For folks who can’t pull out of depression with the help of psychotherapy and medication, and who want to avoid the seizures and memory loss associated with electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is shaping up to be a less drastic blues buster. Cleared in 2008 for the treatment of major depression, the physical therapy uses a small electromagnet, which is placed on the scalp right behind the left forehead, and delivers a tiny electric current to the part of the brain linked to depression.

Here’s what happens during the magnet therapy treatment:

1 – A computer sends electrical currents to a treatment coil placed around the patient’s head.

2 – The treatment coil converts those electrical currents into an MRI-strength magnetic field.

3 – The magnetic field stimulates neurons in the part of the brain – the prefrontal cortex – linked to depression.

Magnet therapy seems to work and provides depression relief, though medical researchers aren’t certain how or why: a 2008 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry shows the therapy is almost 3 times more effective than a placebo in easing depression.

And beyond tingling or slight pain in the scalp, the therapy has no serious side or slight pain in the scalp, the therapy has no serious side effects. The FDA-approved treatment is currently available in about 300 psychiatrists’ offices around the country, and it is covered by a growing number of insurance companies.

Magnet therapy appears particularly helpful for older adults, according to researcher Mark George, M.D., a psychiatrist and neurologist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. That’s because many of older patients are sensitive to side effects from medication, and electro-convulsive therapy is not an option for frailer patients.