What to Have Ready: A Resource Guide for the Executive Assistant Who's Been Asked "What Would I Even Do?"
They said yes. Or something close to it. The door is open, and if you don't have something ready to put through it, it will close again. This is the practical part: what the options are, which one fits an executive's life, and exactly how to make the first step happen.
Last updated November 3, 2026.
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They said yes. Or something close to it. Maybe it was a full conversation; maybe it was "I don't know, what would I even do?" said quietly at the end of a bad day. Either way, the door is open, and if you don't have something ready to put through it, it will close again.
This is the third article in a series for executive assistants supporting a leader who has been through trauma and is now caught in depression and anxiety. The first was about recognizing what you're seeing. The second was about how to raise it. This one is the practical part: what the options are, which one fits an executive's life, and exactly how to make the first step happen.
What you're likely dealing with
Trauma followed by a persistent, worsening spiral of low mood, anxiety, exhaustion, and impaired decision-making is, clinically, very often major depressive disorder with anxious features. Not grief anymore. Not burnout. A condition with treatments.
Your executive may already have seen someone. Many have. Many are quietly on an antidepressant that took the edge off and nothing more, or that they stopped because of side effects. If that's the case, they're in a specific category: depression that hasn't responded adequately to medication. That category has its own solutions, and they're better than most people know.
The options, in plain terms
Therapy. Essential, and it works. But it's slow, and for someone in an acute spiral, it's often not enough on its own. If they're not seeing anyone, this should start. If they are, it should continue.
Antidepressant medication. The default first step. Six to twelve weeks to judge each one. Systemic side effects. For someone who's already tried one without adequate relief, the odds that the next one produces remission are around 14 percent.
Esketamine. A ketamine-derived nasal spray, clinic-administered with monitoring. Works quickly for some, but typically requires ongoing maintenance sessions, and involves dissociation during treatment. Hard to make discreet.
ECT. The most effective conventional option for severe depression, with a remission rate around 48 percent. Requires general anesthesia, multiple sessions a week for several weeks, and carries a risk of memory problems. Rarely a first choice for a working executive.
Standard TMS. Magnetic stimulation of the brain's mood-regulation region. No anesthesia, no drugs. But it requires one visit a day, five days a week, for six to nine weeks: 30 to 36 appointments. For an executive's calendar, that's usually the reason it doesn't happen.
SAINT. The one you should understand well enough to explain.
SAINT, explained for someone who has to explain it
SAINT stands for Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy. It was developed at Stanford's Brain Stimulation Lab, received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation, and was cleared in 2022 for adults with major depressive disorder who haven't gotten adequate relief from antidepressants in their current episode.
Here's why it fits an executive:
- It's five days. Ten 10-minute sessions per day, with 50-minute breaks between them, for five consecutive days. That's one blocked week, not two months of daily appointments. Between sessions, they can work, take calls, or rest.
- It's precise. Before treatment, a 45-minute functional MRI maps their individual brain. An algorithm identifies the exact spot to target. Neuronavigation keeps the treatment coil on that spot, every session. It's the only FDA-cleared depression treatment that plans care from an image of the patient's own brain.
- It's clean. No anesthesia. Nothing enters the bloodstream. No interaction with other medications, which don't need to be stopped. The most common side effects in trials were mild headache, fatigue, and temporary scalp discomfort.
- It works. In the clinical trials behind its clearance, 79 percent of participants, all of whom had failed prior treatment, reached remission. Average time to remission: 2.6 days. Across more than 400 trial patients, 85 percent had symptom relief, with no serious adverse events.
- It's discreet. Delivered at a private outpatient clinic. A week away can be called anything the executive wants it called.
It isn't appropriate for people with non-removable metal in or near the head or an implanted device, which is screened at consultation.
Curious whether you'd qualify?
If you've tried medication and you're still not yourself, you may be a candidate for SAINT®. Our team will give you a straight answer.
How the process actually works
At a Verified SAINT Provider like Neuro Wellness TMS Centers of America:
- Consultation. The executive meets with the clinical team, reviews their history, and finds out whether they're a candidate. One appointment. No commitment. The initial consultation is a Zoom call; as steps evolve, they'll also have the option to meet by Zoom web conference or in person. The mandatory in-person steps include fMRI mapping and the actual treatment.
- fMRI. Roughly 45 minutes.
- Targeting. Done behind the scenes; nothing required of the patient.
- Treatment week. Five consecutive days, roughly full days at the clinic. Weekend availability exists for schedules that need it.
Data from published trials in treatment-resistant depression. Individual results vary.
Exactly what you can do
Call first, yourself. You can phone Neuro Wellness at 954-827-9793 to ask questions on your executive's behalf: what the consultation involves, how scheduling works, what the week looks like, what insurance or self-pay options exist. You don't need to give their name. You're gathering information so that you can explain it in thirty seconds when the moment comes.
Don't schedule treatment for them. The consultation is their decision and their call to make, or one they explicitly ask you to make on their behalf. Offer to set it up. Don't do it unasked.
Prepare the calendar cover. If they say yes, block the consultation and, later, the treatment week under whatever label they choose. "Offsite." "Personal." "Medical." Your discretion is the whole reason they can do this.
Assemble the history. If they're willing, help them list current and past medications, doses, and dates, and the names of any clinicians they've seen. The consultation will ask for this, and executives rarely have it organized.
Handle the logistics of the week. Transportation, meals, a quiet place to work between sessions if they want one, a plan for what gets delegated and what waits.
Then step back. Once they're in care, your role returns to what it was. You've done the part only you could do.
What to say when they ask
"There's a treatment called SAINT. It's from Stanford, FDA-cleared, and it's for depression that hasn't responded to medication. It's five days, not six weeks, no drugs, no anesthesia, and in trials nearly eight in ten people went into full remission. There's a clinic that does it, Neuro Wellness. I've already talked to them. The first appointment is just an evaluation. If you want, I'll put it on the calendar and call it whatever you like."
What to do next
Schedule a consultation: 954-827-9793
Learn more: neurowellnesstms.com/saint
If your executive says anything that suggests they're thinking about ending their life, treat it as an emergency. Encourage them to call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or call it yourself for guidance on how to help. This article is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for individual medical advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What treatment should I have ready when my boss asks 'what would I even do?'
Can I schedule treatment on my executive's behalf?
How do I explain SAINT in 30 seconds?
What exactly can I do to help beyond the conversation?
Explore Related Resources
You're the Executive Assistant. You're Watching Your Boss Fall Apart. Here's What You're Actually Seeing.
The first article: understanding the clinical pattern behind what you're seeing.
How to Tell Your Boss You're Worried About Them (Without Losing Your Job or Their Trust)
The second article: what to say, what not to say, and how to raise it without overstepping.
The Executive Who Can't Afford Six Weeks
Why the highest-functioning patients end up with the lowest-yield treatment — and what changes the calculation.
How to Do Due Diligence on a Depression Treatment
An eight-question framework for evaluating any depression treatment — using SAINT as the worked example.
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