You get out of bed, but the day already seems like too much. The things that used to give you pleasure no longer reach you. You do not have to carry this alone.
You answer “I'm fine”, then put off a shower, a meal or a message. Maybe you are still getting your work done, but you pay for every single thing with energy you feel you no longer have.
The BrainMap Protocol and brain training complement psychotherapy. The qEEG assessment and the neurofeedback discussion play a complementary role; they do not replace psychotherapy or the recommended psychiatric treatment.
Persistent sadness or loss of interest, present most of the day, almost daily, for at least two weeks, are reference points for clinical assessment, not a diagnosis. Ask for help sooner if the distress is intense.
It is not just sadness. It can change the way you feel, sleep, think and get through an ordinary day.
You have free time, but you cannot enjoy it. You open a conversation and close it without replying. Not because you do not care, but because even closeness takes energy.
Depression is a mood disorder in which persistent sadness, inner emptiness or loss of interest can affect everyday life. Tiredness, changes in sleep and appetite, difficulty concentrating and heavy guilt may appear.
Not every hard day means depression. Duration, intensity and the impact on your life matter. The diagnosis is made through clinical assessment; neither an online list nor the qEEG map establishes it on its own.
Your safety comes first. If there is immediate danger of harming yourself, call 112. For suicidal thoughts, seek psychiatric help as soon as possible; do not wait for an information call.
A reflection exercise, not a clinical test or a diagnosis. We do not save or send your answers.
You recognised 0 out of 8 situations. The number of ticks does not show whether you have depression or how severe it is. If these states persist or make your life harder, talk to a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist. The BrainMap evaluation does not replace this consultation.
Book the BrainMap ProtocolBook the Protocol2.000 leiManifestations differ from one person to another. These signs can also have other causes, which is why they are worth assessing in context:
The shower, breakfast, the first e-mail. Things that were once simple become a list you look at without knowing where to begin. It is not proof that you are not trying.
You postpone a meeting and leave a message unanswered. You miss people, but you cannot find the energy to be with them. You may need support precisely when it is hardest to ask for it.
In the evening, what you did not manage today comes back to mind. You blame yourself, and rest no longer feels like a break. These thoughts are a reason to seek help, not a verdict on you.
Sadness can appear after a loss or a difficult period. There is no single “right” way to experience it. Your pain deserves to be heard, even if you do not have a diagnosis.
Ask for an evaluation if these states persist, you lose interest, or it is getting harder to work, eat or look after yourself. You do not have to wait two weeks if you feel overwhelmed.
Maybe you talk about what hurts. Maybe you are already in treatment. And yet getting up in the morning is hard, messages go unanswered, and the things you used to enjoy still seem far away. This frustration deserves to be taken seriously.
You shouldn't have to settle for "I'm managing" if things are still hard.
Sometimes a single intervention is not enough for all of a person's needs. That does not mean psychotherapy or medication does not work. They are treatments with clinical evidence; persistent symptoms are a reason to talk to your clinician about adjusting, combining or other suitable options.
BrainMap records the electrical activity of the brain and places it in the context of the discussion with the specialist. You can explore whether neurofeedback has a complementary role for you, with clear goals and limits, without giving up the care you need.
Conceptual illustration, not a real EEG, diagnosis or before/after result. The waveform does not measure depression and does not guarantee a response to treatment.
Biology, life experiences and environment can influence one another. It is not something you chose.
Family vulnerability, prolonged stress, trauma, losses, isolation and certain illnesses or medications can contribute. Sometimes there is no obvious trigger. The doctor decides whether investigations for other causes of the symptoms are needed.
There may be major depressive episodes, persistent symptoms or a seasonal pattern. Severity can be mild, moderate or severe. If there were also periods of unusually high energy and reduced need for sleep, tell your psychiatrist, so a possible bipolar disorder can be assessed.
You don't have to choose between "talking" and "working with the brain". Care starts from assessment, severity, preferences and evidence.
At BrainMap you can discuss what the qEEG assessment brings and whether neurofeedback makes sense as an addition to your care. None of the comparisons above replaces the clinician's recommendation.
Recording, interpretation and a plan discussed with you. Not a diagnosis from a map.
The brain produces electrical activity. Here is what happens, step by step.
A cap with 19 soft electrodes, moistened with saline water, is placed on your head. It doesn't hurt, doesn't pulse, doesn't emit anything. It only reads.
The sensor headset records the electrical activity of the brain. The software picks up the electrical impulses emitted by your brain and begins to process them.
qEEG analysis turns it into a map of electrical indicators. It does not identify the cause of depression on its own and does not establish the diagnosis. A visit of about 50 minutes, with preparation and recording included.
Based on the scan results, you receive the BrainMap interpretation from the institute's founders. The indicators are discussed together with your symptoms, history and treatments, not as isolated proof of depression.
The specialist looks for the connections relevant to your situation and uses them in the recommendations of your brain training plan.
For explanations and questions.
Based on the assessment, we discuss the suitable trainings and their complementary role. EEG neurofeedback uses recording and feedback; it does not send current through the EEG sensors. The risks and contraindications of the other methods are discussed separately; discomfort or tiredness may occur.
You take part in guided sessions with visual or auditory feedback linked to the EEG signal. We monitor tolerance and the evolution of symptoms together with you. Improvement is not guaranteed, and two sessions are not a complete treatment for depression.
The map matters. The specialists who interpret it matter just as much. Two professional perspectives. Attention for the same person.
A report becomes useful when someone explains the link between the indicators, your history and the questions you came with. At the BrainMap Institute, every interpretation goes through the two founders. This role is a concrete part of the protocol.
Has over 20 years of professional experience. A general practitioner and neurofeedback therapist. The medical perspective helps place the information from the evaluation in the context of your history and situation.
Learn about their professional background
Brings the perspective of clinical psychology into the BrainMap interpretation. Your everyday experiences, your goals and the way you describe your difficulties complement the data analysed.
Learn about their professional backgroundBoth founders hold an IFEN neurofeedback therapist certification, dated 22 June 2020.
The only centre in Romania where the map is interpreted by a doctor and a clinical psychologist.
The questions do not end when the software generates the report. In the post-BrainMap consultation, the results are turned into explanations and recommendations discussed with you. You do not have to learn to read the report on your own.
qEEG scan of 80,000 points, 47 areas of the brain.
Interpretation, explanations and recommendations from Dr. Alina Diana Nemeș and Clinical Psychologist Alina Robu, who pioneered neurofeedback in Romania.
30-60 minutes: discussion of the results + recommendations.
The BrainMap Institute is the only centre in Romania that, following 20 years of studies, has developed a combination unique in the world of 6 brain trainings that blend neurofeedback with photobiomodulation, BrainTune, heart-brain coherence, vagal stimulation and VR neurofeedback.
Your first two training sessions, included in the protocol.
Electrical activity, organised into information that can be interpreted. qEEG scan from 80.000 points, 47 areas of the brain.
Electrodes placed on the scalp record EEG signals. Quantitative analysis, called qEEG, processes these signals and represents them through indicators and maps.
The specialist explains what they mean in the context of your assessment. The first step in the protocol is collecting objective data.
Quantitative analysis provides indicators of frequencies, signal distribution and the relationships between them. Interpretation takes into account the quality of the recording, the reference values used and the clinical context. A difference from a norm does not on its own prove a disease or its cause.
Educational illustration of the frequency bands analysed in qEEG.
The analysis looks at activity in frequency bands, such as delta, theta, alpha and beta, and their contribution to the recorded signal. In the interpretation you learn what these indicators describe and why they are relevant to the discussion with the specialist.
The maps show how indicators are distributed across the recorded areas and allow differences or asymmetries to be observed. You receive explanations about your map and about the findings worth discussing.
Coherence and connectivity indicators describe relationships between signals recorded in different areas. The specialist looks at them together with the rest of the data, for an overall interpretation.
The data are put in context by comparison with a normative database for the age group, according to the protocol used. You understand what a difference from the reference means and how it is interpreted in your situation.
The headset measures dry EEG, without gel, and the platform processes the signals in the cloud with AI analysis (on a database of over 100 million people) and provides a complex, detailed qEEG analysis from over 80.000 points of the brain, on brain activity in the 47 Brodmann areas, giving information about their specific functions.
The result is a visual map that helps the specialist discuss your brain activity in concrete terms.
You can discuss the choice between iMediSync for a quick check-up and Discovery 24 for a detailed recording. No device can diagnose depression on its own or reliably predict its course.
Clinical 24-channel EEG amplifier, analysis with software of your choice, clinically oriented or neurofeedback reports.
| Sampling rate | 1024 Hz internal; sent to the PC at 256 samples/s; DC-100 Hz band (EEG 0.43-80 Hz) |
|---|---|
| AI data analysis | BrainAvatar AI (database of over 100 million people) |
| Brain coverage | Detailed qEEG analysis from over 80.000 points of the brain |
| Therapeutic functions | Advanced neurofeedback, multimodal biofeedback (heart rate, breathing, muscle tension), evoked potentials (ERP), EEG stimulation. Support for clinical protocols and research. |
| Signal quality | High-quality, stable signal with no loss, thanks to the moistened electrodes |
| Analysis results | By e-mail within 3 days, interpreted by experts in BrainMapping and Neurofeedback: Dr. Alina Diana Nemeș and Psych. Alina Robu + personalised recommendations |
| Strengths | High-fidelity signal, extended channel count, DC/SCP; high sampling; mature software ecosystem (incl. sLORETA) |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Certifications | FDA 510(k) K150498 (clinical EEG); FDA 510(k) K990538 (biofeedback training); ISO 13485; CE Class I Biofeedback Device; IEC-60601; AAMI |
| Weight | 20 g |
| Minimum age | 2 years |
Dry, wireless 19-channel EEG headset, with cloud AI analysis (iSyncBrain) + integrated NIR PBM LED (wellness).
| Sampling rate | 250 Hz (0.5-50 Hz band) |
|---|---|
| AI data analysis | iSyncBrain AI (database of about 1,300 people) |
| Brain coverage | Basic EEG analysis |
| Therapeutic functions | LED therapy (PBM) with infrared light (NOT FDA-cleared, indicated as wellness) |
| Signal quality | Comparable to wet standards, but it can vary depending on the scalp |
| Strengths | Quick gel-free setup; simultaneous HRV; sex and age norms; standardised reports + cloud |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Certifications | FDA 510(k) K220056 as a full-montage electroencephalograph; ISO 13485; CE |
| Weight | 1.6 kg |
| Minimum age | 5 years |
At the BrainMap Institute we use both technologies, depending on the patient's needs.
What happens after the scan, the map, the interpretation and the consultation?
You actually start working and training your brain. Neurofeedback works through real-time feedback and repetition.
EEG neurofeedback provides feedback about certain characteristics of the recorded signal. In depression, it is being researched as a complementary intervention. There is no single brain pattern that explains all cases or guarantees the choice of an effective treatment.
A care plan can combine interventions with different roles, without setting them against each other.
Neurofeedback is based on learning through feedback and repetition. Studies in depression show promising but heterogeneous results, and the individual benefit remains uncertain. The decision is discussed in the context of psychotherapy, medication and clinical monitoring.
You are not buying a universal number of sessions up front. You start with the two included in the protocol and discuss continuing after the assessment.
Assessment, interpretation, consultation, plan and two initial sessions included.
The BrainMap Institute combines neurofeedback with complementary neurotechnologies. The indication and the evidence differ between methods; the combination is not a substitute for first-line treatments for depression. The specialist explains what is proposed, what is being aimed for and when the plan is reassessed.
While classic neurofeedback uses visual and auditory stimuli, brain training combines the classic version with 5 other neurotechnologies. This way, we can offer brain training that is 100% personalised to the uniqueness of your brain.
There are reasons for research and clinical discussion, not for promises. EEG and fMRI are different technologies.
13 studies included, with different EEG and fMRI protocols. Some results are encouraging, but the response is not uniform.
Heterogeneous studies with methodological limitations. They do not demonstrate definitive efficacy and do not validate a commercial protocol.
Dobbins et al. · Read the study ↗In 24 adults with treatment-resistant depression, the group receiving medication and EEG neurofeedback had a greater improvement in symptoms and functioning than the group receiving medication and supportive psychotherapy.
Small, open-label study with self-selected groups and no placebo control. Preliminary results for complementary use, not for replacing medication.
Lee et al. · Read the study ↗Young and colleagues studied real-time fMRI feedback from the amygdala, observing symptom improvement in a controlled study.
fMRI is not EEG. The results do not transfer automatically to an EEG headset, to BrainMap or to the combination of six methods.
Young et al. · Read the study ↗These papers do not show that the BrainMap Protocol cures depression, prevents relapse or produces faster results than standard treatments.
Do you have questions about booking or costs? Request the free phone discussion before you decide.
General testimonials about the Institute, not evidence of effectiveness in depression. The quotes are kept in full; individual results differ.
“For many years I felt a constant mental tension that caused me discomfort, restlessness and irritability. I had the inspiration to go to the institute, and following the assessment I learned that I had overactivation in certain areas of the brain. I did 88 training sessions and now I am a different person: calm, peaceful, optimistic, and sometimes I wonder whether my state is not happiness itself. Thank you to Mrs Alina Robu for the patience and attention given, hello to Mia, hello to all the highly qualified staff I worked with!”
“Neurofeedback improved my life: sleep quality, concentration, inner calm. I warmly recommend it!”
“Noticeable effects appeared already after the first two sessions, and then came many pleasant surprises related to a better ability to manage stress, boosted empathy, improved communication, memory, concentration... All of this, projected towards those around me too... led to the creation of a circle of good consequences, also improving other people's attitude towards me. In other words... total success!”
“As the parent of a child with ADHD, I am extremely grateful to the Brainmap Neuroscience team for their patience and dedication. I have noticed remarkable improvements in my child's behaviour and ability to concentrate. At school he is more attentive, he can sit at his desk without disturbing the class, we managed to build a homework routine, we can now take him to basketball too, and he has time to play.”
You don't have to come with everything figured out. But you should know what the assessment is and what you are buying.
If there is immediate danger, a suicide plan, or you cannot keep yourself safe, call 112 or go to the nearest emergency unit. Ask a trusted person to stay with you. For suicidal thoughts without immediate danger, ask for a psychiatric evaluation as soon as possible. Do not wait for a BrainMap appointment or a reply to a form.
No. The diagnosis of depression is clinical and requires a specialist assessment, which takes into account symptoms, history and possible other causes. qEEG describes electrical indicators and can complement a clinical discussion; it does not prove depression on its own and does not reliably identify its cause.
In the EEG assessment, the sensors record. No current is sent through these sensors. The assessment and any training methods are different stages; the team explains what each one involves.
Set aside about 50 minutes for preparation and recording. The interpretation and consultation are not squeezed into the same visit. The report is ready within seven working days at most; the separate consultation of 30-60 minutes follows.
The two sessions are the start of the training. This does not mean depression is resolved in two meetings. The specialist discusses the goals, the response to the sessions and whether continuing is appropriate.
You don't have to choose a whole programme now. The entry offer has explicit inclusions and a clear price: 2.000 lei. If continuing is recommended, you learn the number, frequency and costs before you decide. The listed rate for an additional individual session is 300 lei.
Bring up what you are already doing and what has helped you. Do not stop your treatment for this evaluation and do not change your medication on your own. BrainMap recommendations are placed in the context of your care; treatment decisions are discussed with the clinician who looks after you.
It would be simple to give you a fixed number. But the plan has to take you into account: evaluation, goals and response to the sessions. Discuss with the specialist how progress is tracked and what continuing would mean. We do not promise one timeframe that is the same for everyone.
You can start with a free informational call. You ask about the process, what is included, the location and the booking steps. The call does not oblige you to buy the protocol, and it is not a free investigation or diagnosis.
Tell us where you want to come. The team checks availability and explains the booking. Tap a city to see the address, opening hours and phone number.
You don't have to decide the logistical details on your own. The team will tell you the address and how to prepare for your first visit.
Choose your city and see the addressesRequest an informational phone call, free and with no obligation.
Leave us your name, your number and the city you would like to come to. The phone conversation is informative, free of charge and with no obligation to buy the protocol.
We have received your request for an information call. This is the first step for questions, not a confirmed evaluation appointment.
Start with the BrainMap assessment, the specialist's interpretation and the first included training sessions.
When depression makes the day hard to get through, the first step can be telling someone what you are going through. Seek a clinical evaluation and discuss the care options. If you also want to explore the complementary role of neurofeedback, the BrainMap Protocol includes evaluation, interpretation, consultation, a plan and two initial sessions. 2.000 lei in total.