
ERIN AMATO, MD
Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Medical Director.
Erin Amato, MD, is a double board-certified psychiatrist, educator, award-winning speaker, author, and mother of six. With a passion for advancing mental health care, Dr. Amato specializes in cutting-edge treatments for depression, anxiety, and other mood and cognitive disorders that resist traditional interventions.
Dr. Amato was raised in Billings, Montana and attended medical school at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Upon graduation from medical school, she was awarded the Lillian Orchow Prize for
Outstanding Student in Psychiatry and was designated as an AMA Foundation Rock Sleyster Scholar.
She completed her internship and residency in General Psychiatry at Long Island Jewish Medical Center-Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York. She then pursued fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry through the NSLIJHS-Albert Einstein College of Medicine program in New Hyde Park, New York.
After finishing her training, Dr. Amato returned to Billings with her family to start clinical practice and was a founding member of Montana Psychiatry & Brain Health Center in 2009.
She was a pioneer in introducing interventional depression treatments to Montana and Wyoming, including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), IV ketamine therapy, and Spravato. Her practice focuses on innovative, evidence-based approaches to restore hope and healing for her patients.
Dr. Amato currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists, and Practitioners (ASKP3) and is the National Director of Interventional Psychiatry for Turnwell Mental Health Network. As the Medical Director of Montana Psychiatry & Brain Health Center in Billings and Bozeman, Montana she integrates traditional psychiatry with interventional therapies, personalized medicine, and lifestyle-based education to address the root causes of illness.
Dr. Amato is double board-certified in general and child and adolescent psychiatry and was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2015. She completed a fellowship in anti-aging, metabolic, and functional medicine through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) and became board-certified in 2021. She was a graduate of the inaugural class of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute where she earned certification in integrative psychiatry in 2020. She is also faculty for the IPI Ketamine Training Program and completed training in Ketamine and Psychedelic Medicine through the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI). She was named a fellow of the Clinical TMS Society in 2024.
A passionate advocate for mental health awareness, Dr. Amato has made numerous television appearances on Fox, CBS, and NBC. She is also the author of the new book, Think Outside the Bottle: How to Recover from Depression When Antidepressants Fail You.
Dr. Amato believes in a holistic approach to mental health, emphasizing interventions that address the mind, body, and lifestyle to achieve lasting well-being and recovery beyond the limitations of traditional treatments.
TMS
by Deb (age 64)
Category: generalThe hoops I jumped through in order to be evaluated were straightforward and efficient. I met with PA Kaitlin for about an hour to discuss my history and previous medications. Then Dr. Amato joined us to further discuss my history, the TMS treatment, and answer any questions. Myrna gathered all of the information and submitted it to my health insurance company to request coverage for TMS. Fortunately, insurance approved the treatment and I was able to begin the next week. I’m sure most people have anxiety about starting a treatment like TMS. No matter how many times it’s described to you, there are many unknowns. How will I feel during treatment? Is it painful? What if this doesn’t work? What if it works for a while but then stops? In all honesty, I was very uncomfortable during the first couple of weeks of treatment. The alternating two seconds of tapping sensation caused some pain during treatment, and at the end of the first week I thought about quitting. But I had sworn to myself that TMS was a last resort and I HAD TO complete the treatment and give it a chance to work. My technician, Heather, told me that some people don’t feel the tapping at all, they only hear it. Guess I wasn’t one of those people! But as the days went by, it became easier to tolerate the treatments. During this time I also saw Lauren weekly for CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy). This is highly recommended for people undergoing TMS treatment, and it was a positive complement to my total of 100 minutes each week “under the helmet”. The weekend between weeks three and four, I started to notice subtle improvements in my mood, increased belief in my self-worth, and enthusiasm for simple things like going for walks, meeting friends for lunch, and taking on volunteer work in the community. I hesitated at first to believe that TMS was helping me. I was afraid that I was convincing myself it was working because I so desperately wanted it to! But now that I am past the treatment I can say with cert
TMS
by Barbie (age 68)
Category: generalI feel so blessed to participate in the TMS protocol at MT Psychiatry. After struggling so many years with depression and not getting significant results from medication, particularly of late, I noticed positive results in the first two weeks of treatment. TMS can literally give you back the beauty & joy in living as well as the courage to make positive life changes and improvements in your daily living situation. I heartily encourage anyone to put yourself into the hands of the amazing TMS team who so gently and graciously make this journey with you out of the black hole that is depression. It is my honor and privilege to give the TMS treatment the highest recommendation.
TMS
by Shayne (age 66)
Category: generalI am grateful for the support and caring I have received from Dr. Amato (and Heidi, Heather and Myrna) in my quest for mental health and a fuller more productive life. While the TMS results have been subtle, I feel more positive about my future and I would recommend this team absolutely. Thank you!
TMS
by Carrie (age 65)
Category: generalNot realizing how fuzzy my head was, I thought I was only going through severe anxiety and depression. Through the insight of Pat, I was able to go through TMS treatments which brought down the anxiety and depression immensely and has cleared up the fuzzy, far off substantially. All the personnel treated me with kindness and I’m sure their attitudes helped in my recovery.
TMS
by Bridget (age 47)
Category: generalThe first outcome of TMS I noted happened early in my treatment, at about the beginning of week two. I felt as though my “brain fog” had been chipped away. I wish I could report that I feel my mental health issues are in “remission”, but I can’t do so yet. My hope is that I will see improvement in the weeks to come, now that my TMS cycle has ended. I can say that my brain feels – in some way – different; I can’t explain exactly how. I continue to struggle at this point in time but sill have hope for more improvement.
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