MeRT

Once you have been approved to begin MeRT℠, you will be scheduled to have an EEG to measure your brain wave patterns. This will take approximately 40-60 minutes. You will be seated in a chair and have an EEG cap placed on your head. A certified technician will gently insert gel via a plastic tip into each electrode on the cap. A computer will read your brain wave activity based on this connection.

Once all electrodes are connected, the technician will record your EEG. You will be asked to sit very still and close your eyes while the EEG is recording. We will assist you to help you stay still for approximately 10 minutes. If your child is receiving this EEG, we collect increments of data. According to your child’s ability to stay still and calm.

Once the EEG is completed, the results are sent to a specialty lab (Wave Neuroscience), and reports are processed within 1-2 business days. Our medical provider will interpret your EEG in an individual session and discuss potential outcomes based on your results.

Our team will schedule you for the actual treatment to be received 5 days per week. Each treatment session is approximately 30-35 minutes depending on your treatment protocol. Your protocol is customized according to the lab’s interpretation of your EEG along with your individual motor threshold. This means that you will have a customized location of stimulation and a customized stimulation intensity to fit your brain’s needs. This allows for more efficacy in your treatment and less side effects (especially when compared to the traditional TMS).

The stimulation itself trains your brain to learn these awake, relaxed brain waves (also known as alpha waves). To solidify your brain’s “learning” of these waves, you will be asked to close your eyes during each stimulation burst (5 second increments). (If you have a child receiving treatment, we provide gentle assistance in this process if needed.) You will have around 30 seconds in between each stimulation burst. So it looks something like this: 5 Second Stimulation (eyes closed), 30 seconds rest (eyes open), 5 second stimulation (eyes closed), 30 seconds rest (eyes open), and repeat until session is completed after 30-35 minutes.

A technician will be accompanying you to assist in any way in this process.

Consistency will be important for your treatment since it is a retraining of your brain waves, similar to a physical work-out. Just like we see with endurance training or muscle building, there must be consistent days on and days off to truly see results. In the case of MeRT℠, treatment Monday through Friday with weekends off helps provide results faster.

Every two weeks, we will collect a repeat EEG to monitor your progress. You will discuss these results with your provider once they are resulted. We will also measure your progress via psychological assessments each week.

We recommend at least 7-8 weeks of MeRT℠, depending on your condition. Some patients receive up to 12-15 weeks. This treatment is designed to be a one-time treatment. Longevity of results vary depending on lifestyle, medications, sobriety, and other environmental factors. We tend to see lasting results when patients are consistent with their individual therapy, medication routine, healthy sleep routine, and have a general healthy lifestyle. You may discuss this with your provider in further detail for your own best results.

First, keep showing up, even when it’s hard or tiring. Staying consistent will truly pay off!

Second, we require a sober lifestyle to receive this treatment, as alcohol, substances (including marijuana/THC) will only interfere with your results. We can even see the effects of these substances in your EEG!

Third, we recommend participating in therapy and/or medication management to optimize your results. While MeRT℠ is very helpful with improving your mood and cognition, it has limited impact on your mindset and behavior. Those are up to you to execute change. And can be addressed in your individual work with your provider.

MeRT℠ works to deliver magnetic stimulation to certain areas of your brain to help reset and retrain your brain waves.

Practically speaking, patients will typically report overall improvement in sadness, hopelessness, mental clarity, memory, ability to focus, and ability to utilize coping skills. Additionally, we see marked improvement in suicidal ideation and anxiety within the first 7-10 days of treatment.

MeRT℠ helps to restore the underlying brain wave patterns that drive thoughts, behaviors, energy, sleep, and cognition. When someone’s brain has been exposed to drugs, emotional or physical trauma, or when one’s lifestyle does not well support the mind, we see dramatic shifts in the brain waves. In other words, we see a shift in how the brain tries to protect its energy. The brain regulates energy, thus hormones, through wave-like activity. When the brain is not well rested or cared for (any 21st Century lifestyle qualifies), it preserves its energy by sustaining very slow-wave, sleep-like activity throughout the day. This correlates with symptoms such as feeling on-edge, fatigued, reactive to stressors, irritable, sad, unmotivated, poor concentration, etc. MeRT℠ re-trains the brain to restore awake, relaxed brain waves to help the mind feel more calm, collected, focused, resilient to stressors, and have better energy regulation. It does not change personality, rather helps to bring out your best self, the part that many feel that they have lost in their mood disorder. It is recommended to be pursued with psychotherapy and/or medication management to bring holistic and effective relief.

Spravato (esketamine) treatment is an FDA-approved treatment for those with suicidal ideation or chronic depression. Spravato is administered via nasal spray and requires close monitoring in specially approved clinics. Solstice is an approved administrator and healthcare facility for Spravato, which means you get to experience all of our treatments under one roof!

Spravato is structurally similar to ketamine but has been studied to be more effective in penetrating the blood brain barrier (through passage of the nasal cavity to the brain) as opposed to receiving IV (intravenous) ketamine which takes longer to be processed through the body until it reaches the brain. Spravato has also been shown to have lower abuse potential compared to ketamine while still helping the mood and mind recover from the depressed and suicidal fog.

Spravato is a helpful adjunct in your medication management and therapy process because of its rapid mechanism. Indicators of relief are often felt in the first week of administration.

To find out more about your eligibility and coverage for Spravato, we will have you initially obtain a psychiatric consult and see how to customize your medical treatment plan to optimize your results.

Natural interventions are useful tools when pharmaceuticals don’t sit well. Supplements specifically can be such a helpful tool to help support someone’s body and mind. We definitely have some favorites that we use that are quite effective! Starting with supplements is not a bad thing, and is often something we’ll do when someone is very medication hesitant. Supplements can also help some individuals with the transition of getting off medications. Our providers utilize micronutrient therapies (which also includes focusing on certain dietary needs), amino acid therapies to naturally support your neurotransmitters, and herbal therapies that help with hormone balance and thus mood. 

Alongside these supplement therapies, we also highly emphasize lifestyle medicine, which means that your lifestyle heavily influences your medical and biological state. Thus, focusing on sleep, nutrition, movement, screen, and daylight habits are critical in targeting mood and perspective.

However, if your mood is still struggling or progress is very slow with the natural or lifestyle route, you may be a candidate for pharmaceutical options.

Getting help is a humbling and difficult process. Whether it’s seeing a therapist or deciding to start medications, we can feel lots of shame or embarrassment for “getting to this point”. But remember to be kind to yourself. Life and relationships are challenging and can take a toll on our emotional state. We’re only human after all. And it’s not an issue about society’s pressures, it’s about your own pressures on yourself. We are our worst enemies with our thoughts toward ourselves. Don’t let that stop you from getting the help that may bring you the relief you’ve been waiting for!