Clinical trials

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine whether a 5-day course of bilateral accelerated deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (aTMS) is a feasible treatment to help adults (18-65) with Tobacco Use Disorder to quit smoking. This study aims to enroll 30-40 participants and will examine treatment tolerability, treatment acceptability, participant retention, and adherence to scheduled treatment sessions. There are two key objectives and hypotheses: Objective 1: To evaluate whether a 1-week course of bilateral aTMS (4 sessions per day for 5 days) is feasible and tolerable as a smoking cessation treatment. Hypothesis 1: Feasibility will be demonstrated by acceptable tolerability, acceptability, retention, and adherence, with a practical target of 30 out of 40 participants completing the treatment. Objective 2: To explore how aTMS affects smoking outcomes, including: * Point-prevalence abstinence at end of treatment and at Weeks 3, 5, and 9. * Prolonged/continuous abstinence at Weeks 13 and 26. * Craving, cigarettes per day, and dependence severity. Hypothesis 2: Participants will show improvements on these outcomes from post-treatment through follow-up.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) involves intense emotional ups and downs, unstable relationships, impulsivity, and a poor sense of self. These challenges often lead to addiction, self-harm, and frequent use of healthcare services. While certain treatments already in practice - such as dialectical behavior therapy - can help, they don't work for everyone or address all aspects of the disorder. This study plans to explore internal family systems (IFS) therapy, a method that views the mind as made up of different "parts" - each with its own thoughts and feelings. IFS helps people build understanding and compassion toward these parts and connect with a calmer, more centered "Self." This may be especially useful for those with BPD, who often feel fragmented and extremely critical of themselves and others. This will be the first study to examine internal family systems therapy for BPD. The participants (15 in total) will receive up to 50 individual sessions over 15 months. Changes in symptoms and overall mental health will be measured at four points during the study. People with lived experience of BPD will help shape the research to ensure it is relevant, respectful, and useful for others facing similar challenges.