Alex Morgan
Something unusual happened in the world of psychiatric treatment at the end of June 2026, and I think it deserves more attention than it’s getting outside of clinical circles. BrainsWay, the company behind Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation technology, released results from what they’re calling the largest real-world study ever conducted on Deep TMS in patients dealing with both PTSD and major depressive disorder at the same time. The numbers were striking. But here’s the catch that most headlines glossed over: Deep TMS still isn’t FDA-cleared for PTSD. So what do patients and clinicians actually do with this information? That question is genuinely complicated, and I want to try to answer it honestly.
What the Study Actually Found
The data, announced on June 29, 2026, came from a retrospective analysis of 462 patients treated across 11 clinical sites. These weren’t cherry-picked participants in a controlled trial. They were real patients, treated in real clinical settings, which is part of what makes the findings worth taking seriously, and also part of what makes them harder to interpret cleanly.
The PTSD response rate was 83.5%, meaning that proportion of patients showed at least a 50% reduction in their PCL-5 scores. The PCL-5 is a well-validated self-report scale for PTSD symptom severity, so a 50% reduction isn’t a small shift. The average symptom reduction across the group was 52%. On the depression side, the response rate came in at 66.6%, the remission rate was 27.3%, and PHQ-9 scores dropped by an average of 50%. As Psychiatric Times reported on June 29, these figures represent meaningful clinical movement across both conditions simultaneously, which has historically been one of the hardest treatment challenges in psychiatry.
What surprised me, digging into this, was how little attention the comorbidity angle usually gets in public conversations about PTSD treatment. Roughly 48% of people with PTSD will also meet criteria for major depressive disorder at some point in their lives. That’s not a niche overlap. That’s nearly half. When you’re treating one condition and ignoring the other, you’re often not getting very far, which is why a treatment that appears to move both simultaneously is genuinely interesting to researchers.
Why the FDA Status Matters More Than You’d Think
| Treatment | FDA Status for PTSD | Response Rate (PTSD) | Response Rate (Depression) | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep TMS | Not cleared | 83.5% | 66.6% | H-coil design penetrates deeper brain tissue, targets subcortical structures |
| Standard TMS | Not cleared | Not specified in study | Established efficacy | Figure-eight coil, targets cortical regions |
| MDMA-Assisted Therapy | Under VA trial | Under investigation | Under investigation | Psychopharmacological + psychotherapeutic approach |
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Here’s where I’ll be honest about something that can feel frustrating to patients who are suffering right now. BrainsWay holds FDA clearance for major depressive disorder, anxiety symptoms associated with depression, OCD, and smoking addiction. PTSD is not on that list. That regulatory gap has real consequences.
When a treatment isn’t FDA-cleared for a specific condition, insurance coverage becomes a serious obstacle. Providers who want to use it off-label face higher liability exposure. And clinical guidelines, which shape how most psychiatrists and therapists practice, don’t change until research clears a much higher bar than a conference poster presentation. These findings were presented as exactly that: a poster, not yet a peer-reviewed published trial. The BrainsWay press release itself was transparent about this being preliminary data, and that distinction matters. Preliminary doesn’t mean wrong. It means the scientific community hasn’t fully vetted it yet.
The practical upshot is that even if your psychiatrist finds these results compelling, they may not be able to get a Deep TMS protocol for PTSD covered by your insurance, and you may face significant out-of-pocket costs if you pursue it now. That’s not a reason to dismiss the research. It is a reason to go in with clear expectations.
What Deep TMS Actually Is (and How It Differs from Standard TMS)
Standard TMS, which has been around since the 1980s and FDA-cleared for depression since 2008, uses a figure-eight coil to deliver magnetic pulses to targeted regions of the brain’s cortex, typically the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. BrainsWay’s Deep TMS uses a patented H-coil design that penetrates deeper into brain tissue and stimulates broader regions. The theory is that conditions like PTSD involve subcortical structures, including the amygdala and hippocampus, that standard TMS coils don’t reach effectively.
Whether that depth advantage translates reliably into better outcomes is still an active debate in the research literature. The research here is mixed when you look across condition types, and comparing Deep TMS directly to standard TMS in rigorous head-to-head trials is still an area that needs more work. What BrainsWay’s new data adds is a large real-world sample suggesting the approach can move the needle on both PTSD and depression in patients carrying both diagnoses. That’s a meaningful contribution, even if it’s not the final word.
What This Means If You’re a Patient Right Now
If you’re living with comorbid PTSD and depression and you’re reading this hoping for a clear answer about whether to seek out Deep TMS, I want to give you a realistic picture rather than false hope or unnecessary caution.
The data from this study is genuinely encouraging. An 83.5% response rate for PTSD in a real-world sample is a number that clinical researchers don’t see often. But retrospective studies have limitations: there’s no control group, so we can’t rule out placebo effects or spontaneous improvement, and the sites involved may not represent the full range of clinical settings where you’d receive treatment. Full peer review could sharpen or complicate the picture.
What I’d suggest, practically, is bringing this research to a psychiatrist who specializes in trauma or treatment-resistant mood disorders. The conversation is worth having. Some academic medical centers and specialized clinics are already treating PTSD off-label with TMS-based approaches, and a knowledgeable provider can help you weigh costs, access, and whether it fits your specific situation. PTSD and depression together are serious, often debilitating conditions, and no one should feel like they need to wait indefinitely for the perfect evidence before exploring options.
The field of neuromodulation is moving faster than most people outside psychiatry realize. The gap between promising data and accessible, covered treatment remains frustratingly wide, and that’s a policy problem as much as a science problem. But studies like this one, flaws and all, are how that gap eventually closes.
The next step for BrainsWay will likely involve submitting this data as part of a formal FDA clearance application for PTSD. If and when that happens, coverage and accessibility should follow. Until then, this research is best understood as a strong signal pointing in a hopeful direction, not a green light to assume the treatment is ready for routine clinical use. That distinction matters, and any clinician worth seeing will hold it with you rather than talk past it.
Sources
- New Positive Data From Largest Real-World Study of Deep TMS in Patients With Comorbid PTSD and MDD (Psychiatric Times, June 29, 2026)
- BrainsWay Ltd. Current Report (Foreign Issuer) , Globe Newswire Press Release via StockTitan (BrainsWay/NASDAQ: BWAY, June 29, 2026)
- BrainsWay reports Deep TMS PTSD and depression data (Grafa, June 29, 2026)
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute mental health, medical, or clinical advice. If you are in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) or go to your nearest emergency room. Always consult a licensed mental health professional for care specific to your needs.
Recommended Resources
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- Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (~$14), The most clinically studied self-help book for depression, recommended by therapists worldwide as CBT-based self-treatment.
- Depression & Anxiety Therapy Journal (~$10), 8-week guided journal with trigger tracking and mood diary, mirrors the homework your therapist would assign between sessions.
- Depression Therapy Journal (~$10), Daily check-in journal for depression, structured mood tracking and reflection prompts designed around therapeutic principles.
