Five years ago, Dorian Mallia and his girlfriend were hit by a car while crossing the street. The woman was seriously injured but the damage Mr Mallia sustained was of a different kind altogether. Now 23, he speaks hesitantly when recalling the events of the day, and the long aftermath.

“I was angry a lot of the time; I had terrible road rage that made it impossible to drive,” he told The Sunday Times of Malta. “All the things I used to enjoy, playing Xbox or going out with my friends, became tedious. I had to stop my work and studies for a while. Even everyday tasks became a struggle.”

Mr Mallia was later diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For years he visited psychiatrists and took different medications, but nothing seemed to have a lasting effect. “I used to feel like I’d remain like this my whole life,” he said. “I wanted things to change but I didn’t really think it was possible.”

That was until a few weeks ago, when he became one of the first patients in Malta to experience a new treatment known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), which uses electromagnetic pulses to kickstart areas of the brain affected by depression and related mental illnesses.

“It was like a switch had gone on in my head,” Mr Mallia said. “I started driving again, playing Xbox and having fun when I go out. I almost feel like I did before the accident.”

Developed in 1985, rTMS has long been studied as a possible therapy for depression and other neurological and psychological disorders, and in 2008, the US Food and Drug Association approved rTMS as a treatment for patients with major depression who do not respond to antidepressants.

The treatment is typically administered over a number of sessions of under an hour each. A machine delivers short electromagnetic pulses using a probe positioned close to the targeted area of the brain, inducing neurons damaged by the disorder to start firing correctly again.

The procedure is painless and the patient remains conscious and alert, experiencing little more than a strong humming sound and tapping sensation.

The treatment was introduced locally by a private company, Crisis Resolution Malta, and has been in operation just a few months.

Anthony*, a science journalist, is another to have benefitted from the development. He has suffered from severe depression for at least 15 years, forcing him to take months at a time off work, badly affecting his family life, and saddling him with weight gain, memory loss and other unpleasant side-effects that often accompany antidepressant medication.

“You cannot describe it,” he said of his illness. “If you’ve never felt it, you can never understand it. You wake up and you’re very tired; everything seems grey. It’s like there is a curtain around you which changes your perception of the whole world: there’s no pleasure in doing anything.

It’s like asking you to run 100 metres at the Olympic Games with a broken leg

“Many people just tell you to get on with it, but it’s impossible. It’s like asking you to run 100 metres at the Olympic Games with a broken leg.”

Anthony was driven to try rTMS after years of different medications that made him feel “like a zombie”. His first sessions of rTMS were extremely positive, but he experienced a small relapse after about 10 sessions, which his psychiatrist assured him was normal.

After some 30 sessions, he is measured about his experience, but he has seen signs of a positive change and now feels more hopeful than ever about the future.

A new treatment known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) uses electromagnetic pulses to kickstart areas of the brain affected by depression and related mental illnesses.

“Right now I can’t say it’s definitely the ideal treatment because it’s still recent,” he said. “I know my cycle: every two months I’m down, and right now I’m not down. Certain things have changed: I’ve been able to reduce my medication and I’m doing more sports, which I’ve always wanted to do, but wasn’t able to.

“If these effects last, it will be the biggest change in my life since 15 years, and maybe the end of the tunnel.”

Psychiatrist Mark Xuereb, the founder of Crisis Resolution Malta which is pioneering the technique in Malta, said that he has been stunned by the results he has seen so far, with some patients showing progress in an hour or two.

Dr Xuereb also noted the vast potential of rTMS, even for decreasing suicidal thoughts.

“Research has been ongoing for years but until now we didn’t know where to target and how much magnetic power to apply,” he said. “Before it was like shooting a clay pigeon in the dark, now we know where the pigeon is and how to fire.”

The technique is not a magic bullet and is usually combined with other treatments like talk therapy or medication, while different disorders in different patients inevitably require different approaches.

Nevertheless, there is a “burgeoning body of evidence” showing that rTMS has higher success rates – according to some studies, as high as 80 per cent – and as a non-invasive, natural procedure, it has an obvious attractiveness to some patients, according to Dr Xuereb.

Although overseas rTMS procedures can be prohibitively expensive, Dr Xuereb said he has done everything possible to keep the price comparable to other treatments. The company is also in talks with the government over the possibility of the serve being offered free of charge to patients.

“By 2020, the World Health Organisation predicts that depression is going to be the most debilitating disorder in the world,” Dr Xuereb said. “Given that 350 million people are suffering from depression globally right now, it makes sense to invest in technologies that are going to give quick solutions, both from a health and economics perspective.”

(*Name has been changed)