TMS for OCD: What It Is, and Your OCD Treatment Options at Exxceed

If you’ve searched “TMS for OCD,” here’s the honest, useful version — what the treatment actually is, and how to get evidence-based OCD care whether or not TMS is the right path for you.

“TMS for OCD” specifically means Deep TMS

In 2018 the FDA cleared Deep TMS (the BrainsWay H-coil) for OCD, based on trials showing meaningful symptom reduction in people who hadn’t responded adequately to first-line treatment. This is an important distinction: standard rTMS — the common figure-8-coil TMS used for depression — isn’t cleared for OCD on its own, though focal figure-8 systems like our Magstim Horizon 3.0 carry a separate FDA clearance for OCD. So when a clinic advertises “TMS for OCD,” they should mean a system FDA-cleared for OCD — which includes focal devices like our Magstim Horizon 3.0, not only Deep TMS.

Where Exxceed Wellness fits

We offer standard rTMS and iTBS for depression, and we do not offer Deep TMS. For OCD, our care combines evidence-based treatments — and, for OCD that hasn’t responded to them, in-house TMS:

• ERP therapy (referral). Exposure and response prevention is the gold-standard psychotherapy for OCD. We coordinate referral to qualified ERP therapists and stay involved on the medication side.
• Medication management. SSRIs at OCD-appropriate (often higher) doses, or clomipramine, managed carefully over the 8–12 weeks it can take to see full benefit, with augmentation strategies when needed.
• TMS for OCD (Magstim Horizon 3.0). For OCD that hasn’t responded adequately to SSRIs and ERP, we offer focal TMS in-house on our Magstim Horizon 3.0 — FDA-cleared as an adjunct for OCD. (A focal system, not BrainsWay’s Deep TMS.)

If Deep TMS is the right next step

For OCD that hasn’t responded to adequately-delivered ERP and medication, Deep TMS can be a reasonable option. Because we don’t provide it, we’ll give you a clear picture of what it involves and help you find a provider who does — so you’re not navigating that alone.

How to get started with OCD care here

Begin with a psychiatric consultation. We review your symptoms and prior treatments (medications, ERP, anything else), confirm the diagnosis, and build a plan — medication optimization, ERP referral, or coordinating both. In person in Hayward, CA or via California telehealth.

Educational only; not medical advice. Whether any treatment fits depends on your specific situation. To start OCD care, schedule with Nefretiri Abat, J.D., PMHNP-BC.