TMS therapy for Pompano Beach — FDA-cleared TRD care, 28 minutes from home.

RECO Health's Delray Beach campus sits 18 miles north of Pompano Beach on I-95 — 28 minutes for a daily rTMS appointment, close enough to sustain the six-week protocol without disrupting work or family life. In-house psychiatry runs prior authorization, motor threshold mapping, and the full 36-session course at 120% of motor threshold, with iTBS available for clients whose schedules cannot accommodate a 40-minute treatment window. When TMS is one piece of a broader plan — medication management, concurrent CBT or ACT, or the ketamine pathway — the same clinical team coordinates it.

The trip from Pompano Beach to RECO Health’s Delray Beach campus runs 18 miles north on I-95 — roughly 28 minutes outside rush hour, ending at a facility that sits within the same broader South Florida community as neighborhoods like Cresthaven, Lighthouse Point, Sea Ranch Lakes, and Hillsboro Shores. For clients who want clinical distance from local circles without the disruption of leaving the region, the drive is short enough to sustain daily treatment and long enough to matter. RECO Health delivers the full FDA-cleared repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation protocol for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, with deep TMS available for OCD, staffed by in-house psychiatry that also manages medication, ketamine, and the broader continuum when TMS belongs inside a larger treatment plan.

Who is a candidate for rTMS

The insurance-covered indication for TMS therapy is major depressive disorder with documented failure of at least two adequate antidepressant trials. “Adequate” is defined narrowly — a therapeutic dose maintained for six to eight weeks with confirmed adherence. A three-week trial of sertraline that a patient stopped because of GI side effects does not qualify. Neither does an SSRI-plus-SNRI sequence that never reached target dose. RECO’s psychiatry team reconstructs the medication history in detail, cross-references pharmacy records where available, and documents the failures in the language the payer’s utilization reviewer will accept.

Clinical candidacy runs parallel to insurance candidacy. Screening rules out implanted ferromagnetic devices near the head, personal or family history of seizure disorder, active substance use that would compromise attendance, and unstable psychiatric comorbidity — active psychosis, acute suicidality requiring inpatient care, untreated bipolar disorder. Baseline severity is documented with the PHQ-9 and, where anxiety comorbidity is prominent, the GAD-7. The Y-BOCS is added when deep TMS for OCD is on the table, and ASRS screening is used when adult ADHD is part of the presentation.

Candidacy is a two-appointment process at minimum: a psychiatric intake to confirm the diagnosis and treatment history, followed by prior authorization submission. Most commercial plans return an approval within five to ten business days.

The 36-session protocol and what treatment actually looks like

Session one is motor threshold mapping. The technician positions the figure-8 coil over the primary motor cortex and identifies the minimum stimulation intensity that reliably produces a visible thumb twitch — the resting motor threshold. Treatment intensity is set at 120% of that value. The coil is then repositioned to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the treatment target. The standard protocol delivers 3000 pulses per session at 10 Hz — four-second trains of stimulation separated by 26-second intertrain intervals, totaling roughly 37 minutes in the chair.

Sessions two through thirty run Monday through Friday for six consecutive weeks. Clients sit upright — not reclined, fully alert — and can read, listen to music, or talk with the technician. There is no sedation, no IV access, no post-treatment recovery period. The final six sessions are a taper: three per week, then two, then one. Clients drive themselves home, return to work the same day, and can resume all normal activity immediately after leaving the chair.

Side effects are limited. Scalp discomfort at the stimulation site is common in the first week and typically subsides with acclimation. Mild headache responds to acetaminophen. The seizure risk is under 0.1% and is minimized by strict adherence to the exclusion criteria set at intake.

Response, remission, and the second-course question

Published response rates for rTMS in treatment-resistant depression run 40-60% depending on protocol and study definition; remission rates run 25-40%. Response is defined as a 50% reduction in PHQ-9 or comparable rating scale score; remission requires a score in the non-depressed range. Response typically emerges between sessions 15 and 25, with continued improvement through the taper. Clients whose scores have not moved by session 20-25 are formally re-evaluated rather than continued on autopilot.

Re-evaluation can go several directions. Coil position is verified — a target that has drifted a centimeter posterior over the course of treatment can meaningfully reduce efficacy. Protocol adjustment to intermittent theta burst is sometimes indicated. In cases where the depression appears to carry a substantial anxious or ruminative component that TMS is not addressing, adjunctive medication changes — augmentation with aripiprazole, lithium, quetiapine, or buspirone — may be added. When TMS response is minimal and the clinical picture suggests a different mechanism, the case is sometimes shifted to intranasal esketamine or the ketamine infusion pathway.

Responders who later relapse are candidates for a second full course, typically 12-18 months after the first. Insurance approval for a second course generally requires documented response to the first course and documented relapse.

iTBS and the shorter-session option

Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation is an FDA-cleared alternative rTMS protocol that compresses a full treatment session into approximately three minutes. iTBS delivers 600 pulses in a patterned burst — three pulses at 50 Hz, repeated at 5 Hz, in a two-second-on, eight-second-off pattern. The THREE-D trial established non-inferiority to standard 10 Hz rTMS for major depressive disorder, and iTBS is now the default protocol at many centers.

For working professionals commuting from Pompano Beach, iTBS makes a daily appointment realistic. A three-minute treatment plus a brief check-in fits inside a lunch hour without difficulty. The full 36-session course structure is preserved — daily Monday through Friday for six weeks, then a three-week taper — but the in-chair time is compressed proportionally.

Not every commercial plan reimburses iTBS at the same rate as standard 10 Hz protocol. RECO’s psychiatry team confirms coverage specifics with the payer before enrolling. When iTBS is not covered but 10 Hz is, the standard protocol is offered instead.

What to expect on your first visit

The first visit is a psychiatric evaluation, not a treatment session. A staff psychiatrist reviews the full medication history, confirms the diagnosis using DSM-5 criteria, administers the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, and screens for TMS-specific contraindications. Prior treatment records — psychiatry notes, prescription histories, therapy records — are reviewed if the client can provide them.

The intake also covers the broader clinical picture. Substance use is screened using standard instruments; if active use is identified, the team discusses whether outpatient stabilization or a brief detox pathway using CIWA-guided (alcohol) or COWS-guided (opioid) protocols is warranted before starting TMS, with buprenorphine or naltrexone induction handled by the same psychiatry team when indicated. Concurrent psychotherapy — CBT, ACT, DBT skills, or motivational interviewing where ambivalence is a driver — is encouraged during and after the TMS course to consolidate gains.

Prior authorization is submitted within one to three business days of intake. Motor threshold mapping is scheduled once approval returns.

Insurance and admissions from Pompano Beach

RECO Health is in-network with most major commercial plans, including Florida Blue, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and BCBS. Prior authorization for standard 10 Hz rTMS is typically granted when medical necessity criteria — moderate-to-severe MDD, two failed adequate antidepressant trials, adequate psychotherapy trial where required by the payer — are documented. Approval for deep TMS for OCD carries additional criteria including a Y-BOCS score above 20 and documented SSRI failure at maximum tolerated dose.

Admissions for Pompano Beach clients typically move from initial phone screen to psychiatric intake within three to five business days. The clinic is 18 miles north on I-95. Onsite parking is available; for clients who prefer not to commute daily during the six-week treatment block, options for local accommodation near the campus can be discussed at intake.

Serving residents of: Cresthaven, Lighthouse Point, Sea Ranch Lakes, Hillsboro Shores.