Board of Directors, Beach Cities Health District (2020–2028)
Education: Princeton University · UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
Practice location: Manhattan Beach, California
Headshot
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Bio — Short (50 words)
Dr. Martha B. Koo, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist, Past President of the Clinical TMS Society, and Chief Medical Officer of Your Behavioral Health. A pioneer in transcranial magnetic stimulation since 2009, she founded Southern California's first private TMS clinic and now oversees 28+ facilities.
Dr. Martha B. Koo, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist, Past President of the Clinical TMS Society, and Chief Medical Officer of Your Behavioral Health. A pioneer in transcranial magnetic stimulation since 2009, she founded Southern California's first private TMS clinic and now oversees 28+ facilities.
Bio — Medium (150 words)
Dr. Martha B. Koo, MD, LFAPA, FCTMSS, FASAM, is a board-certified psychiatrist, addiction medicine specialist, psychoanalyst, and certified psychedelic-assisted therapist based in Manhattan Beach, California.
A Princeton and UCLA-trained physician, Dr. Koo opened Southern California's first private Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) clinic in 2009, long before the technology entered the mainstream. She went on to found Neuro Wellness Spa, now twelve clinics across the greater Los Angeles area, and serves as Chief Medical Officer for Your Behavioral Health, a 28+ facility behavioral health platform.
Past President of the Clinical TMS Society (2024–2025) and an elected member of the Beach Cities Health District Board, Dr. Koo combines clinical innovation with public health leadership. She has published peer-reviewed research in Brain Stimulation on TMS efficacy in adolescents, pregnant women, and treatment-resistant depression.
Dr. Martha B. Koo, MD, LFAPA, FCTMSS, FASAM, is a board-certified psychiatrist, addiction medicine specialist, psychoanalyst, and certified psychedelic-assisted therapist based in Manhattan Beach, California.
A Princeton and UCLA-trained physician, Dr. Koo opened Southern California's first private Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) clinic in 2009, long before the technology entered the mainstream. She went on to found Neuro Wellness Spa, now twelve clinics across the greater Los Angeles area, and serves as Chief Medical Officer for Your Behavioral Health, a 28+ facility behavioral health platform.
Past President of the Clinical TMS Society (2024–2025) and an elected member of the Beach Cities Health District Board, Dr. Koo combines clinical innovation with public health leadership. She has published peer-reviewed research in Brain Stimulation on TMS efficacy in adolescents, pregnant women, and treatment-resistant depression.
Bio — Long (500 words)
Dr. Martha B. Koo, MD, LFAPA, FCTMSS, FASAM, is one of the most credentialed and visible psychiatrists in the United States advancing the clinical practice of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and integrative neuromodulatory therapy. She is a board-certified psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist, a trained psychoanalyst, and a certified psychedelic-assisted therapist.
Dr. Koo completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She earned her medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha and Sigma Xi societies. She completed her psychiatry residency at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, followed by psychoanalytic training at the New Center for Psychoanalysis and psychedelic-assisted therapy certification with the California Institute of Integral Studies.
In 2009, Dr. Koo opened the South Bay TMS Therapy Center — Southern California's first private TMS clinic — at a time when most psychiatrists were skeptical of the technology. The practice evolved into Neuro Wellness Spa, which today operates twelve outpatient clinics across the greater Los Angeles area offering TMS, Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy (MeRT), Spravato (esketamine), and full-spectrum psychiatry. As Chief Medical Officer of Your Behavioral Health, the parent platform, she oversees more than twenty-eight facilities including Clear Behavioral Health and New Life House.
A founding member of the Clinical TMS Society (~2011), Dr. Koo served as its President from 2024 to 2025 and was inducted as a Fellow in the society's inaugural cohort in 2023. She received the CTMSS President's Award the same year. She also serves on the Boards of Directors of CTMSS, the Foundation for the Advancement of Clinical TMS (FACTMS), and Your Behavioral Health.
Dr. Koo's peer-reviewed research, published in Brain Stimulation, has expanded the evidence base for TMS in underserved populations — including pregnant women, adolescents, and patients with treatment-resistant depression. Her co-authored 2016 paper on blockchain applications in healthcare was selected as one of fifteen national winners in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Blockchain Healthcare Challenge.
Beyond her clinical and academic work, Dr. Koo has served on the Board of Directors of the Beach Cities Health District since 2020, including as Board President from 2022 to 2024, championing the $2 million Allcove youth mental health initiative serving the South Bay. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Southern California Psychiatric Society, Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
She is a contributing writer to Psychology Today's "Revolutionizing Addiction Recovery" blog and has appeared on numerous podcasts and panels, including Becker's Hospital Review CEO Roundtable, Pacific Neuroscience Institute Grand Rounds, the Osmind: Psychiatry Tomorrow podcast, and the FACTMS leadership panel. Dr. Koo lives in Manhattan Beach, California, where she has practiced for over 25 years.
Dr. Martha B. Koo, MD, LFAPA, FCTMSS, FASAM, is one of the most credentialed and visible psychiatrists in the United States advancing the clinical practice of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and integrative neuromodulatory therapy. She is a board-certified psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist, a trained psychoanalyst, and a certified psychedelic-assisted therapist.
Dr. Koo completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She earned her medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha and Sigma Xi societies. She completed her psychiatry residency at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, followed by psychoanalytic training at the New Center for Psychoanalysis and psychedelic-assisted therapy certification with the California Institute of Integral Studies.
In 2009, Dr. Koo opened the South Bay TMS Therapy Center — Southern California's first private TMS clinic — at a time when most psychiatrists were skeptical of the technology. The practice evolved into Neuro Wellness Spa, which today operates twelve outpatient clinics across the greater Los Angeles area offering TMS, Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy (MeRT), Spravato (esketamine), and full-spectrum psychiatry. As Chief Medical Officer of Your Behavioral Health, the parent platform, she oversees more than twenty-eight facilities including Clear Behavioral Health and New Life House.
A founding member of the Clinical TMS Society (~2011), Dr. Koo served as its President from 2024 to 2025 and was inducted as a Fellow in the society's inaugural cohort in 2023. She received the CTMSS President's Award the same year. She also serves on the Boards of Directors of CTMSS, the Foundation for the Advancement of Clinical TMS (FACTMS), and Your Behavioral Health.
Dr. Koo's peer-reviewed research, published in Brain Stimulation, has expanded the evidence base for TMS in underserved populations — including pregnant women, adolescents, and patients with treatment-resistant depression. Her co-authored 2016 paper on blockchain applications in healthcare was selected as one of fifteen national winners in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Blockchain Healthcare Challenge.
Beyond her clinical and academic work, Dr. Koo has served on the Board of Directors of the Beach Cities Health District since 2020, including as Board President from 2022 to 2024, championing the $2 million Allcove youth mental health initiative serving the South Bay. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Southern California Psychiatric Society, Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
She is a contributing writer to Psychology Today's "Revolutionizing Addiction Recovery" blog and has appeared on numerous podcasts and panels, including Becker's Hospital Review CEO Roundtable, Pacific Neuroscience Institute Grand Rounds, the Osmind: Psychiatry Tomorrow podcast, and the FACTMS leadership panel. Dr. Koo lives in Manhattan Beach, California, where she has practiced for over 25 years.
Areas of Expertise
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) — depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, addiction
Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy (MeRT) — autism, ADHD, TBI, cognitive decline
Spravato (esketamine) for treatment-resistant mood disorders
Psychedelic-assisted therapy and the science of novel interventions
Adolescent psychiatry and TMS in teens
Perinatal mental health and TMS in pregnancy
Addiction medicine and integrative recovery models
Healthcare leadership and the scaling of behavioral health platforms
Public health policy in mental health access
Sample Interview Questions
What drew you to TMS in 2009 — and how has the field changed?
Who is the ideal candidate for TMS, and how do you know it's working?
How do TMS, ketamine, and psychedelics fit together in a holistic treatment plan?
What's the most overlooked use case for TMS today?
As CMO of a 28-facility platform, what's the biggest gap in behavioral health delivery?
What does the next 10 years of psychiatric care look like?
