Hello

I would really appreciate any feedback about a product I am about to launch on the open market.

A Bit of Background -

I am a mental health nurse and qualified NLP master practitioner and Human Givens Psychotherpists. I work in the NHS as an Emotional & Mental Health Advisor. My job is divided into 3 parts !) supervising and training mostly school nurses and health visitors. 2) Provide therapy/counselling/advice to parents carers and young people 3) develop innovative practices

For the last two years I have been developing this product as it was working so successfully that other people were asking to buy it.

I found that having a (physical ?) metaphor was very useful to show what may be happening inside the brain at times of heightened emotional arousal.

I have invested lots of time and money getting the design registered and trademarks sorted. We now have a journalist writing an article and some major magazines and national papers very interested in running a piece.

I am getting a small sales team together who are willing to work on a commission only basis and I am due to launch the product properly next week

I have done research locally with the help of some educational psychologists, parents & young people.

I would be very grateful for your honest feedback about the website (my first attempt at web design!) and the product itself

The BrainBox

Thank you I really appreciate any comments

Deborah

Hi Deborah'

Your product seems to be an excellent fun tool to help people understand what's going on inside their brain!

I feel that many people believe that they are not able to control the way their brain works almost as if they are helpless!
How many times have you heard someone say 'I can't help it or I just can't stop worrying!'
This would enable them to actually physically rewire their brain and doing so, would enable them to be in the driving seat, they would see where their problems lie and how to reconnect their brain, subsequently solving them!

Deborah I feel that you have a wonderful product that will help many people help themselves!

Well done for keeping your vision alive and I'm sure you will have great success with it!

Violeta

Fantastic idea I think it would be a really great idea to have in classrooms everywhere . Thankyou . Jutka

Thank you all for your feedback. It does work very well in the classroom especially if I am doing a session on exam stress but it works equally well with individuals of all ages. I have used it for phobia work and addictions to great effect. All I have to do now is understand a bit more about marketing and selling!
Deborah

Hi again my children have just seen the picture of your brain box and their response was " cool how much does it cost''? Truly BRILLIANT Deborah.!

Jutka
Seeing and hearing the difference it is making to young people makes it all worth while.
You and your children have made my day
Thank you so much
Deborah

I think there is so much potential for this to become a great tool for children to learn about their emotions in a fun and constructive way. Marvelous!!!

I hope you get a millionaire backer who would love to help you - try pitcing your idea to one of the Dragons of Dragons Den fame

I know Peter Jones has a site where he accepts pitches - but it HAS to be a thorough one. Peter | Jones

Also Duncan Bannatyne - he loves kids and any products that help their development - would be a good way to get into his heart BANNATYNE - The Bannatyne Group of companies

May be might see you on the programme

Best wishes
Nina

Thank you Nina

Deborah

Great idea! Well done Deborah.

Deboah,

Hi, I've taken a close look at your site and its easy to navigate and gets straight to the point so well done!

However from a constructive criticism point of view, what is actually new here other than the name?

I'm playing Devils Advocate a little here, but as your site says the Paul maclean devleoped the Triune Brain and as for using the visual and verbal metaphor of a computer as being the brain, well..

From a visual point of view and therapeutically speaking such as been done with Hypno-Sensory Therapy developed by Barrie St. John, and relating the brain to a computer has been done by many including me and Paul McKenna who calls the brain our personal necktop computer and then gos on to state that Hypno/NLP is like anti virus for the brain.

However using props and objects to externalise and dissasociate in therapy is very powerful (as you know) but it helps when its done by a good therapist and thats where I see a potential problem, how do you know that the person getting the set is good and/or will use the items in a positive manner?

I think perhaps initially a training DVD covering the therapeutic side would be a better first route to market which would then also upsell the kit afterwards to those truly interested.

Its far easier to sell say a 1,000 DVDS at £20 each and make £18 on each clear and then convert a large percentage of them into buying the full kit than it would be getting them to part with the money for the "unknown" kit in the first place.

Just some thoughts which I hope help you as I think in essence this a great idea,

Cheers

Alex
Jonathan Royle | SelfGrowth.com

The Millionaire Plan

Hi Debbie,

I could make you a training video which then could be made into a dvd using the Second Life interface. I have discovered a passion and am developing my skill in helping illustrate psychological concepts in 3d and would love to discuss with you. I think it could really make it clear what people are getting before they buy and Alex's points are great!

My site does have an example of how I illustrate ideas using video tutorials.

It would also be something to show to the Dragons ehehe

Best wishes
Nina

Thank you Alex and Nina
I need to get my thinking hat back on, you bring up some very valid points.
A training dvd is the next step. The package does consist of a comprehensive manual with step by step instructions. I agree that it is at it's best by being complemented by the skills of a good therapist however not all young people have access to a good therapist so I was trying to find something that an interested "lay" person could use ie a teacher/youth worker
If understanding a little bit more about the brain leads to a young person seeking more help that must be a good thing. Or if understanding what happens if they are very worried or angry and why they may react the way they do helps them to take control and this leads to more management of their own behaviour this is great to. The manual shows some simple techniques for re-connection. I originally put it together to help me in my work but I had so much interest in it and people wanting to know where they could get one I decided to look into ways of bringing it to the market. It has now been trademarked and design protected and orders are starting to come in.
I really do appreciate all this help and feedback which has given me some food for thought.
Thank you
Deborah

I would say it looks promising.

As a standalone product it seems to have a lot of value on its own, so if you wanted to you could make it acceptable to even neuroscientists and the skeptically oriented.

If you remove the NLP elements, and just focus on presenting the brainbox with reference to the most relevant aspects of neuropsychology, then you would not be vulnerable to accusations of pseudoscience.

Any reference to left/right brain specialization (dichotomania), anything to do with sense preferences, or any other element that has had pseudoscience attached can be removed. You still have a lot standing, including simple and practical empirically supported methods of reducing arousal etc.

Or alternatively, you could even present the above as examples of pseudoscience to avoid or mind myths to debunk, and that would be a useful activity within the nursing and medical fields.

You'd certainly get applause from the medical researchers.

Here's a good source, and if you get past the accusations of pseudoscience, its actually a positive book from a human improvement point of view:

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Myths-Exploring-Popular-Assumptions/dp/0471983039[/ame]



With a bit of diligent decision making, you could make this product as tight as a drum and as convincing as a Susan Greenfield lecture.

Rich

Deborah,

As I've already said I think your product is very useful and when my next April budget is released I will be buying a couple of boxes for the psychiatry department. I don't think there is any need to change the current product to address the issues raised in the post above.


Rich,

Can you make some contributions without making reference to skepticism/pseudoscience? I think you have done that one to death now. I look forward to reading more of your postings on other topics.

Chris

Thank you for your comments. The BrainBox has raised a lot of interest and the orders are slowly coming in
Deborah

Hi Chris

Sorry, no.

Its crucial for RnD

Rich

Hi Deborah --

I've read the few comments - pleasing comments, feedback and also your getting orders.

I've just recently started consulting advertising, sales marketing. I would be happy to continue this conversation. So I've sent you an email to your general email address - brainbox.....

Maybe we can help each other. I am based in Brisbane, Australia and would be willing for you to bounce ideas.

Hope to hear from you.
kathryn