Alpert Jewish Family Service recently opened the Neil S. Hirsch TMS Center in West Palm Beach, expanding access to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
TMS is an FDA-cleared, non-invasive treatment for adults with depression, depression with anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) whose symptoms have not adequately improved with standard treatments such as medication and psychotherapy.
TMS uses brief, focused magnetic pulses to stimulate the areas of the brain associated with mood regulation, which tend to show reduced activity in people with depression and OCD. There is no surgery, no anesthesia, and no systemic medication involved, and patients remain awake and alert throughout each session. A full course runs about 36 sessions over roughly six weeks, and patients can drive themselves to and from treatment. The FDA cleared TMS for depression in 2008, for depression with co-occurring anxiety in 2022, and for OCD in 2022 as an adjunct used alongside medication. In published studies, 50 to 66 percent of patients with treatment-resistant depression see a significant reduction in symptoms and about one-third reach full remission (source: NNDC and Clinical TMS Society consensus review, 2024; Sackeim et al., Journal of Affective Disorders, 2020).
“Too often, people struggling with mental health challenges like depression have lost hope and think that they will never feel better. Perhaps they have tried several medications that don’t seem to work, or they can’t tolerate the side effects,” said Dr. Elaine Rotenberg, chief clinical and strategy officer at Alpert JFS. “TMS gives us another door to open, a new opportunity to be hopeful. For many patients, it’s the first treatment that’s actually worked.”
TMS differs from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in several important ways. It does not require sedation or anesthesia. TMS is also not associated with the memory loss that can occur with ECT. The most common side effect is mild discomfort at or near the treatment site, which typically lessens after the first week of treatment.
The Neil S. Hirsch TMS Center, which will serve adults across the Palm Beaches, sits inside the organization’s broader continuum of mental health care — meaning patients who start TMS also have access to Alpert JFS counseling, support groups, and case management services. As a nonprofit serving Palm Beach County since 1974, Alpert JFS prioritizes need and works to keep cost from standing between someone and TMS treatment. Most insurance is accepted and a sliding fee scale is available.
The Neil S. Hirsch TMS Center was made possible by a generous donation from the Neil S. Hirsch Foundation through the Foundation for the Advancement of Clinical TMS. Alpert JFS is only the third nonprofit in the country to receive a grant of this kind from the Foundation for the Advancement of Clinical TMS.
“Most of the people who reach us have been trying to feel better for years, and a lot of them have stopped believing anything will work,” said Dr. Kristi Wragg, board-certified adult psychiatrist at Alpert JFS. “TMS gives them a treatment with real evidence behind it that doesn’t ask them to trade one set of side effects for another.”
The new Neil S. Hirsch TMS Center further establishes Alpert JFS as one of Palm Beach County’s leading mental health providers. “At Alpert Jewish Family Service, we believe that mental health care must be coordinated, accessible, and community centered,” added Dr. Rotenberg. “When individuals are struggling with depression or anxiety, other parts of their lives are often suffering too. The availability of comprehensive services like counseling, psychiatry, care management, food support, senior services, disability services, and emergency services all within one agency can seamlessly direct individuals toward a healthy and effective next step.”
Patients interested in TMS should call 561.713.1892.
