Frequently asked questions
Questions people ask before they get in touch
The questions that come up whichever treatment you are considering. Anything specific to a treatment is answered on its own page, and those are linked further down.
Getting started
No. You can contact us yourself and most people do. We will usually ask to keep your GP informed, and if you were referred by a psychiatrist or therapist you stay under their care while you are treated here.
You do not, and we would rather you did not try to work it out. That is what the assessment is for. If you want a starting point, our conditions page is organised by problem rather than by treatment.
A short phone call, free of charge. We find out roughly what is going on and whether an assessment is likely to be worth your time. If it is not, we will say so on the phone rather than book you in.
Yes. An assessment with Dr Nabavi can be carried out online as well as at the clinic. If Deep TMS or TPS follows, the treatment itself takes place at the clinic, and CBT for insomnia can be online too.
Then we say so. It happens, and where we can we will point you towards someone more appropriate. An honest answer is more useful than a course of something that is not going to work.
Yes. People often bring a partner or a family member, particularly where memory or concentration is part of what is going on.
No. We are an independent clinic and treatment is paid for privately. A small number of NHS services in England offer TMS, including one in Birmingham, but access is limited and waiting lists are long.
We are flexible and arrange appointments around what each patient needs, including on Saturdays and Sundays.
Yes. There are several multistorey car parks within walking distance. Parking on the side roads is limited to one hour at the moment, which is enough time for a session.
Costs, explained clearly
Yes. If you go on to have Deep TMS or TPS here, the £400 comes off the cost of your treatment. In practice the assessment costs you nothing if you proceed.
For TPS, yes, and we would rather say so now. You need a confirmed Alzheimer’s diagnosis and a current brain MRI before we can treat, neither of which we arrange or charge for. Budget around £1,000 for those separately.
For Deep TMS, the weekly brain mapping that keeps your treatment accurate is included at no extra charge. For pharmacogenetic testing, the laboratory offers us a commission on every kit and we pass that discount to you instead of taking it.
Yes, in writing, before you commit to anything. The initial phone call is free.
Dr Nabavi is registered with all the major private medical insurers. The clinic itself is not registered with them yet, although we are working on it. In the meantime some insurers have considered patients’ claims case by case, so check with your insurer first and tell us who you are insured with when you call.
Evidence and safety
Deep TMS is FDA cleared in the United States for major depressive disorder and anxious depression, for OCD and for smoking cessation, and NICE guidance supports rTMS for depression in the UK. TPS is approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. CBT for insomnia is what NICE recommends first for chronic insomnia, ahead of sleeping tablets.
For some people, not for everyone, and we try to be specific about which. Each treatment page sets out the trial evidence with the actual numbers, including where a trial did not reach significance. NICE’s own guidance says response varies between people and that clinicians should tell patients a treatment may not help them. We think that is the right way round.
All of them are non-invasive. No anaesthetic, no sedation, no surgery, no hospital admission. The main risk with Deep TMS is an induced seizure, put at roughly one in ten thousand sessions and never seen at this clinic. Full safety information is on each treatment page.
No. ECT is given under general anaesthetic and deliberately induces a seizure. Deep TMS does neither. You stay awake, you drive yourself home, and there is none of the memory disturbance associated with ECT.
No. These treatments are given alongside what you are already doing, not instead of it, and that is how they were studied. Any change to your prescription is a decision for you and whoever prescribes it.
We do not advertise treatment for them. Protocols exist for PTSD, chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease and others, and some of the research looks encouraging, but they are not approved indications yet. Dr Nabavi may consider treatment case by case after assessment, based on published evidence and expert opinion, and will explain honestly where the evidence stands.
Still not sure? Ask us
The phone call before an assessment costs nothing, and part of its purpose is to rule people out. If what you need is not something we do, you will find that out in ten minutes rather than after paying for an appointment.
Questions about a specific treatment
Deep TMS
Does it hurt, can I drive afterwards, how soon will I know whether it is working, what if it does not work.
TPS therapy
Can he consent, what if she gets distressed, how will we know it is working, can we travel to you.
Psychiatric assessment
How long it takes, whether you write to my doctor, what I take away, what if you cannot help.
Pharmacogenetic testing
Is it a blood test, will my GP act on it, is it worth doing if my medication is working, can I just buy a kit online.
CBT for insomnia
Does it work after years of insomnia, can I stay on my sleeping tablets, is online as good, do you treat sleep apnoea.
By condition instead
If you would rather start from the problem than the treatment, the conditions pages are organised that way.
Your question not answered here?
Call the clinic and ask. The first conversation is free, and if we are not the right people we will tell you.