I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I started my internship at The Brain Wellness Center, a niche neuropsychiatric clinic in Bronxville, New York, that uses some of the latest cutting edge treatments available for their patients. Unlike large hospitals where patients can often cycle through without recognition, this was an environment where every member knew the people they treated—not just their medical histories, but their personalities, their struggles, and their progress. It is a place where cutting-edge technology wasn’t just about research but directly impacted real-time patient care.
As a matter of fact, the Brain Wellness Centre, along with its founder – Dr Hasan Asif – have been featured for their work in the Washington Post and just recently in the October issue of J’adore Magazine.
My role was largely observational—I shadowed psychiatrists, interacted with patients, and observed EEG scans in real time. And what really stood out was how dynamic and individualised treatment was. I observed one patient, undergoing addiction therapy, had their treatment adjusted live based on their brainwave activity. By stimulating the production of calming waves, the clinic was able to counteract the brain’s response to certain stimuli, shaping their neurological patterns toward recovery.
At the Brain Wellness Center, the most common treatment used is Trans-cranial Magnetic Stimulation (from here on referred to as TMS) and it works by directly influencing brain wave activity to restore balance in your brain’s neural circuits. Depression, anxiety, and PTSD often involve dysregulated oscillations—certain brain regions, like the prefrontal cortex, are under active, while others, such as the limbic system, are overstimulated. TMS delivers precise magnetic pulses that either excite or inhibit specific areas, effectively recalibrating these oscillations. High-frequency stimulation increases beta and gamma waves, improving focus and mood, while low-frequency stimulation reduces excessive theta and alpha waves, calming overactivity linked to anxiety and intrusive thoughts. By adjusting these rhythms, TMS helps reset dysfunctional neural patterns without the need for medication.
An Overview of TMS – Mayo Clinic
The Use of TMS in Depression – NIH
Beyond just immediate stimulation, TMS promotes long-term neuroplasticity, meaning the brain gradually rewires itself for sustained improvement. It strengthens neural connections in critical pathways, reinforcing healthy neural connections, while weakening maladaptive ones. Over time, this improves communication between large-scale neural networks that govern self-referential thinking, and regulate emotions. This is why patients don’t just feel a temporary boost—TMS trains the brain to function more effectively, reducing symptoms even after treatment ends. Instead of merely adjusting chemical levels like medication, TMS teaches the brain to heal itself by fine-tuning its own electrical activity.
One of the most surprising realisations during my internship was how the long-term effects of TMS can actually be similar to those observed in advanced meditators. That’s because treatments based on the stimulation of brain activity are not fundamentally different from more traditional methods of altering brain activity like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or advanced meditation. Both TMS and meditation also reduce the default overactivity of your neural system, which is associated with rumination and self-critical thinking in depression. (However mediation requires far more commitment! Especially if you want the results of Buddhist monks!)
For instance in the case of the addiction therapy I mentioned earlier, Dr Asif used precise magnetic pulses to stimulate the brain’s own production of calming waves like alpha waves to reduce the impulsivity when encountering what you’re addicted to. Similar neural shifts can also be seen through disciplined meditation, breath work or behavioural therapy. But the difference is efficiency, EEG based neurofeedback guided the process to happen faster and with more precision.
Seeing mental health care as something quantifiable (to some level) – where emotional states could be mapped and influenced through targeted interventions – was an entirely new perspective to me. I had always viewed psychiatry as a balance between therapy and medication, but here, I saw neuroscience applied directly to patient care.
The most striking case I observed involved a patient experiencing extreme sensory overload. She entered the clinic overstimulated and withdrawn, barely engaging with the world around her. Her EEG scan confirmed the intensity of her brain activity, showing heightened, chaotic neural patterns.
Within twenty minutes of a single TMS session, her brain imaging changed significantly. The overactivity had decreased, and most importantly, the behavioural shift was immediate. She began to interact, speaking for herself rather than relying on a caregiver. Seeing such a direct, measurable change in both brain function and behaviour in real-time was a moment that redefined my understanding of psychiatric treatment.
However, access to these therapies remains a major challenge. Many insurance providers only cover TMS for severe depression—and only after multiple failed medication trials. The irony? Long-term medications with serious side effects are covered more readily than non-invasive treatments like TMS, which has also shown effectiveness for bipolar disorder, anxiety, and ADHD. Even when covered, insurers often restrict TMS to specific brain regions and frequencies, limiting physicians’ discretion.
As a result, many clinics—including The Brain Wellness Center—don’t accept insurance because coverage restrictions make it harder to provide individualized care.
Which raises its own important ethical questions: Why should effective, non-pharmaceutical interventions be harder to access than medication? How do we ensure that advances in neuropsychiatry aren’t just reserved for those who can afford out-of-pocket payments?
I entered this internship with a broad interest in psychiatry. I left considering a future in neuropsychiatry, where the intersection of neuroscience and mental health is redefining how we approach psychiatric disorders. This experience didn’t just show me what’s possible—it made me want to be part of whatever comes next.