Santa

Mindful Health Solutions – Santa Monica

You Deserve to Feel Better

12301 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 201, Santa Monica, California 90025

TMS Center

We’re a team of clinicians and staff who have dedicated our lives to research, education, and treating those with mental health conditions. We’re especially passionate about helping those with Treatment-Resistant Depression and providing the most advanced therapies available, including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and esketamine nasal spray, both FDA-approved for advanced depression.

Mental health conditions can be profoundly painful and isolating, making it difficult to seek help. Our team provides a unique, patient-centered experience to help you find the appropriate treatment and relief from your symptoms. We’re grateful to be practicing psychiatry during this era in which there are so many new treatment possibilities and new hope for those with mental health conditions.

Antidepressants are invaluable aids in the treatment of clinical depression and other mood disorders, but they’re not for everyone. According to the World Journal of Psychiatry, antidepressants don’t improve symptoms in 10–15 percent of people with depression and only partially improve symptoms in 30–40 percent. Also, many people experience side effects from antidepressants that can impact their overall well-being. On the other hand, TMS therapy has shown significantly better results than antidepressants with a small risk of experiencing mild, short-term side effects. One in two patients treated with TMS had a 50% reduction in their symptoms and about 30% of patients experience full remission, which means that their symptoms go away completely. While most patients begin to show improvement after two to three weeks of TMS treatments, it can take up to six weeks to achieve the maximum benefits. It is important to understand that mental health treatment plans are not a one-size-fits-all situation. Treatment plans may take longer or require different treatment option combinations to work best for certain patients. It is important for patients to communicate clearly with their provider about how their treatment plan is working. Collaboration between patient and provider can greatly impact the results of a patient’s wellness journey.
TMS is a safe treatment. While it is a relatively new mental health treatment, it was FDA-approved for the treatment of depression in 2008. Since then, there have been millions of individual treatment sessions performed in the United States. Our clinicians who administer TMS treatments are professionally trained and put each patient’s comfort first. TMS treatments do not hurt during or after each session. There are very few side effects of TMS therapy. Most side effects are mild and short-lasting, and can include: headaches, sleepiness, lightheadedness, scalp discomfort, twitching or tingling of the facial muscles. Many patients find the headpiece to be uncomfortable on their scalp and mild headaches are common during the first few treatments, but these generally go away within the first two weeks as people get used to the sensation. Patients rarely drop out of TMS because of side effects. More serious side effects happen very rarely, but can consist of: seizures, hearing problems from the loud clicking noise that occurs. during treatment, mania, which is more likely to occur if an adolescent has bipolar disorder However, our expert providers will use their professional knowledge to help avoid serious side effects like the ones listed above. Generally, patients will feel just like their normal selves. They will be able to drive and go back to their regular activities. Some people report feeling a little tired or having a mild headache, but that usually goes away after the first week or two. Other people report more energy and better focus, as well as the ability to ignore obsessive, anxious thoughts after treatment.
TMS delivers localized electromagnetic pulses to the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of your brain that regulates mood. These electromagnetic pulses stimulate neurons, which release neurotransmitters and hormones such as serotonin and dopamine. Depression and other mental health conditions are linked to an imbalance of these neurotransmitters. TMS for depression works to restore that balance and can provide a more lasting impact on relieving depression symptoms than other treatments, such as antidepressants. During a TMS treatment, the patient sits in a comfortable chair while the TMS coil is properly set in place on their head. (While this may sound intimidating, it really isn’t!) After the headpiece is in place, electromagnetic pulses are sent to the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain responsible for mood. While the pulses are being sent to the brain, patients can watch TV, listen to music, or talk with our staff. If they want and are comfortable, they can also have a friend or family member in the room with them during their TMS treatment session. Each treatment lasts about 20-30 minutes. The full course of treatment of TMS for depression will generally be five days a week for four to six weeks. We know that coming in five days a week for weeks on end is a commitment, but the results could impact your mental well-being for a lifetime.
Anxiety is sometimes treated with TMS, along with migraines and OCD. There is evidence that TMS may help for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, certain types of chronic pain, smoking cessation, PTSD, and autism in adults. There is also evidence TMS may help in recovery from stroke. There is evidence that it may help in mild dementia and certain other neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis may benefit as well.
Yes! Most major insurances cover TMS, and we’ll work directly with your insurance provider on your behalf to help you get covered.
OPENING HOURS
monday   9AM-6PM
tuesday   9AM-6PM
wednesday   9AM-6PM
thursday   9AM-6PM
friday   9AM-6PM
Treatments
Medication Management
Talk Therapy
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Spravato (Esketamine)
Ketamine Infusion
Psychiatric Services
Conditions Treated
Major Depressive Disorder
Anxiety
OCD
Bipolar Disorder
PTSD
Depression
Accepted Insurances
Kaiser
Anthem
BlueCrossBlueShield
Cigna
Magellan Health
Aetna
MHN
Optum
United
Blue Cross
Other
TriCare
VA-TriWest
Manufacturers Used
MagVenture

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Providers

Palei Alfaro

Palei Alfaro is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who is working at Mindful Health Solutions’ Sacramento clinic as a Psychotherapist. She has a passion for anxiety and depressive disorders.  She feels that these areas are what the typical person encounter more often in life, and she has developed an expansive “coping skills toolbox” to address many of the symptoms associated with the diagnosis.  She is also interested in behavioral areas like ADHD and mood disorders as well.

As a therapist, she describes her personality as positive, outgoing, and overall bubbly. She is genuinely hopeful and happy in working towards each of her patient’s personal successes. With that, she aims to establish safety, security and stability. Meaning she wants each patient to feel safe, and to understand that she provides a non-judgmental and unbiased space for them to build trust and establish a meaningful therapeutic relationship, and to know that they can depend on consistent and thorough treatment. 

Palei Alfaro comes to Mindful Health Solutions because of the cutting edge technology in mental/behavioral health field here. Seeing that, she immediately knew this was the place for her.  For years, she had been following and studying advances in treatment for mental health disorders and have always felt that there should be more access to these treatments.  Treatments such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy and esketamine treatments allow people to have alternatives to traditional medications, and find something that works for them.

Oana Galicki

Dr. Oana Galicki is an experienced and empathetic practitioner dedicated to helping her patients understand their mental health conditions and find appropriate treatments. She is humbled to walk the path to wellness with her patients, and help them transform their lives.

She has a strong academic and psychopharmacologic background as well as extensive training in various modalities of psychotherapy. With Mindful Health, Dr. Oana Galicki focuses in areas such as Medication management, TMS therapy, and Esketamine. She is determined to find what works best for each patient and work together to create a treatment plan for them.

Vangie Luriz

Growing up in the Philippines, Vangie witnessed a lack of mental health care. She had a cousin who developed substance induced psychosis and because of strong stigma towards people with mental illness, he never got the help he needed. This experience made her wonder how the brain works, and she became curious about why and how some people have mental illness. After immigrating to the US, she eventually embarked on her nursing journey and found herself most excited when working at the mental health clinical sites. To her, it is very rewarding to see an acute mentally ill patient improve with a promise of a better life.

Vangie believes in a holistic approach in taking care of the patients and the importance of establishing a therapeutic relationship. She provides care with empathy and compassion in an accommodating environment to foster open communication between herself and her patients. Her approach is evidence-based and client-centered while offering emotional support to the patients and their families, respecting their culture, values, beliefs and incorporating their strengths and weaknesses to promote adherence to treatment plan and facilitate the achievement of the treatment goals.

Because she has seen how much people with depression suffer, having the FDA-approved Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Esketamine nasal spray advanced treatment options available to help those with treatment-resistant depression is very promising to Vangie. She believes these non-invasive, evidence-based treatments offer an effective relief from depression and life-changing results with few side effects.

Sinmi Bamgbose

When she was young, Dr. Bamgbose was enthralled with the stories her father told her about his work as a clinical psychologist. She appreciated how he was able to talk to people and learn their thoughts, hopes, and fears, and help them integrate all of these elements into a more satisfying life. That, combined with a plethora of physicians in her family who always encouraged her to pursue medicine, led her down the path to psychiatry.

Dr. Bamgbose has an easy-going, laid back style. She loves connecting with her patients and making them feel comfortable sharing anything with her. She is very thoughtful and values collaborating with her patient on a treatment plan. She thinks humor is important and enjoys laughing with her patients as well!

She looks forward to integrating both Esketamine nasal spray and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) into her practice. TMS offers a non-medication intervention that may be better tolerated for some patients and thus allows greater flexibility in treatment planning. This is especially important for pregnant patients and others who want to explore other nonpharmacological treatment methods.