My girlfriend recently started seeing a counselor to work through some anxiety/depression related issues. I thought that was all well and good, but then she came back after a session and said her counselor wanted her to try this thing called Alpha Stim. The idea behind the device is that you clip two little things to your ears, and for about 20 minutes a few times a week, you sit there and let it pass current through your head and that somehow cures your anxiety or depression or insomnia etc.
I looked it up and discovered that it's no more than a gameboy-sized plastic box with a 9 volt battery in it, with two leads coming out that you clip to your ear lobes. This thing runs for $800 retail, $120 a month to rent it. Forget the fact that a 9v battery doesn't have nearly enough power to send current through your entire skull. Forget the fact that it was grandfathered into the FDA's approval because similar technology was available prior to 1976, and therefore it hasn't actually been tested by modern standards. Forget the fact that every study done on it was on a group of about 12 people all from the same community and nothing was double or even single blind. Forget the fact that to use it, you must be in a quiet space doing deep breathing, which sounds suspiciously similar to meditating - something that has similar results and doesn't cost $800.
Is my girlfriend's counselor a quack? How can I convince her to ditch this bitch?
bumping
or is adv the kind of board that thinks Alpha Stim works?
>>17349681
Your girlfriend's counselor is peddling snake oil, that doesn't make him a quack, just a shithead. Unless he really believes in this, but either way. Is your girlfriend like.... not so smart? Is she not capable herself of realizing that the equivalent of licking a 9-volt battery isn't going to do shit for her anxiety and depression? Does this counselor even have a fucking degree in anything?
>>17349681
hell yes they are a quack and probably spent 10 years in school. Why didn't he just prescribe electroshock treatment
>>17349710
I don't blame her for not knowing what the product actually is. The information provided to her - and most of what you can find on the internet about it, including the wikipedia article - all seems to purposefully obfuscate everything I mentioned. It's just a packet with some graphs and testimonials saying "Yeah this is awesome!!" and comparing it to traditional therapies. I had to actually look into it to find out that it's just a 9 volt battery in a plastic box. Anyway, she thanked me for looking up the information and said she was glad that she knew about it now.
>>17349681
>Is my girlfriend's counselor a quack?
Or a dupe. Tough to say without more info.
>>17349681
Most treatments like this aren't meant to cure- it's an expensive placebo. It will only work as much as she believes it will, and if you're constantly in her ear telling her it won't work then it most certainly will not. It's more mental than physical.
Many people undergo hypnosis for quitting smoking, do I think it works? To those who believe the treatment will be successful- absolutely! Just because it's a quack theory, it doesn't mean it will be ineffective.
The power of persuasion is strong, what is the difference between her taking medication and snapping this contraption on if they both work for her? Nothing really.
They gave me a similar device for the sciatica in my legs called a TENS unit, all it does is send a distracting current through electrodes on my back to mask the pain from my bulging discs.
Is it a cure? No. Will it change my pain in the long run? No. Does it help while it's on and give me minor relief for a short time after? Yes!
Tl;dr- Don't discourage her, and also don't encourage her to jump into it, renting the machine for a month seems like the best bet if she is willing and convinced it may help. Just be supportive and accepting of her approach to feel better, as long as it won't hurt her.
>>17349681
It sounds like your girlfriends therapist is just trying to make a few extra bucks renting out this device to unsuspecting clients.
I would check on this therapist's credentials, and lodge a complaint with your state licensing board if he/she is a licensed psychologist/psychiatrist. These numbskulls are why they are required to carry malpractice insurance, for shit like this.
I think I heard a RadioLab-episode about something like this. Yeah it might have some kind of effect, but you can make it yourself for ten bucks.
That therapist is selling lies to people who need help.
>>17349681
>9v battery
That voltage isn't nearly high enough to break through the skin. There are cheaper placebos that you can get, have her stop seeing this scam counselor.
>>17349834
>don't discourage her
Hell naw man, I'm definitely going to discourage someone that is trying to find help from buying into an $800 gameboy with shocky earbuds. I told her that its procedure is basically meditation and she said "so wait, what if I just meditated and that worked?", it's not like she doesn't get it.
I'm with >>17349836 >>17349835 >>17349738 on this, the counselor is either an idiot or an asshole
>>17349854
Well, you started off with that conclusion so it's not surprising you made your way back to it.
>>17349884
Seemed like OP was seeking validation on this suspect as fuck therapist.
OP, >>17349835 that right there. She should find someone who isn't a fucking money grub. Alternative medicine can be therapeutic, but a scam is a scam. DISCOURAGE her from seeing this fucking asshole, he gives honest therapists a bad name.
Yoga or behavioral relaxation training will be just as effective.
