Helping Veterans Make Peace with Trauma & PTSD
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and blast injuries create disrupted neurological pathways and impact the quality of life of many returning Veterans and Military Personnel.
In Collaboration with Veterans Support Organizations
How can the Mind-Eye Institute help Military/Veterans’ Brain Function?
The Mind-Eye Institute individually prescribes therapeutic eyeglasses – brain glasses – to bend light in different ways across the retina, which is composed of brain tissue.
These Veterans felt hope for the first time in years, following just one session at the Mind-Eye Institute. They are on the road back from struggles with confusion, headaches, memory problems, sleep disorders, and a multitude of other symptoms as a result of brain injuries and PTSD.
Veterans Success Stories
The Mind-Eye Institute helps Veterans like Bill find a road back to who they were.
After 20 years of symptoms, Bill met Dr. Adams. He said, “Because of my injury, I had headaches, light sensitivity and sleeping problems. There was some PTSD as well… I would twitch when I slept or would spasm in bed, almost as if I were fighting. Occasionally, I would yell out things in Arabic.
Dr. Adams says, “When I first met Bill, he was a little hesitant and had quite a bit of discomfort from lots of headaches, nightmares, anxiety and depression. When he came back, three months later, he seemed carefree.”
“The Mind-Eye Institute made we realize that ones’ life does not have to remain in the new normal. I want to tell other veterans that you are better than your symptoms; you have alternatives” – Bill Lipke, Iraq
Here’s how veterans like Bill describe regaining their old selves after suffering for 20 years. You can visualize their warrior spirits:
Before injuries…
After injuries…
After Mind-Eye’s “Brain” Glasses
It’s not who you are.
It’s about who you were.
Ready to Start Your Journey?
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More about the work of the Mind-Eye Institute from its founder and executive research director, Deborah Zelinsky, OD.
What Other Veteran Experts Say About the Mind-Eye Institute
Veteran Navy Lt. Courtenay Nold Article
Dr Robert Wilson talks about treating PTSD
Why Veterans Support Organizations, like Rags of Honor, Pay Attention to the Work of the Mind-Eye Institute
The Mind-Eye Institute is an optometry practice with an emphasis on an updated form of neuro-optometric rehabilitation, providing world-class brain care by assessing many different retinal pathways (many of which are not directly related to eyesight). Each person’s unique reactions and responses to lens changes are evaluated. Through groundbreaking research and innovative diagnostic procedures, Deborah Zelinsky, OD and her optometric team have been creating life-changing experiences for nearly 30 years. These techniques have been successful with modifying brain function in various kinds of patients, including those diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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Clinics of Excellence
At the Mind-Eye Institute, we are committed to viewing the patient’s brain processing, not just eyesight. We are building a community of care and services for those in need of help from traumatic brain injuries (TBI), post-concussive syndrome (PCS), challenges related to learning and developmental challenges from being on the autistic spectrum. Clinics of Excellence (Mind-Eye Campus) will be teaching new optometrists across the country and around the world to perform Mind-Eye testing, using the Institute’s proprietary insights and technology.
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Education & Technology
The Mind-Eye Academy (our visual rehabilitation center) complements the benefits of our individualized mind-eye prescriptive lenses by providing disrupted brain pathways with a new way to function. The Mind-Eye Technology Center strategically applies new technologies to the creation of helpful products to benefit people of all ages. We are committed to building better brains whether patients have a brain injury or developmental delay or simply wish to develop new brain pathways to work or play more efficiently – maximizing performance.
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Research & Development
The Mind-Eye Research Division focuses on bringing the newest discoveries in neuroscience into the optometric practice. Knowing that the retina is part of the brain allows eyeglasses to alter electrical and biochemical interactions. Deborah Zelinsky, OD brings optometry into the 21st century by leading collaborative efforts with other researchers and patent holders -– first through appropriate beta testing and then through the introduction of world-premier scientific discoveries.
In Collaboration with Veterans Support Organizations
'Dr. Zelinsky Is Renowned'
Norman Doidge, M.D. & Clark Elliott, Ph.D., Dr. Patrick Quaid and Patricia S. Lemer praise her accomplishments:
"Zelinsky fit Elliott with a series of eyeglasses designed to improve the perceptual damage that made his life so difficult... Getting fitted for Zelinsky's eyeglasses is like no eye appointment you've ever had... Now, Elliott says, he is almost entirely symptom-free, able to problem-solve, multi-task and find his way easily — all abilities he lost in the auto accident in 1999. When he put on his Phase VI glasses he felt something that he hadn't felt for years: "I felt normal."
Review: 'The Ghost in My Brain'
The Chicago Tribune
"One brilliant Chicago-area optometrist I know, Deborah Zelinsky OD, FNORA, FCOVD, has developed a unique, patented, easy-to-administer evaluation called the Z-Bell Test. This test measures the efficiency of integration between visual processing and listening....A 2014 study at Vanderbilt University found that children with autism do not synchronize their seeing and hearing...I have watched Dr. Zelinsky administer this test to disbelieving colleagues, who were astounded by its accuracy and results...Over the past two decades, The Z-Bell Test has become internationally recognized by the scientific community.”
Patricia S. Lemer,
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
"I visited Dr. Zelinsky, and she showed me how she can use optical lenses to alter sensory filtering, by directing light to different retinal cells and brain circuits. This can influence activity in the brain and the hypothalamus to better regulate body chemistry, sensory integration, and even some auditory processing. [Dr. Zelinsky] works frequently with patients working with learning and cognitive disorders as well as TBIs."
Norman Doidge, M.D.
"I was delighted to have Dr. Zelinsky personally contribute to the book. Her wealth of knowledge in the area of visual development and visual processing is widely known, not just through her contribution of eye-care to the author of “The Ghost in My Brain”, but also via her Mind-Eye Institute and the lectures and training their provide. Dr. Zelinsky is not just colleague and a friend, but also a valued member of the neuro-optometric community and an invaluable bridge to other allied professions treating brain injuries. Her contribution to the book is deeply appreciated."