If you're researching SAINT™ TMS in Los Angeles, you’ve probably already tried antidepressant medications, psychotherapy, or standard TMS without achieving the relief you’re looking for.
Now you're looking at the most effective form of transcranial magnetic stimulation available for treatment-resistant depression. The catch is access. Only a handful of clinics in the U.S. currently offer SAINT TMS, and the price is typically $30,000+. Most insurance plans don't cover it.
Los Angeles is actually one of the better cities in the country for SAINT access. There are several FDA-approved providers within driving distance. But the cost is the same wherever you go.
This article covers your LA options in detail. Then it covers something most clinic pages won't tell you: there's an alternative fMRI-guided accelerated TMS protocol available for roughly a third of SAINT's price, with a short flight to Utah.
At Cognitive FX, we offer accelerated fMRI-guided TMS for patients with treatment-resistant depression at $9,000 to $12,000 with the same five-day structure, the same iTBS dosage, and personalized fMRI-based targeting. Book a free consultation to see if it's a good fit for you.
About this comparison: SAINT™ is a trademark of Stanford University, exclusively licensed to Magnus Medical. Cognitive FX is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed to provide SAINT, and does not use Magnus Medical equipment. We offer fMRI-guided intermittent theta burst TMS, with target locations determined by fMRI and our prescribing physician. We reference SAINT here only to compare treatment options.
Magnus Medical licenses the SAINT protocol to a small number of clinics nationally. Three are within driving distance of Los Angeles, plus one in Northern California for context.
Here's what each one offers.
The only SAINT-licensed clinic inside Los Angeles itself.
Founded by Dr. Ian Cook after a 25-year academic career at UCLA, the clinic offers SAINT TMS alongside other accelerated TMS protocols and ketamine therapy. It also provides second opinion consultations, which can be useful if you've been recommended a treatment elsewhere and want a psychiatry specialist to review the plan. Patients typically work directly with Dr. Cook, who personally administers and monitors each TMS session. New patients usually access the clinic by referral from another mental healthprovider, though direct inquiries are accepted.
Led by Dr. Robert Bota, a board-certified psychiatrist who previously started and led the first TMS program at UC Irvine. The flagship clinic is in Costa Mesa, with a second location in Westwood (Los Angeles) and a third in Jurupa Valley.
In addition to SAINT, BrainHealth Solutions offers traditional TMS (covered by most insurance plans for major depression and OCD), TMS for obsessive-compulsive disorder using the FDA-cleared MagVenture system, and psychiatric second opinion consultations. The team treats a broad scope of mental health conditions including major depressive disorder, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, grief, and addiction.
Roughly a two-hour drive south of Los Angeles in San Diego County. The original Kaizen Brain Center was founded by Dr. Mohammed Ahmed nearly a decade ago to combine neurology and psychiatry into an integrated neuropsychiatry practice.
Salma Health covers a broader diagnostic scope than the other LA-area SAINT providers. Beyond the SAINT TMS protocol and traditional TMS, the clinic treats traumatic brain injury, concussion, migraine and facial pain, memory disorders and dementia, and PTSD, alongside major depressive disorder, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
If you suspect your depression has a neurological contributor beyond pure psychiatry (post-concussion, post-COVID, chronic migraine), this is the only LA-area SAINT clinic structured to evaluate both sides as part of a coordinated brain wellness program.
Not technically in LA, but worth including because Acacia is the most established SAINT provider on the West Coast, and many of their patients fly more than 600 miles for treatment. Founded by Stanford Medicine alumni, including Dr. David Carreon (co-author of the original SAINT protocol) and Dr. Brandon Bentzley (lead developer of SAINT and co-founder of Magnus Medical, the company that licenses the protocol).
Acacia was the first independent treatment center to provide commercial SAINT therapy. The clinic has conducted SAINT clinical trials since 2021 and reports performing more accelerated TMS treatments than any provider in the world. They also offer their own proprietary protocol called HOPE-TMS®, which combines accelerated 5-day TMS with high-impact psychotherapy, which is similar to what we offer at Cognitive FX. Patients have access to research study participation and financial aid for self-pay patients.
All four are private clinics, and none currently bill commercial insurance plans for the SAINT protocol. That pathway is only available to Medicare and Medicaid patients receiving SAINT TMS in a hospital outpatient setting under the new CMS rule. Pricing for the full one-week course typically ranges from $30,000 to $36,000 out of pocket.
Each clinic delivers the same core SAINT protocol. Magnus Medical sets strict standards for the fMRI scan, the targeting algorithm, and the treatment delivery, so the medical experience is highly consistent. What varies is the clinic environment, the breadth of conditions treated, the team's research background, scheduling availability, and the ancillary services offered.
Wait times at established SAINT clinics are commonly several weeks. Capacity is the bottleneck. Before you commit, ask each clinic about:
SAINT works. The data from multiple clinical trials is strong, but the price keeps it out of reach for most patients who need it.
Commercial insurance plans do not cover SAINT TMS. The exception is Medicare and Medicaid patients receiving SAINT in hospital outpatient settings, where a new CMS payment rate reimburses hospitals $19,703 for the full protocol. However, none of the LA-area SAINT providers are hospital outpatient sites, so this coverage doesn't currently apply to patients seeking SAINT locally.
For self-pay patients, the math is stark. Among the LA-area clinics that publicly share their prices, the out-of-pocket cost ranges from $30,000 to $36,000 for a single week of treatment. For most LA households, that's the equivalent of several months of rent or mortgage. Even patients with significant HSA or FSA savings find it difficult to cover the cost fully.
The practical question is whether an alternative protocol exists at a lower price. It does (see below).
How different treatment approaches compare
SSRI rate from STAR*D study (Rush et al.). rTMS data from George et al. (Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2010). Combined rTMS + CBT from published meta-analyses. fMRI-guided rate from clinical research on personalized TMS protocols.
About this data: Remission and response figures shown are from published research on fMRI-guided accelerated TMS and the protocols cited below, not outcomes measured at Cognitive FX. Individual results vary. These figures describe the published protocols and do not represent a guarantee of any specific outcome. SAINT™ is a trademark of Stanford University, licensed to Magnus Medical; Cognitive FX is not affiliated with or endorsed by either and does not deliver the SAINT protocol.
To understand the cost question, it helps to know what makes SAINT TMS a better option compared to traditional TMS:
In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, 86% of patients with treatment-resistant depression responded and 79% achieved remission after five days of fMRI-guided iTBS. This was significantly higher than the 30% remission rate typically seen with standard TMS. A more recent real-world analysis found patients receiving fMRI-guided accelerated TMS were 2.3 times more likely to respond than those receiving non-guided accelerated treatment. Side effects across both protocols are typically mild and transient, most commonly scalp discomfort and brief headaches that resolve after the first few sessions.
Each of these elements is reproducible without Magnus Medical's proprietary software. The fMRI scan, neuronavigation, iTBS pulse delivery, and five-day schedule are all available through FDA-cleared equipment used at clinics outside the SAINT licensing network. The only piece a non-licensed clinic can't replicate is the Magnus targeting algorithm, but a trained neuroscientist analyzing the same fMRI data can find the same target location.
That's the basis of the off-label alternative, and that is what we offer at Cognitive FX.
See why the difference between a population average and your exact brain coordinate can determine whether treatment works
Standard TMS protocols use a single coordinate derived from population averages. That coordinate may be centimeters away from the specific spot in your prefrontal cortex that connects to your depression circuit. When the target is off, the magnetic pulse stimulates tissue that isn’t driving your depression — and treatment fails, not because TMS doesn’t work, but because it didn’t treat your brain.
This is likely the most common reason people try TMS and feel like it “didn’t work.” The technology worked. The address was wrong.
Look at the dots on the brain above. The spread between the population-average targets and any custom coordinate you place represents real anatomical variance — variance that determines treatment outcome.
Before your first pulse, Cognitive FX runs a resting-state fMRI scan. That scan maps the connectivity between your prefrontal cortex and the subgenual cingulate — the specific circuit that drives depression. We find the exact voxel in your DLPFC with the strongest connection to that circuit. That voxel becomes your treatment coordinate.
No other clinic in Utah does this. Most TMS providers pick a coordinate from a chart and apply the same protocol to every patient. We treat the brain in front of us.
Use the panel on the left to enter approximate coordinates and see where your target might fall — or schedule a consultation and we’ll find your exact location with imaging.
At Cognitive FX, we deliver fMRI-guided theta burst TMS using the same treatment structure, iTBS dosage, equipment, and schedule as SAINT™. We've been performing clinical fMRI scans for over a decade, which is what allows us to handle the targeting in-house rather than licensing Magnus's proprietary software.
| Cognitive FX fMRI-Guided TMS | Magnus SAINT™ TMS | |
|---|---|---|
| FDA-approved iTBS | Yes | Yes |
| FDA-approved neuronavigation | Yes | Yes |
| FDA-approved figure-8 coils | Yes | Yes |
| Treatment days | 5 | 5 |
| Sessions per day | 10 | 10 |
| Total sessions | 50 | 50 |
| Total TMS pulses | ~90,000 | 90,000 |
| Motor threshold pulse intensity | 90–120% | 90–120% |
| Personalized DLPFC targeting | fMRI analysis + personalized E-field coil orientation assists doctor in target location | FDA-approved proprietary software |
| CBT included | Yes | Varies by provider |
| Cost | $7,000–$12,000 | $30,000+ |
fMRI-guided accelerated TMS, 5-day course
The exact sequence of sessions, rest periods, and CBT varies by patient. The rhythm above illustrates the general pattern: short bursts of stimulation alternating with rest and therapy throughout the day. No anesthesia or sedation is involved.
About this comparison: SAINT™ is a trademark of Stanford University, exclusively licensed to Magnus Medical. Cognitive FX is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed to provide SAINT, and does not use Magnus Medical equipment. We offer fMRI-guided intermittent theta burst TMS, with target locations determined by fMRI and our prescribing physician. We reference SAINT here only to compare treatment options.
A fourth point worth mentioning, especially for LA patients: Treatment-resistant depression often has contributing factors beyond psychiatry. Post-concussion symptoms, long COVID, unresolved trauma, and other neurological contributors are common in patients who've failed multiple antidepressants. Our fNCI brain scan can identify whether something other than primary depression is driving symptoms. Crucially, this information changes the direction of treatment. SAINT-licensed clinics don't typically offer this evaluation, which is one reason patients with major depression and unresolved physical symptoms often see better outcomes when both are addressed together.
DISCLAIMER: SAINT™ is a trademark of The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University ("Stanford") and has exclusively licensed such mark to Magnus Medical. Cognitive FX is neither endorsed by Stanford nor utilizes Magnus Medical equipment nor claims to be offering the SAINT™ protocol as prescribed by Stanford University et al. or Magnus Medical. We provide fMRI-guided intermittent theta burst TMS with target locations determined by fMRI and our prescribing physician.
The obvious objection is distance. There are SAINT clinics 20 minutes from your house. The counterargument is $18,000 to $21,000.
Both options are five-day, out-of-pocket protocols delivering the same core treatment. The only meaningful difference for most patients is cost.
LAX, Burbank (BUR), Long Beach (LGB), and Orange County (SNA) all offer direct flights to Salt Lake City. Flight time is about 1 hour 45 minutes. Multiple daily flights run on Delta, Southwest, United, and JetBlue.
Provo Municipal Airport (PVU) is 10–15 minutes from our clinic and is served by Allegiant. If you fly into SLC, the drive to Provo is roughly 45 minutes. We have accommodation partnerships nearby with patient rates and shuttle service to and from the clinic each day of treatment.
Compare that to $30,000–$36,000 for SAINT at an LA clinic.
The savings are significant enough that even patients who initially planned to do SAINT locally often reconsider once they run the math.
There's no single right answer here.
LA-area SAINT clinics charge between $30,000 and $36,000 for the full one-week protocol. Commercial insurance plans rarely cover the price, so most patients pay self-pay.
No commercial insurance plans currently cover SAINT. The only exception is Medicare and Medicaid patients receiving SAINT in a hospital outpatient setting under the new CMS reimbursement rate of $19,703. None of the LA-area private SAINT clinics qualify under this rule.
Yes. Both SAINT TMS and our accelerated fMRI-guided TMS qualify as eligible medical expenses for HSA and FSA accounts. Because our treatment costs roughly a third of SAINT, the same HSA savings cover a much greater share of the total.
SAINT is a specific licensed product from Magnus Medical that uses proprietary software to analyze fMRI data and identify a target. Non-licensed clinics offering fMRI-guided accelerated TMS use fMRI targeting, iTBS delivery, and a five-day schedule, but rely on a trained clinician to analyze the imaging data and select the target.
Can I get an equivalent protocol to SAINT for less money?
No. SAINT™ specifically refers to a protocol that uses Magnus Medical’s proprietary targeting software. However, our fMRI-guided theta burst TMS follows the same number of sessions, total pulse count, iTBS delivery, fMRI targeting, and FDA-approved equipment at $9,000 to $12,000 instead of $30,000+.
Most SAINT-licensed clinics have multi-week waitlists due to capacity. The full protocol consumes a clinic's schedule for an entire week per patient. Ask each clinic directly about its current wait time.
This is one of the most common reasons patients come to us. Standard TMS using scalp-based targeting can land up to 2 cm from the spot in your prefrontal cortex that’s actually driving your depression. When the target is off, treatment fails not because TMS doesn't work, but because it lacks precision. Personalized fMRI targeting addresses this directly.
Side effects from SAINT and other forms of accelerated TMS are typically mild and short-lived. The most common are scalp discomfort and brief headaches during the first day or two of treatment, which usually resolve as the brain adjusts. Seizures are an extremely rare side effect of any TMS protocol, well under 0.01% of sessions. SAINT and Cognitive FX both screen out patients with a history of seizures or metallic implants near the treatment site.
If you've been weighing SAINT in LA and the cost is the barrier, talk to us first. Our free consultation is a 30-minute call with a member of our clinical team. You can also take our short quiz to see if you're a good fit for treatment, or call us directly at 385-334-6093.
Dr. Mark D. Allen holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Johns Hopkins University and received post-doctoral training in Cognitive Neuroscience and Functional Neuroimaging at the University of Washington. As a co-founder of Cognitive Fx, he played a pivotal role in establishing the unique and exceptional treatment approach. Dr. Allen is renowned for his pioneering work in adapting fMRI for clinical use. His contributions encompass neuroimaging biomarkers development for post-concussion diagnosis and innovative research into the pathophysiology of chronic post-concussion symptoms. He's conducted over 10,000 individualized fMRI patient assessments and crafted a high-intensity interval training program for neuronal and cerebrovascular recovery. Dr. Allen has also co-engineered a machine learning-based neuroanatomical discovery tool and advanced fMRI analysis techniques, ensuring more reliable analysis for concussion patients.
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