Mind Alive Blog

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest member of the Mind Alive team.  Marissa will be managing our social networking sites and updating our blog, as well as assisting with some of the administrative duties around the office.  Marissa has several years of experience in marketing and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Grant MacEwan University with a major in Psychology.

It is Marissa’s job to educate and enlighten our viewers about new developments and research in brain technology.  She can’t wait for the chance to spread the word about all of the exciting new developments at Mind Alive Inc.  Feel free to contact her through Education@MindAlive.com with any questions or suggestions about the content which you wish to see in our upcoming blogs, tweets, or Facebook posts.

We are excited to have Marissa as part of our team and we hope that she will feel very much at home here at Mind Alive Inc.

Dear Dave and Nancy,

Active Healing, Inc. is a provider of neurological reorganization located in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Active Healing’s primary focus is the use of developmentally appropriate functional movement to boost the function of subcortical and cortical brain stages. As the executive director it has been my mission over the last 16 years to innovate this program so the care we offer continues to be both wholistic and as efficacious as possible. For the past decade Mind Alive’s DAVID audio-visual entrainment devices have been one of the technologies I have relied on to help the patients under our care.  

Among the various populations of people I work with at Active Healing I see a large community of kids who have been traumatized and subsequently labeled with; fetal alcohol syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, reactive attachment disorder, anxiety and ADHD. Since many of these children go to extremes to maintain control I have parents who find it necessary to lock themselves into their own bedroom, alarm all interior doors in the house and lock up anything that could be used as a weapon. In these households, everyone is under tremendous stress and this is not an environment conducive to healing and recovery

The opportunity for these children to relax and let go of the overwhelming need to control everyone and every situation in their life is a huge part of their recovery process. When the brain is living in stress it restricts the ability of the child to heal.  All of the body’s resources are going towards survival. Of course, when this is protracted over years of time the impact on their mental and physical health is severe. Allowing a child to dissociate for several minutes every day and then rebalance allows them opportunity for their brain to rejuvenate.

Adding a DAVID audio-visual entrainment device to the therapy protocol for the child, the parents and any siblings can have profound positive impact. From the perspective of a program of neurological reorganization they become much more available to all the developmental stimulation we are using to organize their brains. They become much better at self-regulation, less violent, less impulsive and generally better able to function whether it is at home or at school.

From the parents we hear testimonials such as all are living on the fight/flight/freeze end of the continuum.  Kids are better able to transition and are more flexible in their thinking. In some cases kids with Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD) make huge improvements in their depression.

While all the gains from using have been significant it has also been a pleasure to do business with everyone at Mind Alive. The entire staff makes themselves very available for any questions I may have and is generous with their time. Their commitment to improving the lives of countless people shines through with their customer service.

In health,

Sargent L. Goodchild Jr.

Executive Director

Over the years, some of our customers have been requesting that we upload the ALERT-ADHD sessions into the Pal36 with CES and the Delight Pro products, as they found that adding CES boosted the effect of the AVE on their clients.

So I decided to investigate the research on CES as it relates to ADD & ADHD. I was impressed enough to take action. So, Mind Alive has decided to make the ALERT-Pro, an ALERT with CES added. Here is the research that we used in deciding to add CES to the ALERT.

Introduction

Children with ADD/ADHD and behavioural disorders (BD) often struggle with compounded issues such as insomnia, depression, anxiety, poor cognition (mental performance) and a tendency to experiment with drugs. There are several studies using CES to help with these concerns, as shown in Table 1. Parents and clinicians using the ALERT are experiencing very positive results and those that have used AVE with CES say that effects are enhanced when using both together.   

Table 1. Compilation of Studies Using CES. (Ray Smith, 2008)

A study by Ray Smith (1992), of 23 ADD children using CES for 45 minutes per day for three weeks showed profound effects in reducing state anxiety (anxiety in the moment) and trait anxiety (overall anxiety) and depression (Figure 1). A follow-up after 18 months showed that the effects were still holding quite well. Ray also measured IQ and found significant improvements (Figure 2), which also held over 18 months.

                                          

Dave & Nancy spent the first week sailing in the British Virgin Islands. Sailing provides an excellent way of making dendrites. Dendrites are the little “wires” that form in the brain every time we learn or experience something new. When it comes to making dendrites, it’s important to do a variety of activities. I do all kinds of things and I enjoy sailing because it boosts these important parts of my brain:

You get to make great quantities of vitamin D, which boost brain power and sharpness.

Balance - from having to run around on a rocking boat when setting sails, anchor, fender tie-lines, and so on.

Spatial – from tying ropes for various functions and eyeing up course routes over the water, particularly in channels.

Math – When working with charts, planning routes and plotting position while underway.

Technical – Something usually needs repair on a chartered boat. So it’s good to know electrical (I bring a meter) and mechanical to repair the heads, motor, pumps, rigging or anything else that might need attending to.