New therapy treatment helps veterans and first responders combat PTSD, depression and other disorders

TAMPA, Fla. — Doug White spent more than 14 years in the Air Force and over a decade as a former Sergeant and Deputy for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department.

“I often hear it referred to as a front row seat to the show you never wanted to see,” said Doug.

He said the chronic exposure to traumatic events haunted him for years.

WATCH NOW: New therapy treatment helps veterans and first responders combat PTSD, depression and other disorders

“So, you see human tragedy, not all day, but every day. There's certainly a potential. Child abuse, domestic abuse, natural deaths, homicides, people who complete suicide,” explained White.

But as a leader, he pretended to be fine, avoiding those horrific memories and burying any intrusive thoughts. Instead, Doug spent his time focusing on helping others.

“As a supervisor with the Sheriff's Office, I had been talking to my squads and platoons for a decade. You know, the 'It's okay not to be okay.' You know, 'Come to me, I can help you. We have an EAP. We have the Crisis Center. We have all these wonderful things and resources that we can get you to just ask.' And I was the biggest hypocrite in the room,” said White.

However, one day, he finally hit a wall.

“Sleeplessness, nightmares, headaches, aches, and pains. You know, all the physiological and neurological things that happen when you experience all of the things that go into post-traumatic stress," said White.

Eventually, the emotional and physical toll of hiding that trauma became paralyzing.

“One night, when I was on duty, I sat behind a closed-down school, and I was hopeless, helpless. There was no way out. I had no idea how I'd gotten there or how I was going to get out of there. And I realized that I drew my pistol from my holster. Now, I'm staring down the barrel of my pistol,” explained White.

That’s when he realized contemplating suicide was not the answer and finally asked for help. But even that path proved to be a challenge.

“I've tried everything. I really have! The therapy, light therapy, grounding, walking, swimming, running. You can't run enough miles to wish this away. I've tried,” said White.

Then White heard about “eTMS” or Electroencephalogram Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

“The goal is to restore the brain balance and the brain's connectivity,” said Dr. Julie Kim.

Dr. Julie Kim, the medical director of eTMS Florida, was on the ground floor of this technology when it was first developed in 2012. New results show tremendous improvements in PTSD, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, addiction, and so much more.

“80 to 90% of our patients show response to treatment. And when I say response, we're seeing about a 60% reduction in anxiety, depression, sleep scales,” explained Dr. Kim.

However, first, Dr. Kim said that a patient undergoes a brain scan.

“We do an EEG, so Electro Encephalogram. We map out the brain activity. We look for areas of misfiring or disruption, and then we create a protocol for each individual. And then we target those areas in the brain that have misfiring. And we target them and retrain those neurons to fire more efficiently,” explained Dr. Kim.

Doug agreed to go through that protocol, which involves 15-minute sessions per day for a total of 20 treatments.

“People who have sleep disorder, we see often a generalized slowing of brain wave activity in the prefrontal cortex. People who've had head injury or blunt trauma, we see a spike in slow wave activity kind of focal to that area. People with depression, we see a different pattern,” said Dr. Kim.

And if you’re apprehensive about the process, Dr. Kim assures you it is safe.

“It's non-invasive. It is non-pharmacologic. There's minimal side effects to this treatment. We can stop at any time, but we are seeing really profound changes in just 20 days of treatment. And so, it's an investment. It's 15 minutes a day, but I think it's well worth the risk,” said Dr. Kim.

Republican Representative of District 69, Danny Alvarez, is a veteran himself and wanted to get support for those still struggling who served our country.

“We know that a lot of our brothers and sisters suffer, not only soldiers, but cops and firefighters. They're the same type of person. They suffer way past the initial trauma event, and just because they're not in uniform, doesn't mean we abandon them,” said Representative Alvarez.

And he helped convince the Florida Legislature to financially back the eTMS program.

“Our veterans’ lives are worth everything, and we will never, ever finish our commitment to them until they're gone from this earth naturally,” said Representative Alvarez.

The state grant now allows veterans and first responders to get the eTMS treatment for free. And the incredible results have been life-changing.

“My headaches were gone. My sleep apnea that had been undertreated by the VA for years was now being treated well because my brain waves were now in function like they should be. The nightmares? I've had two nightmares since November 1, where they would visit me, previously to that, four or five times a week,” explained White.

White is beyond grateful to finally find something that worked, and he has this message to those who are still suffering in silence.

“Don't get to crisis. Raise your hand. Get help. It's the bravest thing that you will ever do, and it sends a message to the people who know you and respect you that they can do it too. It gives permission to other people to step out into the light and say, I deserve to live better, period,” said White.

Dr. Kim said more than 180 veterans and first responders have been treated in Florida since the eTMS program started in November. Right now, there are 6 locations open for treatment across the state and several more, including mobile units set to open over the next month.

You can learn more about the eTMS Florida program by clicking here.

You can also learn more about Doug White and his story here.