Brain mapping helps mental health, Canmore clinic claims

A private clinic in Canmore says it can helppeople with mental health problems and brain injuries by mapping their grey matter.

The Gaia clinic says it is the sole provider in Canada of Brain Electrical Activity Mapping (BEAM) technology.

The clinic offers BEAM as part of a package of services at the cost of $10,000.

Miranda Currieof Yellowknife travelled to Canmore seeking relief from the effects of three concussions. Among other symptoms, she walks with a cane andhas trouble speaking.

Currie saidshe has sought help from a variety ofpractitioners.

"I've seen movement specialists, neurologists,all these people trying to figure out what this is."

Dr. Tracy Thomson, the Gaiaclinic's founder, said the package includesBEAM as well as a range ofsupplementary services for patients.

"Then we put it together in an integrative brain plan," she said, "almost like a lifestyle plan to heal her brain."

There is debate about the effectiveness of the brain mapping technology.

Keith Yeates, a neuropsychologist at the University of Calgary, says has not seen any proof that the brain mapping technology works.

"They may be doing interventions that are helpful but the BEAM in and of itself I don't see as particularly useful in terms of guiding treatment."

Dr. Thomson said BEAM works in conjunction with a battery of tests and says her success with patients is proof of its effectiveness.