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Low Energy Neurofeedback System (LENS)
The LENS, or Low Energy Neurofeedback System, is a unique, effective and safe form of neurotherapy or EEG biofeedback system being used in clinical settings for the treatment of numerous difficulties and disorders. It may be utilized as the primary treatment approach, or as an adjunct to other therapies. Patients across the lifespan, from young children to older adults, have benefited from LENS.
Low Energy Neurofeedback System (LENS) was developed by Len Ochs. He first started this system using light and sound. Now instead of light and sound he uses electromagnetic pulses to stimulate the location at which the brain wave is measured. The electromagnetic impulses are much less than those you are exposed to using your mobile phone.
LENS is not widely available in Australia but the number of practitioners is slowly growing. This system also uses a bar graph of the brain amplitudes and variability which is used for the purposes of developing a treatment protocol. The advantages to this system are that clients do not have to do anything such as watch a video because it uses impulses rather than images; the actual therapy is much shorter than other forms of neurotherapy; and it claims many fewer sessions are required for effect resulting in greater cost effectiveness for clients.
How does the LENS work?
While some forms of neurofeedback display information in the form of videos and games on a computer screen to guide the client to develop healthier brainwave patterns, the LENS uses a very low power electromagnetic field, similar to the ones that surround digital watches, as feedback to a number of sites on the brain. The feedback travels down the same wires which are used to measure the brain waves. Although the feedback signal is very weak, it produces a measurable change in the brainwaves without conscious effort from the individual receiving the feedback.
Sensors are applied to the scalp to detect brainwave signals which are then processed by the computer, with information extracted about certain key brainwave frequencies. Through a patented process, the information is fed back to the client down the sensor wires to the person’s skin. The results are reduction and/or elimination of the symptoms which previously interfered with the client’s quality of life. The sessions are brief (usually 3-5 minutes), gentle (usually the client feels nothing during the session), and the changes are lasting with some exceptions: with symptoms of progressive conditions such as Parkinson’s and MS, the treatment needs to be ongoing to sustain the improvement.
How Many Sessions?
The LENS is a specific kind of Neurofeedback that is easier to use with people who can’t sit still. With the LENS, the client doesn’t need to “do” anything, and there is nothing to learn. The typical session with the LENS lasts 20-30 minutes. This means that the LENS works well for people who either cannot or will not pay attention to a computer screen for a longer time periods. The number of LENS sessions range from as few as 1 to an overall average number of sessions of 20.
The treatment itself lasts between a few seconds and a few minutes, and results are typically seen in 1-20 sessions. This makes LENS an excellent option for all individuals, including those who are unable to attend for lengthy periods of time and/or who are unable to understand instructions.
Who is LENS for?
The Low Energy Neurofeedback System (LENS) facilitates changes in people of all ages with a wide variety of presenting issues. As a result, it has the capacity to address numerous symptoms and deficits. It is remarkably effective, and over 85% of people who have used the LENS have benefited significantly from it. Results can be seen quickly, often beginning within the first session, and are lasting.
What conditions does the LENS help with?
The LENS works well with symptoms of Central Nervous Symptom dysfunction: symptoms of anxiety-depression, ADD, ADHD, sleep disorders, headaches and migraines. It is also useful for organic brain conditions such as seizures and sub-clinical seizure activity, severely disruptive behavior disorders such as Conduct Disorder, Reactive Attachment and Bipolar Disorder, Autistic spectrum and pervasive developmental delay, Cerebral palsy, concussive injuries, PTSD, Acquired Brain Injury, and Birth Trauma.
The LENS works extremely well with: symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury (no matter how long ago the incident occurred); childhood sleep disorders such as bed wetting, sleep walking, sleep talking, teeth grinding, nightmares, and night terrors. The LENS can also be helpful with addictions/dependencies, suicidal behavior, anxiety and depression, cognition, mood, motor skills, motivation, reactivity, pain.
Do the results of LENS last?
If the problem being addressed is one of brain disregulation, then the answer is yes, and that covers a lot of ground. Neurofeedback involves learning by the brain and if that brings order out of disorder, the brain will continue to use its new capabilities, and thus reinforce them.
“The LENS can’t do everything for everybody. But it can and has made a difference that other approaches have not provided, and in general, in a much shorter time.”
Resources:
Book ‘Lens: The Low Energy Neurofeedback System’ by by Corydon D. Hammond
Book ‘The Healing Power of Neurofeedback’ by Stephen Larsen Ph.D. and Thom Hartmann