Great Results From Our First Accelerated Protocol Patient
- Dr. Gary Warstadt
- Oct 15
- 2 min read
A recent development and TMS treatment is the accelerated protocol. This was pioneered under the name SAINT at Stamford and involves doing the entire treatment in 5 days. Rather than doing one treatment per day for 36 days, we do 10 treatments per day, and use the faster, theta burst pattern so that each treatment only takes 3 minutes instead of 15.
The accelerated protocol is also more effective. Recent research suggests that the response rate for the accelerated protocol is around 70 to 80% as compared to 50 to 60% for the standard protocol. Unfortunately, it is not yet covered by insurance.
In July 2025 we treated our first patient using the accelerated protocol. She had been profoundly depressed, having stopped her medications a year previously Unfortunately, restarting her medications and several medication adjustments produced no improvement, and unfortunately Jane (not her real name) was having suicidal thoughts. She had to be psychiatrically hospitalized and underwent seven ECT treatments which were also not helpful.
After careful consultation, Jane decided to do the accelerated protocol She came in every day Monday through Friday with a friend or relative, some snacks, and a good book. She sat in one of our unused offices and once or twice an hour would come over to the treatment room for her 3-minute treatment. By Friday afternoon she was done but not yet feeling better. This is typical; it generally takes 2 to 3 weeks for the effect to begin, and this is exactly what happened in her case.
About 2-1/2 weeks later she said, "it was like a light switch being flipped on.” Her mood dramatically improved, all of her depression symptoms cleared up, the suicidal thoughts were gone and she said she actually felt better than she usually does when she is feeling well. When I spoke with her at a follow-up phone call she described it as "a minor miracle!" She even decided to return to work part time after having retired a couple of years earlier.
