I love talk therapy, but sometimes I am sick of having to do so much WORK. Sound familiar? LENS may be just the thing for you! Low Energy Neurofeedback System (LENS) is a method that uses electrical signals to help stimulate areas of your brain that may not be performing at their optimal level. To learn more, I met with Katherine Poole and Will Rickman, two LENS technicians here at Forward who empower their clients on their journeys to brain health.

Trauma, grief, and general life experiences cause areas of the brain to be unable to pass information along as quickly. In turn, debilitating symptoms like anxiety, depression, anger, lethargy and more can appear. Clients who have used neurofeedback therapy have reported seeing results as soon as during the ride home- colors may appear brighter, anxiety responses may be reduced and go away, even pain and migraines can be helped. Neurofeedback may sound daunting at first, but the drawbacks are negligible, and it can be used to help get to the root of debilitating symptoms that regular talk therapy may not be able to address.

So, what is it? LENS uses an app along with an EEG machine which specifically targets the areas of the brain that are electrically suppressed- meaning less activity is happening between the synapses in that part of the brain. Neurofeedback technician Will compares LENS to “shining a light into the dark corner of the room that you had forgotten existed.” The computer program then runs an individualized application based on what your brain needs to repair. It doesn’t hurt, and each session can last as short as a few minutes. A comprehensive questionnaire will be filled out with your LENS technician during your LENS intake, and then a shorter online questionnaire will be filled out 48 hours following each session to report how you are feeling and progressing. Based on that questionnaire, your Neurofeedback technician will individualize the the next session to ensure that you are reaching maximum brain health.

Our brains are constantly uptaking, processing, and compartmentalizing information. Areas of the brain can become essentially “stuck,” and have lower levels of activity. Experiences like trauma or addiction can become compartmentalized in this stuck area and are unable to be processed as readily. LENS disrupts ingrained patterns that have outgrown their usefulness. Your neurofeedback technician helps find these patterns and areas, send them a nudge to bring back to prime function. Clients who have used neurofeedback and seen unmatched benefits include those who have experienced trauma, ADHD, bodily pain, anxiety, disordered eating, memory, energy and sleep issues.

So, something this great has to have a negative side effect, right? For some people, there are short-term side effects with LENS. Katherine and Will explained that there may be negative-feeling side effects, such as a slight feeling of pressure in the head, which could last up to a day and a half for some people- but that these are usually a good sign, as this lets the technician know that the person’s nervous system did recognize the message that was sent during the session. Sometimes negative side effects can appear from overtreatment- meaning the brain is getting a bit too much stimulation in that session, but LENS technicians use a “toe in the water” approach, to attempt to mitigate these effects as much as possible. “At the bottom line, if they do experience over-treatment symptoms, it’s still a good thing; those will dampen over a few sessions, and it’s a good way to know that the feedback is working to help repair the brain.” Based on how each client feels, the level of feedback can be adjusted to address the side effects from over-stimulation.

When I first heard about using neurofeedback to address symptoms I was having, I was excited, but unsure. I am a pretty private person, and I would prefer to keep my neural pathways to myself, thank you very much. However, I am ready to do more on my journey to brain health- so I decided to jump in. When you’re a kid, colors are brighter, emotions roll off of your back, you feel happier, and jump out of bed (way too early.) Neurofeedback can help reduce symptoms brought on by the stressors of daily life and bring you back to feeling like a kid. Neurofeedback allows you to take control over your brain patterns. In many situations, it is possible to cure your brain health without using prescription medication. What we aim to do is address the brain as a whole, the patterns it creates and the experiences the client is having in order to propel the client to feel fully optimized.

LENS Technicians Katherine and Will are available for sessions in Memphis and Jackson, Tennessee!

by Alex Williams, Office Manager at Forward Counseling

Sources:

Marzbani, H., Marateb, H., & Mansourian, M. (2016, April). Neurofeedback: A comprehensive review on system design, methodology and clinical applications. Retrieved December 06, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4892319/

Lens Technicians Will Rickman, Katherine Poole, Lesley Rickman