The fifth pillar includes the treatments most commonly associated with psychiatry: medications and psychotherapy, but with precision and a personalized treatment approach. At Ascend Psychiatry, it also includes interventional psychiatry, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), ketamine-based treatments (including Spravato), and other evidence-based somatic therapies. All of these treatments are prescribed with the individual patient in mind, laboratory tests such as GeneSight, inflammatory markers and
Medications remain an essential component of care for many psychiatric conditions. When prescribed thoughtfully and monitored closely, they can stabilize mood, reduce anxiety, improve attention, and allow patients to engage more fully in therapy and lifestyle change. Psychotherapy—whether CBT, DBT, psychodynamic, trauma-focused, or integrative—provides insight, emotional processing, and skill development that medication alone cannot achieve.
For patients who do not respond adequately to traditional treatments, interventional psychiatry offers additional options. TMS has strong evidence for treatment-resistant depression and is increasingly being studied for other conditions. Spravato has demonstrated rapid antidepressant effects in carefully selected patients, particularly during severe or acute phases of illness.
These interventions are not shortcuts, nor are they replacements for the other pillars. Rather, they can reduce symptom burden and create enough stability for deeper, longer-term work. In acute phases, interventions may take priority. As symptoms improve, the other pillars become increasingly central to sustaining recovery.