PHOENIX — Spencer Eldredge says the loss of his son shaped his life for more than a decade.
“My son passed away in 2009 and that long-term trauma and depression shut down pathways to my brain,” Eldredge told ABC15. “Life’s difficult. I just thought everyone struggled like this and it was me that was the problem that I just couldn't figure out how to manage it.”
Eldredge eventually visited Camelback Recovery for TMS treatment — transcranial magnetic stimulation — that is used to activate the parts of the brain used in mood regulation.
“Usually we use medications to boost those levels up, but this machine here essentially does the same thing without using any medications,” said Dr. Rob Westerman, the Chief Medical Officer for Camelback Integrated Health and Wellness.
“It’s just a magnetic field. There (is) no electrical stimulation,” Eldredge said. “It does just feel like tapping on your head.”
The treatments are normally administered daily over a number of weeks and Westerman says they are covered by most insurance. In some cases, sessions can be administered in as little as three minutes.
“I can think things through. I can process emotions. I can handle difficult things,” Eldredge told ABC15. “I’m taking care of things I should’ve taken care of a long time ago.”
The treatment also helped Tim Westbrook, the founder and CEO of Camelback Recovery in 2022.
“It was just a new technology I had learned about and it was helping people,” Westbrook said on his decision to bring in the TMS machine in late 2022.
“We’re seeing less hospitalizations, we’re seeing less doctors appointments. It’s catching on,” Westerman said.
The technology is still evolving but Eldridge calls it life-changing.
“I’m more emotionally available for my kids now than I was before. I’m not stuck in my sorrows of where I would've been.”
