About Us
Approaches to mental health care are changing and it is becoming essential to understand the role of the brain in our emotions, behaviours and physical states. A background in trauma therapy has allowed us to develop our brain-aware practice and progress to working with neurofeedback. We believe that NFB gives us the most effective way to assess and treat our clients; specifically, the Othmer Infra-Low Frequency method helps our clients achieve change in a short space of time with positive outcomes being maintained. However as experienced psychotherapists, we are aware that relational therapy is needed to support a client through the changes and the reduction of lifelong symptoms brought about by NFB. We also encourage our clients to consider all aspects of brain health and well-being such as nutrition, exercise or meditative practices.
Helen McManus - Ayr
Helen has joined forces with Dawn to further the goal of helping people to recover as quickly as possible from various psychological problems. As such she has trained in analysis of quantitative electroencephalography and in neurofeedback; this development has arisen from her established practice as a ‘brainwise therapist’ spanning over 20 years.
Helen is a Counselling Psychologist and Psychotherapist and also trained in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), the Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic approaches. She has also been trained by Dr Frank Corrigan in the use of his Deep Brain Reorienting approach. Each of these therapies treats the symptoms of attachment, developmental and event trauma. These combined trainings continue to inform her work as a neurofeedback practitioner.
Helen’s background ranges from home educating her children and careers advising to massage therapy and working with victims of domestic abuse. Whilst neurofeedback does not require the same intensity of therapeutic and relational interaction as psychotherapy, she believes that her experience as a relational therapist is essential to the success of neurofeedback brain training.
She has a few specific interests which are contributory factors to her progression to neurofeedback practice: for example the Highly Sensitive Person (HSPs); the psychological origins of physical ill-health and ADHD.
Helen is establishing a practice in Ayr from October 2020 and is now taking referrals. She can be contacted through this website or directly on 07484130933. Registered with Health & Care Professions Council and Member of British Psychological Society.
Dawn Harris - Perth
Dawn is a Forensic and Clinical Psychologist, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and an Accredited Psychotherapist. She has worked in both the public and private sectors for over 20 years and has gained extensive experience of working with people with mental health problems. She is trained in a variety of psychotherapeutic modalities including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), CRM (Comprehensive Resource Model), CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and SP (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy), and believes that as each individual is unique, so their treatment should be. She is a firm believer in the relational aspect of healing, with her focus on working within a framework of mutual respect, trust and collaboration. She is committed to the body-brain connection and her interests lie in how the two interact. Many physical symptoms can often be caused by psychological difficulties.
Dawn is a Risk Assessor with the Risk Management Authority in Scotland, and a Parole Commissioner in Northern Ireland. She regularly supervises therapists who work with people who have a history of trauma, and is an Approved Trainer in the Comprehensive Resource Model. She also developed a BPS (British Psychological Society) approved training package that she delivers to organisations who wish to become trauma informed and responsive.
Dawn has now joined partnership with Helen as both feel neurofeedback has the ability to complement their existing training and way of working. Neurofeedback adds the capacity to use a truly unique approach to identifying a treatment plan specific to each person's needs. The use of a qEEG assessment identifies where the brain is over or under active, so that we can use this to develop an individual neurofeedback protocol for each person's specific needs. It is a more cost and time effective way of working, and research has shown that it can help improve many areas of a persons functioning relatively quickly, including problems with sleep, stress, performance, PTSD, anxiety and depression to name a few.
Dawn can be contacted through this website or directly on 07714322427. Registered with Health & Care Professions Council www.hpc-uk.org/ and British Psychological Society www.bps.org.uk
