Flow Neuroscience Headsets Appeal

We are raising money to purchase additional Flow Neuroscience headsets to continue our work as the first NHS mental health crisis service in the UK to offer these headsets as a treatment option. 

Flow Neuroscience headsets work by applying a gentle electrical current to stimulate and restore activity to an area of the brain called the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This non-invasion treatment, known as tDCS – or transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, helps to rebalance activity in this area of the brain, which is responsible for regulating mood, sleep and motivation.

LPT recently led a pilot project to reduce the symptoms of depression where eligible patients took part in a six-week programme, completing monitoring surveys throughout alongside regular patient check-ins with clinicians, weekly clinics and, in some cases, medication. 

For the majority of patients who took part in the pilot, their feedback showed the headsets made a significant improvement to their mental health and wellbeing. Around 80% of patients reported a decrease in their depression symptoms, with some patients experiencing a drop in suicidal ideation by up to 75%, compared to how they reported feeling at the beginning of the pilot. Data also found the use of the Flow headsets helped to stabilise patients quickly, with significant improvements in patient mood within two to three weeks.

Dr Mark McConnochie, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust consultant psychiatrist in a crisis resolution and home treatment, said: “Our aim is always to help people recover from, or prevent the escalation of, mental health crisis – and to see those people recover and go on to live fulfilling lives.  Wherever possible and when safe to do so, we want to treat people in their homes, rather than in hospital. This is often where they feel comfortable and so can provide a better environment to aid recovery. Longer term, the Flow headsets could help us to do more of this work and provide an additional, effective treatment option for patients to consider, particularly if medication isn’t suitable for them.”

Funding more of these headsets would not only help us to support more patients but it would also allow us to continue to research their wider impact. We want to further look into how the headsets impact suicide rates and having a wider number of patients using these headsets would give us a greater amount of research and evidence.

For testimonials, visit here.

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