A note from the authors
We believe, using this website with the assistance of your psychiatric clinician’s prescribed treatment plan can help you win your fight against depression. We hope this site will help improve your care; this site is based upon a workbook which was developed initially for our clinic patients with the goal to improve patient care with repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). We realized the value this workbook could have in the fight against depression and we have made it available to patients outside our office via this website. We hope that you will use it with your team in your fight against depression.
In our clinic, we have had great success with the exercises in these modules. We believe that it takes many things to reach your goal of wellness. You need help finding, defining, recognizing, and equipping you and a good team of clinicians will help you win your fight against depression.
Pick a team that is skilled at treating depression.
Pick a team that cares enough to get you well.
Pick a team that keeps you accountable to your goals.
Pick a team that is willing to keep looking for options to get you better.
Pick a team that will not give up hope to find a treatment that helps you recover.
We know depression will attempt to rob you of your hope for better days. Do not give up; hope, because you can win against this disease.
We know you want to get well. Your treatment team will want you to get well. Active participation on your part will help you get well. We know, as your clinicians know, that you are depressed, and this website may help you find direction in your recovery. There is a lot on the website so that you have choices in your care. We know that you are not going to use everything, but our challenge was making enough content so that it could be useful for everyone’s individual treatment needs while receiving Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.
Being depressed can affect your motivation and ability to complete many things, including this website.
Speak up and let your treatment team know if you are overwhelmed with the reading or completing the daily sections; there likely might be things you can skip or leave unanswered. Your treatment team can help you decide what is most helpful for your care because they know you personally. Your treatment team can even help you by reading sections or content during the TMS sessions.
Remember that you are not alone in this fight against depression.
We wish you wellness,
Michelle Cochran MD
Lauren Valencia LCSW
About the authors
Michelle R. M. Cochran M.D., DFAPA:
Dr. Cochran currently works as the medical director of the Nashville Center for Hope & Healing and the NeuroScience and TMS Treatment
Centers. The Nashville Center for Hope and Healing is an out-of-network multi-disciplinary clinic which offers extensive evaluations for patients seeking a comprehensive approach. The NeuroScience and TMS Treatment Center (NS-TMS) is an insurance-based general psychiatric clinic which offers Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation when appropriate. The NS-TMS Center has grown to two sites (Nashville and Brentwood) with physicians, nurse practitioners, therapists, support staff and TMS technicians.
In addition to her medical director role, Dr. Cochran maintains a role as a private practice psychiatrist. Dr. Cochran has experience treating a variety of psychiatric conditions, using a comprehensive team approach with therapy, counseling, pharmacogenomic testing, medication, and neuromodulation (transcranial magnetic stimulation).
Dr. Cochran received her undergraduate degree at Centre College, her medical training at University of Louisville School of Medicine (where she decided to become a psychiatrist under Mary Helen Davis MD and Leah Dickstein MD), and she completed her postgraduate medical education at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. During her psychiatry residency she was Co-Chief Resident with her colleague Randy Moore MD. Additionally, in her fourth year of residency, she completed the Management Program for Physicians and Senior Healthcare Administrators at Vanderbilt University, Owen School of Management.
She is a current diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (with active maintenance of certification), and is a member of the Tennessee Psychiatric Association, Tennessee Medical Association, Nashville Academy of Medicine, Tennessee Women in Medicine, Southern Psychiatric Association, and the Clinical TMS Society. Since her residency years, she has also been a member and now a Distinguished Fellow (2018) of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Cochran has been on the Clinical Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center since 1996 and has lectured to undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students as well as private practitioners. For over 15 years, she has been active on numerous advisory boards professionally and personally. Before retiring from inpatient psychiatric care and establishing her outpatient private practice, she was the medical director for many psychiatric units and programs in the Middle Tennessee area.
Since 2011, Dr. Cochran has offered repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to her patients as an option for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. Dr. Cochran and her staff have trained extensively in the use of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) including training at Berenson Allen’s Non-Invasive Brain Institute, Duke University and other specific advanced device trainings. She has been active in the Clinical TMS Society (CTMSS) on many levels including serving on the executive committee as the Vice President-Elect (2016-2017), President (2017-2018), and now past president (2018-2019). She is very active within the Education and Annual meeting committees. In late 2015, she corralled many fellow dedicated colleagues in this organization to begin CTMSS’s PULSES course. She was the original chair for the Education committee which now orchestrates the PULSES course and manages and updates the CTMSS Slide Decks. Presently, she and her colleague, Suzanne Kerns MD are the current Co-chairs for the Education committee for this organization. Dr. Cochran has been lecturing with the other CTMSS committee members since 2016 in PULSES lectures and at the Annual meeting of the organization. She has traveled nationally and internationally on behalf of the society to improve the awareness, and accessibility of this form of neuromodulation. Her colleagues in this educational endeavor include: Suzanne Kerns MD, Mohammed Abdelghani MD, Linda Carpenter MD, Professor Anthony Barker, Richard Pitch MD, Kimberly Cress MD, Mark George MD, Kevin Kinback MD, Max Okasha MD, Todd Hutton MD, David Feifel MD, and Brian Smith MD.
Lauren Valencia, L.C.S.W, Therapist & TMS Coordinator
Lauren Valencia, LCSW has worked alongside Dr. Cochran at the Nashville Center for Hope & Healing and the Neuroscience and TMS Treatment Centers since 2013 as a Therapist and TMS Coordinator/Supervisor. She has presented and facilitated group discussions at the Clinical TMS Society Annual Meetings in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. In therapy and during TMS sessions, Lauren utilizes aspects of CBT, DBT, and Motivational Interviewing to work with patients. She helps patients find their personal strengths to develop and achieve treatment goals relevant to living a fulfilling life.
Lauren graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Social Work in 2013 with a Masters of Science. Prior to becoming a licensed therapist, Lauren received her Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Criminology from Florida State University. Lauren's previous experiences include working with patients in the Tennessee Valley VA Health System, Alive Hospice, and Children's Home Society of Florida.