Naperville Therapist finds Balancing Brainwaves can create Beneficial Relaxation

Jeff Lucas, LCPC, CADC, the Director of Dunham Counseling and Center for Brain Wellness in Naperville and St. Charles, and a mental health and substance abuse counselor for 30+ years, has a passion for helping others and is committed to searching out solutions to help his clients.

In his Naperville and St. Charles counseling practice, Lucas sees clients who suffer from chronic and debilitating mental, emotional and behavioral challenges: addictions/compulsions, anxiety, fear, depression, insomnia, ADHD, cognitive performance issues, relationship issues, learning and performance challenges that Lucas has effectively and efficiently addressed with some unique and effective brain-based treatment and wellness methods. "Brain-based approaches can be particularly effective because the brain is the central biological hub of the body, which directly impacts the mind," he says.

For the last 15 years, Lucas and his colleagues at Dunham Counseling have been using EMDR, a bilateral brain stimulation therapy, long considered an evidence-based approach for overcoming PTSD which many veterans and others with addictions face. While EMDR is highly researched and known to be efficacious for this condition, it is also well-known to be useful in addressing ANY condition that has been induced by the environment (e.g. anxiety and depression) and that has left a 'neurological imprint' of distress or disturbance on the individual, including addictions.

In addition to EMDR, Lucas has worked with Brainwave Optimization™, a safe, non-invasive technique that induces brainwave balance. The process was developed by Brain State Technologies in Scottsdale, AZ, in 2002 and can also be a very effective part of an overall wellness program for many mental and behavioral challenges , including PTSD, anxiety, depression, addictions/compulsions, learning and performance challenges.

Lucas saw good results with this method while treating one of his young, heroin-addicted clients 8 years ago. "This client had brain damage that resulted in cognitive and balance problems from a suicide attempt while using heroin. She survived the incident and came to us for intensive out-patient therapy. Although she had given up heroin, she had continued to have cravings for drugs and compulsively used cocaine and alcohol, which is typical for people trying to escape severe addictions," Lucas says. "She lacked insurance at the time, and could not afford to reenter drug rehabilitation treatment. I was sure she would not survive without additional services."

Lucas recommended Brainwave Optimization, which he had heard about from a psychologist consultant who raved about the outcomes she was seeing with her clients. "Ultimately, my client went through intensive brainwave optimization. In one week's time her desire to use drugs and alcohol vanished, and as she put it, "I made more progress in that one week with my brain than I had in six months of rehab at the hospital." She reported feeling much calmer, she was happier, she felt like eating 'healthy foods' for the first time in a while, and her focus and cognitive performance steadily improved. She eventually returned to school and got her nursing degree. Today she is happily married with a family."

Subsequently, Lucas opened the Center for Brain Wellness (formerly Center for Brain Training) in Naperville in 2010 at Dunham Counseling and has been providing this neuro-relaxation technology that balances brainwaves. This 'brainwave balancing technology,' is a noninvasive process meant to facilitate relaxation through what the developer calls an 'auto-calibration of neural oscillations.'

"It's just like how the two prongs on a tuning fork work," described Lee Gerdes, Brain State's founder and CEO, in a recent article. "You strike one, the other 'hears' it and starts resonating the same way. Basically we're doing the same thing with the right and left hemispheres of the brain."

Brainwave Optimization is a computer-guided, natural way to help your brain, and therefore you, achieve a longer lasting, deeper feeling of relaxation; assisting you to reach a state of calm. Brainwave Optimization is different from other approaches in that it uses precision measurement devices and sophisticated algorithms to produce a high-resolution sound-based mirror of your brain's activity in real time. Your brain frequencies are translated into sound frequencies that you listen to through ear buds. The proprietary process converts this unique and complex data stream into a progression of music-like tones, providing a real-time reflection of one's own brainwave activity. The brain recognizes what is out of balance and begins to self-correct or re-balance itself by mirroring brainwave activity.

Brainwave Optimization has been found to be extremely useful in facilitating the brain's own self-healing. It is particularly useful for improving sleep, reducing stress, mitigating cravings, enhancing a sense of calm, improving mood, improving performance, increasing focus and attention, and learning better. Young children through the very old can benefit. As a relaxation tool, it is primarily used to support, promote and maintain overall well-being and health. When the brain is stressed, every cell of our body, which is connected to the brain, is also stressed. Brainwave Optimization is a catalyst to help the brain to relax and reduce its own stress, thereby naturally promoting wellness. Trauma or chronic stress can lead the brain to become "stuck" and individuals with such history are especially likely to benefit from gaining a deep state of relaxation.

Brainwave Optimization is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or heal any disease, mental illness, or symptom. It is intended to facilitate relaxation and auto-calibration of neural oscillations.

The Brainwave Optimization process is now well on its way to becoming the 'fit bit' of the brain, with the development of a new mobile device by Brain State Technologies. Developed with the help of a grant from the U.S. Army Office of Research, the new device features a headband and blue-tooth technology to transmit data to a tablet to create the brainwave mirror through sound. The device can be an effective addition to in-office Brainwave Optimization sessions. The Center for Brain Wellness is a full service center for brainwave optimization in the office of Dunham Counseling in Naperville, offering both in-office brainwave optimization with certified brainwave technicians and the mobile Braintellect 2 device to the Center's clients. For additional information, contact Jeff Lucas, LCPC, CADC JLucas@dunhamcounseling.com, or go to www.centerforbrainwellness.co.