Transcranial magnetic stimulation in child and adolescent psychiatry

Since the early days at Bradley Hospital, child psychiatry has relied on evidence‐based approaches to treat psychiatric illness, most notably psychotherapy and medication. In 1937, Dr. Charles Bradley's observation that benzedrine improved self‐regulation in children was the foundation for modern stimulant treatment of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Our adult psychiatry colleagues similarly rely on psychopharmacology and psychotherapy, but they increasingly have a third treatment modality at their disposal: brain stimulation. Several forms of brain stimulation are now available in adult psychiatry. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is used for complex, severe presentations of obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD), and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains one of the most effective treatments for severe mood disorders. From a child psychiatry perspective, however, the most exciting development relates to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).