How MeRT Brain Care Can Significantly Reduce Depression as a Drug-Free Alternative

Mental illnesses such as depression, PTSD, and even addiction are typically treated with medications or atypical antipsychotics in conjunction with therapy. Others may be treated with a combination of drugs—selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)—therapy, and dietary changes. As a drug-free alternative, MeRT (magnetic resonance therapy) brain care is now being used by Warriors Heart residential treatment facility in Bandera, Texas, to significantly reduce depression and addiction.

The medical and clinical teams partnered with Wave Neuroscience to use MeRT. It is a personalized approach to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and has helped heal military, veterans, and first responder clients struggling primarily with addiction, PTSD, mild TBI, and co-occurring issues.

MeRT is a brain care technology that is utilized along with therapy to provide a personalized, non-invasive, drug-free alternative for clients to rapidly overcome symptoms from a wide range of brain-related issues, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, and traumatic brain injury. It's been one of the most promising developments that the Warriors Heart has seen in the mental health space. 

To date, the Warriors Heart’s team has successfully treated 40 clients with MeRT. Three of those clients returned to the facility after 1 year of sobriety to obtain a recharge on MeRT treatment. All 3 continued to have improved quality of life, measured by sobriety and a reduction of depression and anxiety symptoms.

Another measuring tool that Warriors Heart uses to track results is Trac 9, a clinical assessment tool that tracks an individual's progress through questioning. It measures the individual's anxiety, depression, quality of life, and cravings, and other metrics. Trac 9 is a beneficial tool when assessing a patient’s progress through MeRT treatment.

As a case study example, below is an individual patient’s progress chart throughout residential treatment that compares their pathology factors when they started MeRT compared to when they were discharged. This particular individual was admitted to MeRT treatment on February 14 and discharged on April 19. As you can see from this chart, there was a significant reduction in depression, anxiety, cravings, and overall stress (click to enlarge):

Jennifer A. Wade, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, is a family nurse practitioner for Warriors Heart.

The views expressed in What Works are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Addiction Professional, the Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Learning Network, or other Network authors. Perspectives entries are not medical advice.