and accessible support for people in recovery.
“TMS belongs with the other pillars of mental health and substance use disorder treatments. We can change the brain a number of ways, and when we have more tools in our toolbox, the better it is for everybody.”
How do different strategies aid in addiction recovery? This conversation focuses on transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a serious new player in mental health care and how it fits alongside traditional tools like medication, therapy, and even ketamine. Aimed at people in recovery, families, and clinicians, the chat keeps the science practical and firmly tied to real-life outcomes.
You’ll hear Dr Richard Bermudez, National Medical Director at BrainsWay, explain his journey from electrical engineering to psychiatry and why he became passionate about “non‑invasive brain stimulation”.
He breaks down deep TMS in plain language, describing it as “a neuroplastic tool” that’s “actually safer than paracetamol” and saying, “TMS belongs with the other pillars of mental health and substance use disorder treatments… when we have more tools in our toolbox, the better it is for everybody.” The discussion walks through what TMS is, how the different coils target key brain networks, and the conditions it’s cleared to treat, including major depression, anxiety, OCD and nicotine dependence.
There’s a strong focus on addiction and recovery: how TMS can support mood, reduce suffering, and make it easier to engage with therapy, community, and spiritual growth. Both Tim Westbrook and Dr Bermudez share that they’ve personally had TMS, describing it like a “runner’s high” and noticing more flexible thinking instead of feeling stuck.
You’ll also get honest talk about limitations, safety concerns, and where TMS is *not* the answer, as well as how it compares with ketamine and other psychedelics in terms of durability and side‑effects. The tone stays hopeful without overpromising, stressing that remission is possible for many people and that the future likely holds faster protocols, broader access and more applications in addiction.
If you’re curious whether adding TMS to your recovery toolkit could ease depression, anxiety or cravings, this episode gives you plenty to think about—could this be the extra support your brain’s been missing?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.