Irvine adults with depression, OCD or anxiety that has not lifted on medication can receive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at the BrainHealth Solutions clinic in Costa Mesa, beside John Wayne Airport on the Irvine border. Care is led by Dr. Robert Bota, the psychiatrist who founded UC Irvine's first TMS program.
TMS is a non-invasive, FDA-cleared treatment for major depressive disorder and OCD. A magnetic coil placed against the scalp sends focused pulses into brain regions that are underactive in depression, stimulating the nerve cells there without surgery, anesthesia or medication. It is usually considered after antidepressants or therapy have not worked or were not tolerated. Many Irvine patients first heard of TMS through UC Irvine, where Dr. Bota built the university’s first TMS program; today he delivers it with MagVenture technology at the Costa Mesa clinic, alongside the accelerated SAINT® protocol and Spravato®, so the choice of treatment follows your history rather than a single device.
During a session a coil rests on your head and delivers short magnetic pulses. They pass painlessly through the skull and create small electrical currents in the targeted cortex. You stay awake, nothing is implanted, and no sedation is used.
At the start of treatment the team measures your motor threshold, the stimulation intensity your brain responds to, and then locates your treatment target. Coil type, target location, intensity and pulse frequency all influence the effect, so these settings are calculated for you individually.
TMS builds its effect over time. A single session does not lift depression; a course of daily sessions gradually shifts activity in mood-regulating circuits, which is why improvement is usually noticed after several weeks of treatment.
Dr. Bota trained in TMS at Harvard University and the University of South Carolina, founded and directed UC Irvine’s first TMS program, and served as Director of the Medical Psychiatry Unit there. He is a member of the Clinical TMS Society. TMS is FDA-cleared for major depressive disorder, OCD and smoking cessation, and insurers typically cover it for depression after two or more antidepressant trials have failed. BrainHealth Solutions has one office, at 3151 Airway Ave, Bldg R, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, on Airway Ave next to John Wayne Airport; for most Irvine patients the drive is about 10 to 20 minutes. Every evaluation and every TMS session happens there.
Leave your name, contact information and a good callback time. The team explains TMS, SAINT® and Spravato®, answers your questions and helps you decide whether a full evaluation is worthwhile. Texting the office first is fine too.
A full visit at the clinic covering your history, diagnoses, medications tried, medical background, sleep and goals. Insurance eligibility is reviewed here, including the two-failed-medication criterion most plans require for TMS.
Your first treatment visit includes mapping your motor threshold and treatment target. It takes longer than a routine session because these settings guide the rest of your course.
Standard TMS runs five days a week for about six weeks, followed by a taper. You recline in a treatment chair, fully awake, and can read or talk. You drive yourself back to Irvine or on to work afterward.
Symptom scales are repeated during the course, and Dr. Bota’s team adjusts the plan if progress slows. When treatment ends, you leave with a follow-up plan: medication management, psychotherapy or maintenance sessions as needed.
You are awake for the entire session. Most people feel a tapping on the scalp and hear a clicking sound from the coil; earplugs are provided. No sedation is involved and there is no recovery time.
Sessions last roughly 20 to 40 minutes depending on the protocol, and theta-burst protocols are shorter. The practice’s TMS technician runs every session with you, so within the first week the routine feels familiar.
Daily treatment is realistic from Irvine. The clinic sits just off the airport area many Irvine residents already pass through on their commute, so patients often book a session before work, at lunch, or on the way home within the clinic’s weekday hours of 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
A standard TMS course at BrainHealth Solutions follows the FDA-cleared schedule:
Because TMS does not circulate a drug through the body, it does not cause the weight gain, sexual side effects or sedation linked to many antidepressants. Its side effects are local and usually ease within the first week.
Common and mild
Hearing protection is worn at every session because the coil clicks loudly.
Rare
Your clinician reviews your full medical history before approving treatment and monitors you throughout the course.
Published studies of standard TMS for treatment-resistant depression report that roughly half to two-thirds of patients respond and about a third reach remission, with higher rates in naturalistic clinic data. BrainHealth Solutions measures progress with symptom scales throughout the course rather than relying on impressions.
TMS is not usually described as a cure. It can lift a depressive episode, and some patients follow it with maintenance sessions, medication changes or psychotherapy to keep their gains. Setting that expectation early is part of the plan.
TMS may be a good fit for Irvine adults who:
TMS is generally not suitable for people with certain metal implants in or near the head, a seizure history, or some neurological conditions. Your evaluation reviews each of these.
Alternatives we offer when TMS is not the fit
For Irvine professionals, students and parents who cannot step away from daily life, TMS is a treatment you fit into the day rather than one that takes the day from you. One patient wrote that “the TMS protocol was highly effective for my family’s needs,” and a mother said her son is “doing much better now.”
No anesthesia and no recovery period: you drive yourself, and you can be back at your desk in Irvine shortly after a session.
Most major insurers and Medicare cover TMS for depression after two failed medication trials. The BrainHealth team verifies your benefits before you begin.
Motor-threshold mapping and targeting are individual, and Dr. Bota’s neuromodulation research informs which protocol is chosen.
You can stay on medication or continue therapy during TMS. Some patients later reduce medication under supervision.
If six weeks of daily visits is too long, the same clinic offers SAINT® and Spravato®, so you do not have to start over elsewhere.
Dr. Bota founded the first TMS program at UC Irvine and has helped move TMS into mainstream psychiatric care.
Treatment-resistant depression generally means two or more adequate antidepressant trials without enough relief. TMS was studied in exactly this group, and it is the group most insurers cover. If a six-week daily schedule is hard to manage, ask about SAINT®, which delivers ten sessions a day over five consecutive days at the same Costa Mesa clinic.
Irvine patients pay the same rates as everyone treated at the Costa Mesa clinic. Without insurance, TMS typically ranges from $200 to $350 per session, depending on the treatment protocol. With insurance approval, many plans cover a large share of the course and patient responsibility is usually a copay or coinsurance per session. Your plan’s TMS criteria, deductible and authorization rules set the real figure, so we give a personal estimate only after reviewing your benefits. CareCredit financing is available for self-pay.
Insurance and financing
BrainHealth Solutions accepts insurance and self-pay. Many major plans are accepted, including Medicare and Anthem, and CareCredit financing spreads self-pay costs over monthly payments. Submit your plan through the insurance-check form on our site, or ask on your 15-minute screening call, and our team confirms what your plan covers before you commit to anything.
Dr. Robert Bota, MD, MSG, DFAPA is a board-certified psychiatrist and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He trained in TMS at Harvard University and the University of South Carolina, founded and directed the first TMS program at UC Irvine, and has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Bota has been principal investigator on more than 20 clinical trials in depression, schizophrenia, PTSD and Alzheimer’s disease, and the practice participates in brain-imaging research with Kernel neurotechnology. Treatment plans are informed by that research and reviewed as your symptoms change.
Care at BrainHealth Solutions is delivered by a team that includes psychiatrists Dr. Tina Allee and Dr. Mahtab K. Yousefi (child and adolescent care in English and Farsi), Spravato® specialist Dr. Dragos Serseni, TMS technician Anna Venezio and office manager Peter Bota.
Many plans are accepted, including Medicare and Anthem, and CareCredit financing is available for self-pay. One parent wrote that the team “even helped get insurance coverage when others said it wasn’t possible.” Use the insurance check on our site or ask on your screening call.
No. BrainHealth Solutions has one office, at 3151 Airway Ave, Bldg R, in Costa Mesa, beside John Wayne Airport and bordering Irvine. All evaluations and TMS sessions take place there, about 10 to 20 minutes from most of Irvine.
For most patients, yes. Sessions last about 20 to 40 minutes and require no sedation, so many Irvine patients come before work, at lunch or on the way home during the clinic’s weekday hours, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
Dr. Bota founded and directed UC Irvine’s first TMS program and served as Director of its Medical Psychiatry Unit. He now leads TMS care at BrainHealth Solutions in Costa Mesa.
At the BrainHealth Solutions clinic, self-pay TMS typically ranges from $200 to $350 per session. With insurance, most patients pay a copay or coinsurance per visit. The team verifies your benefits and gives you an estimate before you start.
The main exclusions are non-removable metal in or near the head (such as cochlear implants, aneurysm clips or some stents), a history of seizures or epilepsy, and certain neurological conditions. Dental fillings and braces are fine. Your evaluation covers all of this.
The main costs are time, since standard TMS needs daily visits for about six weeks, and the fact that not everyone responds. Side effects are usually limited to scalp discomfort and early headaches. SAINT® shortens the schedule for eligible patients.
For people whose depression has not responded to medication, TMS offers a different, non-drug mechanism, and published studies show that roughly half to two-thirds of treatment-resistant patients respond. Your evaluation helps you weigh it against SAINT® and Spravato®.
Schedule a 15-minute screening call and find out whether TMS, SAINT® or Spravato® is your next step, with care led by the psychiatrist who started UC Irvine’s TMS program, a short drive from Irvine.
BrainHealth Solutions, 3151 Airway Ave, Bldg R, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 · (949) 441-5542 · Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Same-day appointments may be available. The screening call asks only for your name, contact information and a callback time; there are no long intake forms before you speak with us.
