The new year has brought a new location for the Brain Balance Center, which made the move from Bartram Park to its current location at 155 Fountains Way, Suite 13 in St. Johns in late December.
According to franchise owner Jessica Wick, ever since she took over ownership of the center in 2020 she had hopes of making the move to St. Johns. However, because she took over right before the COVID-19 pandemic took full effect the timing was not right until now.
“I definitely feel like it’s more centrally located,” Wick said. “I live in Nocatee, and we’ll have a lot of families coming from there to take advantage of our services.”
RiverTown and Durbin Crossing are two areas that Wick has interest in tapping into next, which includes the possibility of opening satellite centers around the area in the next handful of years.
She also owns another location in South Carolina.
Brain Balance is the leading drug-free program designed to help kids improve focus, behavior, social skills, anxiety and academic performance. The comprehensive programming incorporates learnings from cognitive, behavioral and nutrition fields — an integrated approach that is literally redefining what’s possible.
Brain Balance picks up where conventional approaches leave off, going beyond the treatment of symptoms to address root causes. At Brain Balance, it’s not about coping with barriers. It’s about knocking them down, one small breakthrough at a time.
“I’ve seen a huge shift in the mentality over the years,” Wick said. “The parents that come into Brain Balance are knowledgeable and ready to find answers. It’s a movement.”
Wick became a believer in the Brain Balance program after watching her son go through it in 2016 and seeing the visible strides he made as a result.
“We’re a place where people can feel comforted just walking through the door,” Wick said. “For families to have a place like that when going through something like this makes a huge difference.”
According to Wick, one of the toughest things parents encounter is the seemingly endless search for answers that she had experienced firsthand.
“It’s very disheartening when you’re going around in circles to different doctors and no one can tell you a real solution,” Wick said.
One of the ways Brain Balance attempts to eliminate that situation is by making each program designed to be specialized to a certain child’s needs.
Following a two-hour assessment with the child and parents, the staff at Brain Balance is able to figure out the best approach necessary to help that child.
“We’re really assessing what stages of neuro development have been missed and the best way to fill those gaps,” Wick said. “Knowing where to start is so important.”
The average program is about six months long with about three one-hour-long sessions each week.
The adult programs are for those 18 to 65 years old and are only available virtually in one-on-one sessions.
According to Wick, the majority of the adults in the program deal with some form of ADHD.
It was Wick’s personal experiences that led her to the field she is in, and she is thankful that she can now provide the assistance and relief to families that she once sought herself.
“I’m so lucky to be able to do this with my life,” Wick said.
