Transformative Neurotherapy Podcast

Lifting The Gray: Depression And Brain Balance With Neurotherapy

• Dr. Heather Putney • Episode 8

Share episode

How Does Neurotherapy Lessen The Effects Of Depression?

What if depression isn’t one problem, but several different brain patterns wearing the same mask? We dig into how targeted neurotherapy reads those patterns and trains the brain toward balance, flexibility, and emotional steadiness—often with faster, more durable results than many expect.

We start by breaking down two common neural profiles tied to low mood: hemispheric imbalance, where the right side runs hot while the left lags, and prefrontal hypercoherence, where the brain locks into rigid, all-or-nothing processing. Using precision neuromodulation, we focus on activating underperforming regions and calming overactive networks so the brain can self-regulate. Clients often describe a striking shift—colors feel brighter, the world feels lighter—after early sessions. From there, we talk practicals: how sessions run, why 30–40 minutes of active work is enough, what results to expect during the first 24–48 hours, and how intensives (two-a-day sessions over a week) can catalyze momentum.

We also connect the dots between sleep, caffeine timing, and mood resilience. Since a six-hour half-life means afternoon coffee can haunt your night, we share realistic sleep hygiene moves that amplify neurotherapy’s effects. Movement, nutrition, and stress hygiene round out a holistic plan, and we explain when we coordinate with psychiatrists and functional medicine providers to keep care aligned. The takeaway is empowering: medications can help, but teaching the brain to produce healthier patterns on its own builds results that hold. If you’ve felt stuck in gray, there’s a clear, evidence-guided path to color.

Want more conversations on brain health, mood, and cognitive performance? Follow the show, share this episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Ready to explore your own plan? Book a free consultation at Transformative Neurotherapy and let’s map your next steps.

To learn more about Transformative Neurotherapy visit:
https://www.TransformativeNeurotherapy.org
Transformative Neurotherapy
570 Lincoln Ave.
Bellevue, PA 15202
412-204-7397

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Transformative Neurotherapy Podcast with your host, Dr. Heather Putney, founder and executive director of Transformative Neurotherapy. This is the place where healing happens faster. Because let's face it, your brain doesn't come with an owner's manual until now. Here we take a holistic approach to brain health, bringing together science, mind-body harmony, and the tools you need to optimize your well-being. Whether you're a high performer, executive, athlete, longevity hacker, or just someone tired of your brain working against you, Dr. Buddy is here to help you unlock your full potential. From brain fog to chronic stress, we're covering it all. So you can finally experience brain health, mind heart, and total well-being. Ready to get unstuck? Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01:

Discover how targeted brain training can lift the fog of depression and restore emotional balance without relying solely on medication. Welcome everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer in the studio with Dr. Heather Putney, founder and executive director of transformative neurotherapy. Dr. Heather, it's such a pleasure to be here with you.

SPEAKER_02:

Nice to be here with you too, talking about such an important subject of depression.

SPEAKER_01:

So let's jump in. What specific brainwave patterns are commonly associated with depression?

SPEAKER_02:

Great question. And I love that I love that we started with the brainwave patterns because with the way we approach the work, it is essential for us to get that initial brain scan to kind of understand what's going on for the client. The truth is that people can present with depression. So the symptom looks the same, but the underlying cause is very different. And then we have and so it we kind of go into detective mode once we get that first scan to kind of figure out like, why is this the symptom that this client is experiencing? And so in the literature, there's multiple different um patterns, different types of brain patterns that can create the symptomology. And the treatment is actually going to be different for each pattern. So one of the most common patterns, or one very common pattern that's really frequent in the literature, is that the basically the hemispheres of the brain are in balance. So like the left side of the brain is um it's kind of not, it's not firing as much as the right side. So the right side's going a little faster, the left side's a little bit, um, is a little bit slower. So it's got an imbalance in the hemispheres. And so one of the one of the ways that we can work with that, you know, with with neuromodulation is that it is such a cool precision tool that we can actually activate the left hemisphere to kind of activate it. And then also the right side that's like running a little hard, we uh running a little harder, we can actually kind of like calm down and soothe and kind of like tell it to take a chill pill for a little bit, you know, and we're gonna speed this side up so that the brain can end up being a little bit more balanced. And you can see that the the um people responding better that way. Um other people have different types of presentations where maybe the whole frontal lobe is firing, it's kind of like it's group think. It doesn't, it's lost that flexibility, it's kind of like hypercoherent. It it it doesn't, it's not able to kind of respond to nuances in the environment. It's kind of like on or off. And so um working on kind of like creating that more flexibility in the prefrontal cortex, and that's the you know, the front of the brain. And that's where so many um our executive functions that we need, uh, you know, um, that when it's offline, we see some ADHD symptoms, but it's also part of our emotional regulation center is you know in the prefrontal cortex, and so uh um and where you know mood disorders live. So, you know, working on um basically improving the brain's flexibility, uh, you know, is another thing that we that we can do depending on the type of presentation that we that we see.

SPEAKER_01:

And how does neurotherapy lessen the effects of depression?

SPEAKER_02:

Um like I said, it it depends on the on the specific profile of the client. But like for example, when I talked about the imbalanced brain, we can actually make the brain more balanced. And so as the brain is more balanced, then they um then they they feel more their equilibrium is different and they feel better. Some of the common um it's it's pretty impressive the the results and how fast people can feel some of the results initially. I've had several clients, maybe even after their first treatment with you know depression, and they said, you know, when I got here, the world felt gray. You know, the world just felt gray, it felt, you know, depressing. And then like after one treatment, it's like the light there's more light out and the colors are more vivid. I mean, I've had several clients say that. Now, that doesn't mean that it's a one and done. Um, neurotherapy is kind of like a physical therapy for the brain. You know, one treatment isn't enough to like change things forever. It's like you have to learn a new skill until you can apply it and then you can hold it. So each treatment's kind of like a training session, and over time the brain gets it and it can hold that new pattern without the without the assistance of additional treatment or medications. You know, medications can work really well for some of our clients, but they it it it kind of temporarily shifts the balance, and then when the medication comes off, it goes back. The cool thing about neurotherapy is that the brain, you know, if we can teach the brain how to do something different and or to be more in balance, then once it learns how to do that, it's going to keep doing that thing. Um, and it'll keep doing that unless maybe there's a brain injury or some something else that kind of throws it off balance again and it might need might need a tune up. But I love how how it's, you know, uh after a series of treatments, it's it's a longer-term cure, not just, you know, as long as I've got the med and it balances, and if my body adjusts, it quits working as well. That's not how this works.

SPEAKER_01:

And I just want to throw in a couple quick questions too. How long is a session or treatment? And do you give homework to your patients after that treatment or something that they need to exercise at home?

SPEAKER_02:

Great questions. So a standard treatment session is about well, we schedule it in the in the therapeutic hour, basically, but there's a there's a you know, setup time, we we kind of measure where they're at and we track their symptoms and you know, make some measurements, you know, get all the equipment set on. But we normally do between 30 and 40 minutes of actual treatment, you know, and then you know, we get it, and then we take the equipment off and you know, send people on their way. So, so you know, we we block out an hour, but you're talking about 30 to 40 minutes of actual treatment time. And so that's what one session looks like. Um, but uh how quickly people shift, it really kind of depends on what's going on what's going on. And you know, but generally, you know, some some people will come in for intensives. Maybe they maybe they're just in a really bad funk and they want to move the needle really fast. They can do as many as two treatments a day for a week. And we've seen people massively, you know, move the needle. So maybe after 10 sessions, their brain looks very different and they feel very different. You know, like I said, some clients will feel the treatment effect right after that first session. They will like they could the the the light literally just came out more, you know, and the colors are brighter. Um but after that, the treatment effect lasts between 24 and 48 hours, you know, and they need they need to the brain needs to be taught again, you know, what to do until it, like I said, figures it out and can do it in between sessions. So we usually start with more frequent sessions and then kind of and then kind of ease off over time. So we usually recommend a minimum of three treatments a week for three weeks, and then we can kind of back down as we're tracking symptoms, you know, and and whatnot. And it just really depends. Some people's brains are faster responders than others, but this is not a long-term therapy. It's much, it's much more short-term than other than other options. You're probably not going to be in the range of hundreds of treatments like it would be even with neurofeedback, unless you've got like some major brain injury that we're really trying to rehabilitate and you know, developmental delays, you know, major brain stuff like that, those things can take a really long time. But most of the stuff, depression, anxiety, these types of things, those those shift so much faster.

SPEAKER_01:

And uh last question for you Do you find that you have to recommend any complimentary therapies to some clients, you know, in addition to what you're treating them with in your office?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, absolutely. Oh, I guess this brings me back to your previous question about like do they have homework in between? And I would say this is this is something that I underappreciated before I started into the world of EEG and and and understanding the brain the way I do now. Is we encourage people, I mean, that whole lifestyle, that holistic lifestyle. So eating healthy, moving your body, but the mo one of the most important things is sleep, trying to get good sleep hygiene. You know, is there anything that you're doing that's messing up your sleep? Are you drinking caffeine too late in the day? Caffeine, by the way, has a 12 hour, it's 12 hours to get it out of your system. So six-hour half-life. So, you know, you might be you know, that afternoon or late afternoon caffeine might be part of the reason why you're not getting such great quality sleep. Sometimes with these depressed clients, sleep is one of the core issues. And so that's one of the things we're working on balancing is improving their sleep quality. As they sleep better, they feel better. I mean, how you know, look look at little kids or us when we're sick and we're not sleeping well, how irritable are we? Right. And how, and how we can't handle stresses in our life very well. We might feel more depressed because we don't have energy. So sometimes uh the depression, the underlying issue might be a sleep issue. And so that's one of the things we're working on balancing by improving the sleep quality. But we definitely uh counsel and coordinate with the clients around, you know, doing healthy things for their brain to kind of maximize the effects of the treatment we're doing. And sometimes we're also coordinating with other professionals, psychiatrists, um uh chiropractors, functional medicine doctors, you know, around what they're what they're doing. So oh, Dr.

SPEAKER_01:

Putney, this was great. Thank you for shedding light literally during this video on this powerful approach to healing. We'll see you next time on the Transformative Neurotherapy podcast. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00:

You've been listening to the Transformative Neurotherapy Podcast with Dr. Heather Putney. Remember, your brain isn't supposed to hold you back, it's supposed to power you forward. So stop letting it crash your party and start letting it do its job. If you are ready to optimize brain health, sharpen your focus, and age like a fine wine, schedule your free consultation today at transformative neurotherapy.org. Or call us at 412-204-7397. Because here, healing happens faster. See you next time.