Baptist Health offers new magnet therapy for severe depression

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A new therapy to help people suffering from severe depression is now being offered at Baptist Behavioral Health in Jacksonville.

The new therapy uses magnets to stimulate certain areas of the brain.

Patients undergo the roughly 40-minute therapy, known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, while sitting in a chair similar to a dentists.

For Ronald Rosener, depression has been a reality he’s battled for most of his life.

“It kicked in and hasn't let up and that was about the time I had a couple suicide attempts,” Rosener said.

Now Ronald is trying something new. After years of medications and other treatments not working, he’s in week six of transcranial magnetic stimulation at Baptist Behavioral Health.

“After the fourth week before my mood was getting better, I wasn't having such dark thoughts,” Rosener said.

It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008 for treatment of severe depression. The therapy uses a magnetic field to stimulate regions of the brain known to affect mood. Over 18,000 people have been treated in the country.

“It's another tool in our arsenal of treatments for depression,” said Dr. Refai, with Baptist Behavioral Health.

“It's comfortable like a dentist chair and you just relax. And....you feel like you have a football helmet on your head,” Rosener said.

For 37 minutes, five days a week Ronald sits in this chair. No cutting or surgery is required.

“It shows that there's always hope available and that we're always striving to improve people's quality of life,” Refai said.

“It feels good you know it feels like finally, I've been trying for this a long long time to feel better and I'm glad that I do finally feel better,” Rosener said.

The treatments last anywhere from four to five weeks.

Baptist Health is the first health system in the Jacksonville area to offer this treatment. It is covered by Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield and other insurance companies. Patients need a referral.