Brainwave Optimization

from azcentral.com

this is what I have been doing for the last 4 1/2 years, here in Emeryville, California. The technology is based, in part, upon mapping the brains of two, 40-year meditator, Tibetan Monks, who were also functioning as CEOs at the helm of large monestaries. Feel free to email or call me if you have questions, if this sounds interesting; or, if you know of someone who could benefit, please, send them my way.
Thanks,
John
510 301 8578
http://www.TheQuietMind.us

Article appeared in the The Arizona Republic on April 15, 2011
by Kristena Hansen 

For more than two years, Thomas St. Pierre, a 30-year-old Iraq war veteran from Mesa, set a glass of water near his bedside each night, bracing for dehydration when the inevitable spout of vivid nightmares would wake him within three hours.

St. Pierre had suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder since 2006, which often crippled his ability to function in crowded public places, eat at a restaurant and sometimes even drive a car.

After traditional and alternative treatments brought no relief, St. Pierre last month took a friend's advice and turned to the Brain State Technologies, headquartered in the Scottsdale Airpark.

He underwent the company's non-invasive treatment, which uses science and technology to balance brain-wave function. He said he saw improvement almost immediately.

"The second night, I actually slept for the first time in five years," he said. "It's given me my life back."

St. Pierre is among clients from across the world who, Brain State says, have been helped by the treatment with a variety of mental and physical ailments such as depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, drug dependency, eating disorders and dementia.

Brain State claims more than 87 percent of its roughly 30,000 clients reported their expectations were either met or exceeded after treatment.

From its headquarters, along Hayden Road just north of Raintree Drive, Brain State monitors more than 130 affiliate offices that are licensed and trained to use its technology, dubbed Brainwave Optimization, in 16 countries including South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The company has also built an eclectic client base of people of all ages and backgrounds since it was founded in 2002.

Singer Wynnona Judd, for example, touted Brain State across national media outlets and talk shows last year, crediting the treatment with her weight loss.

In Japan, the system is now aiding the most traumatized victims of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that hit the nation last month.

"Brainwave Optimization seeks to balance brain-wave patterns that have been disrupted due to physical and/or emotional trauma," said Lee Gerdes, Brain State founder who developed the treatment. Gerdes, 65, whose background includes mathematics and clinical psychology, developed the technology to relieve his own PTSD after he was severely beaten with baseball bats by teenagers.

He grew frustrated with therapists, doctors and prescription medications, which he felt only as a bandage for his symptoms and never addressed the core problem.

"You get to a point when you're saying, 'Hey, something's wrong here and I know it's not me,' " he said.

Gerdes began researching neurofeedback - a traditional method used to control brain-wave patterns - and electroencephalography, or EEG, the external sensors used in neurofeedback to identify brain waves.

He said he learned the brain is like the body's control center, and when it's off-balance, so is everything else.

When a person experiences trauma, the brain is de-harmonized and sends the body mixed signals, which drive symptoms such as stress, fear and depression, he said.

Brainwave Optimization treatments generally are painless and effortless. They usually are completed within 10 sessions, each about an hour and half long, over five to 10 days.

Non-invasive sensors connected to a computer are attached to different areas of the head as the client relaxes in a chair in a secluded room.

The sensors pick up brain-wave currents, which are transferred to the computer and then transformed into sound. That audio is then played back to the client via headphones, and it sounds like pleasant yet inharmonious chiming.

Craig Van Laningham, 48, who recently completed treatment for work-related stress, said he didn't mind the chiming until it influenced him to make an apologetic phone call to his ex-wife.

"When you do it, you feel this whole string of emotions," said Van Laningham, a CEO of two marketing firms who splits his time between Scottsdale and Santa Monica, Calif. "It actually kind of tripped me out."

The process of hearing one's own brain waves in real time, Gerdes said, acts as a mirror for the brain. By seeing a reflection of itself, the brain is able to correct its imbalances.

It's similar to how people rely on a mirror to show where messy hair needs brushing or makeup should be retouched.

"For the most part, clients report feeling positive effects in as little as two to three sessions, and most achieve their goals in 10 to 12 sessions," Gerdes said. "There are situations in which the trauma has been severe or lasting and that may cause us to recommend more sessions."