CLIENTS OFTEN ASK...

HOW MANY SESSIONS WILL IT TAKE BEFORE I AM DONE?

This is by far the most common question from my clients. The answer is that it depends on the severity and duration of symptoms. The longer and more severe, the longer the treatment course. The common experience clients report is that after each session, they see reduction in the frequency and duration of symptoms. I can typically give clients rough estimate of how many sessions they will likely need based on what I see in the brain assessment. However, retraining the brain is similar to retraining muscles - it takes time in the gym before you see results that stick. Ten sessions in the gym will get you some results, twenty sessions will get you more concrete results...It takes time.

DO YOU OFFER SLIDING SCALE RATES?

25% of my weekly workload is reserved for pro-bono work with clients experiencing homelessness or near homelessness, who are struggling with active addiction, or who are not connected to other programs due to lack of access to such services or other barriers. If this describes you, please contact me.

IS BRAIN STIMULATION SAFE?

Yes - the safety profile of brain stimulation approaches is excellent. Meta-analysis of safety is typically carried out in the literature every few years. For example, the latest findings on direct brain stimulation reported that: "To date, the use of conventional tDCS protocols in human trials (≤40 min, ≤4 milliamperes, ≤7.2 Coulombs) has not produced any reports of a Serious Adverse Effect or irreversible injury across over 33,200 sessions and 1000 subjects with repeated sessions. This includes a wide variety of subjects, including persons from potentially vulnerable populations."

Bikson, M., Grossman, P., Thomas, C., Zannou, A. L., Jiang, J., Adnan, T., ... & Woods, A. J. (2016). Safety of transcranial direct current stimulation: evidence based update 2016. Brain stimulation, 9(5), 641-661.

ARE THERE ANY CONDITIONS NOT SUITED FOR BRAIN STIMULATION?

In my experience, clients with cluster of symptoms consistent with Personality Disorders do not respond well to this type of therapy. These include Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Dependent or Avoidant Personality Disorder. Clients with these conditions are better served by specialized therapies such as Dialectical Behavioural Therapy.

DO YOU TREAT CHILDREN? WHAT IS THE YOUNGEST AGE?

No. I only work with youth and adults 16+.

IS THERE AN AGE BEYOND WHICH THE BRAIN IS TOO OLD TO CHANGE?

No - the brain retains its capacity for change well into old age. The exception are degenerative diseases such as different forms of dementia. Brain stimulation cannot reverse degeneration of neurons, however, brain stimulation can re-route communication pathways around damaged areas and create novel pathways. In these cases, I focus mainly on maintenance of existing capacities.

HOW LONG-LASTING ARE THE CHANGES?

Empirical research is notoriously focused on short-term effects and few studies track participants over the long term. The longest studies document maintenance of changes over a six month period. Theoretically, there is no reason for the brain to revert to its old patterns in the absence of new trauma or injury. Clients sometimes return for "tune up" sessions if under prolong stress or after an injury.

I RECEIVE SO MANY UNIQUE QUESTIONS..

If you don't see the answer to your question here, please email me and I will do my best to answer promptly