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The Miami Symposium 2025: Interdisciplinary Solutions to Mental Health Challenges: From Precision Medicine to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Breaking Boundaries: TMS in Addiction Treatment

Antonello Bonci, M.D.
Colleen A. Hanlon, Ph.D.
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Information

Date & Time

Description

Addictions and Beyond: The Many Faces of TMS
Presented by Dr. Antonello Bonci
This lecture describes the history, mechanisms of action, and the science and rationale behind using TMS on chemical and non-chemical addictions. Dr. Bonci will also briefly touch on the latest findings on how TMS is impacting an increasingly wider variety of neurological and psychiatric diseases.

Currents of Hope: Using TMS to Transform the Lives of Patients with Drug and Alcohol Use Disorders
Presented by Dr. Colleen Hanlon
This session explores the emerging role of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in treating patients with drug and alcohol use disorders. Participants will learn how TMS modulates brain circuits linked to addiction, review clinical evidence supporting its effectiveness, and examine real-world applications that offer new hope for recovery. The session highlights practical strategies for integrating TMS into comprehensive treatment plans to improve outcomes and transform lives.

Educational Goal

This presentation demonstrates how Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) can effectively target the neurocircuitry of addiction to reduce cravings and support sustained recovery. Attendees will gain insight into clinical evidence and practical approaches for integrating TMS into comprehensive care for patients with substance use disorders

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Explain how clinical, operational, and management teams can collaborate to deliver comprehensive, patient-centered behavioral health services.

  • Summarize how to intentionally design and operationalize interdisciplinary collaboration.

  • Describe at least three strategies for facilitating interprofessional communication, coordinating transitions between levels of care, or overcoming common operational barriers.

  • Explain how TMS modulates brain circuits to reduce cravings and support sustained recovery.

  • Evaluate the clinical evidence supporting the use of TMS in treating substance use disorders.

  • Identify at least two practical strategies for integrating TMS into comprehensive treatment plans for patients with substance use disorders.

Target Audience

  • Addiction Professional
  • Counselor
  • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • Nurse
  • Physician
  • Psychologist
  • Social Worker

Presenters

Antonello Bonci, M.D.
Dr. Antonello Bonci is the President and Founder of GIA Healthcare. He left UCSF in 2010, where he was Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Neurology. Before moving to GIA Miami, he was Scientific Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the NIH. He is known worldwide for his pioneering studies on the long-term effects of stress and drug exposure on the brain. Dr. Bonci is also one of the pioneers in the research and application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
Colleen A. Hanlon, Ph.D.
Dr. Hanlon is a globally recognized pioneer in the non-invasive neuromodulation field. She is particularly well known for her contributions to developing TMS as a non-invasive therapeutic tool for addiction. Prior to joining BrainsWay in 2022 as the Vice President of Medical Affairs and Director of the Innovation Team at BrainsWay, Dr. Hanlon was a tenured professor at the Wake Forest School of Medicine wherein she ran the Clinical Neuromodulation Laboratory. During her 17 years of academic research, she received over $12 million in National Institute of Health funding and led over 15 clinical studies of TMS. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications, and mentored over 70 trainees in brain imaging and TMS. In 2023 she received the International Brain Stimulation Early Career Investigator award. She is the senior author on the inaugural 'Consensus Paper' on Non-Invasive Therapeutic Development for Addiction.

Raised in Florida, Dr. Hanlon attended the University of Florida. She received a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Duke University in 2005. She is actively engaged in education and training in brain stimulation, nationally and internationally, and derives intense satisfaction from teaching others about the science, research, and practicalities of delivering new TMS therapeutics to patients.