A magnet-based treatment for depression will soon come under health insurance, reports the Volkskrant on Friday.

The paper says that at least three health insurers will fund a new therapy for people with severe depression who have not responded to drugs or talking therapy.

It involves transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electrical stimulation of the brain using magnets.

Zorgverzekeraars Nederland, the umbrella organisation for nine Dutch health insurers has reportedly agreed that the therapy – widely used in America and England – can be helpful and told the Volkskrant it expects all insurers eventually to fund it.