UC Davis Launches 5-Day Depression Treatment With 90% Success

People who've battled depression for years without finding relief now have a powerful new option that works in days instead of months.

UC Davis Health just launched SAINT (Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy) at its Advanced Psychiatric Therapeutics clinic in Sacramento. In a small Stanford study, 90% of participants with severe depression experienced symptom relief after completing the five-day treatment.

The therapy uses transcranial magnetic stimulation, which delivers magnetic pulses to specific brain areas without surgery or medication. What makes SAINT different is its personalized, accelerated approach.

Before treatment begins, doctors use brain imaging to map each patient's unique brain connectivity. This creates a custom treatment plan targeting the exact areas most likely to help that individual.

Instead of the traditional six-week schedule with daily sessions, SAINT delivers 10 treatment sessions per day over five consecutive days. Patients complete the entire protocol in less than a week.

"Treatment-resistant depression can be devastating, affecting every aspect of a person's life, including relationships, work and physical health," said Dr. Debra Kahn, medical director of the clinic. "Many patients come to us after years of trying medications and psychotherapy without sufficient relief."

The timing couldn't be more critical. A 2025 Gallup poll found that 18.3% of American adults currently have or are being treated for depression, a historic high. Depression rates have jumped 60% in the past decade.

Of those seeking treatment, nearly one-third experience treatment-resistant depression, where symptoms persist despite trying multiple medications. That's millions of Americans who've been told to keep trying different pills, often waiting months between attempts to see if something finally works.

Why This Inspires

Dr. Katharine Marder, a psychiatrist at the clinic, emphasizes a crucial message: "Treatment-resistant does not mean untreatable." Factors like medical conditions, anxiety disorders, genetics and trauma can all make depression harder to treat, but that doesn't mean hope is lost.

The field of interventional psychiatry is advancing rapidly, giving doctors more tools than ever. UC Davis now offers multiple advanced options including conventional TMS, esketamine nasal spray, electroconvulsive therapy, and now SAINT.

"Our goal is to match each patient with the treatment most likely to help them regain their quality of life," Marder said.

For someone who's spent years cycling through medications with little improvement, the possibility of meaningful relief in five days represents a fundamentally different future. Instead of waiting months to know if a new approach might work, patients can know within a week.

Patients interested in learning whether SAINT might help them can find information on UC Davis Health's Mood Disorders and Depression web page.