Neuro Coach @ Feed a Brain

Specialties: TBI, Stroke, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Brain Health

In 2011 Cavin Balaster sustained a severe traumatic brain injury that left him comatose with less than a 10% chance of ever regaining consciousness beyond a persistent vegetative state. He didn’t eat, walk, or talk for months while he was in the hospital. He was breathing from a tube in his neck, receiving nutrition from a tube in his belly, and his left hand was completely flexed inward.

About a year after his injury, he was introduced to a nutritional protocol that helped him begin to regain some clarity. That’s when he dove into an intense study of why nutrition made such a difference. For over 6 years, he has devoted his life to studying metabolism, neurometabolism, mechanisms of neuroplasticity, neuroscience, and nutrition, while reaching out to doctors, researchers, practitioners, and neuroscientists, to learn everything he can to optimize his brain function and to maximize his recovery.

Cavin started an award-winning blog and a podcast (“Adventures in Brain Injury”), where he interviews doctors, practitioners, researchers, and others involved in neurorehabilitation and brain function.

Cavin recently released his first book, How to Feed a Brain, which is the culmination of the nutritional tools he has learned through this journey. Cavin wrote this book to share with others the nutritional information that has helped him to regain his brain function. To celebrate the release of this book, Cavin launched the Feed a Brain Interview Series where he assembled interviews from some of the top brain and nutrition experts like Dr. David Perlmutter, Datis Kharrazian, Dr. Terry Wahls, Dr. Dan Engle, Jessica Flannigan, Nora Gedgaudas, and more. While his recovery has been an astounding example for brain injury survivors, his work is not just for those with neurological conditions –it is for anyone wanting to improve their brains.

Jessie Wells, LCSW, INHC is a psychotherapist, integrative nutrition coach, and an educator. Her mission is to support those around her to live in abundant wellness. She believes that it is in the context of relationship that change, wholeness, and life happen.
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Jessie’s passion is the intersection of science, relationships, wellness, and spirituality. Her clinical training emphasized interpersonal neurobiology, attachment, mindfulness, body based trauma techniques, and holistic nutrition. She has professional experience in hospital, non-profit, and outpatient mental health organizations. Her passion for wellness and counseling drew her to the social work field where she specialized in trauma, cognitive behavioral therapy, family dynamics, and she became a self-identified neuroscience junky. Jessie loves the brain and frequently incorporates scientific topics into her practice. She encourages her clients with research about neurogenesis, rewiring, and neuro anatomy to help them understand that their brains, relationships, and life can change for the better.

Throughout her time in clinical practice, Jessie underwent additional training to become a Trust Based Relational Intervention Practitioner (TBRI), to be Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing trained (EMDR), and then she completed a 12 month Nutrition Coaching program with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. These programs are central to her work with clients.

Jessie is one who believes that personal experience is often the best education. Her own wellness journeys of healing from untreated celiac disease and other injuries bring a wealth of knowledge, insight, and empathy to individuals who are fighting to live life more abundantly. Jessie’s dream of aligning her business, mental health, and wellness backgrounds was realized with the launch of her Integrative Brain and Mental Health organization. She feels immensely honored to walk with individuals for a short period in their journey as she lives out her mission of supporting change makers as they live out their dreams and potential.
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Jessie loves learning from others who are specialists in their fields and enjoys strong collaborative relationships with various subject matter experts. She offers regular workshops and delivers presentations to diverse audiences including organizations, business executives, religious groups, non-profits, and health professionals.

Creator and Curator at [RE]TREAT Brain Health Boutique

“Helping people find alternatives to conventional psychiatric treatments”

[RE]TREAT is a physician curated boutique aimed at elevating YOU to your best self by inspiring the following 7 pillars:

[super]FOOD
[daily]MOVEMENT
[prioritized]SLEEP
[healthy]CONNECTION
[compassionate]SELF-CARE
[thoughtful]PURPOSE
[inspired]GROWTH

It is a place to peruse scientifically proven supplements, products, technology, tinctures and tools to enhance mental and emotional well-being, meticulously selected by Dr. Bening AND ever-evolving.

Nadia Bening, MD. is a Psychiatrist and Certified Brain Health Coach, in addition to wife and mom of 3 boys, specializing in the most effective NATURAL treatments to optimize brain health and help you enjoy a full, active, energized lifestyle. She has over a decade of experience in the traditional psychiatric clinical setting and is excited to bring her expertise and innovative boutique to the Texas Hill Country.

Be prepared to walk out/check out of [RE]TREAT with tangible products to boost your mood, reduce stress, improve focus, enhance memory and increase energy.

It is Dr. Bening’s hope that you leave feeling equipped to take charge of your well-being, feel a sense of EMPOWERMENT and know that you have the ability to create brain healthy HABITS for life!