EP 367: Rethinking Mental Wellness Through Data, Faith, And Community

What makes Sandra Hooper-Murcott with Braintopia a good neighbor?

 Sandra believes calm, focus, and better sleep shouldn’t come at the cost of heavy side effects. At Braintopia, she helps children, teens, and adults retrain the brain’s own electrical patterns—naturally, gently, and without changing who they are. With 25 years of classroom experience and a faith-forward lens, Sandra explains how neurofeedback supports ADHD, anxiety, post-concussion recovery, sensory issues, and restless nights by guiding the brain toward healthier rhythms rather than overriding them.

In this episode, we walk through how Braintopia identifies dysregulation tied to stress, injury, food sensitivities, and environmental triggers. Sandra breaks down how audio and visual feedback works while clients simply watch a show—no “zapping,” no pain, and no forcing the brain. She addresses the biggest myths head-on and highlights why parent referrals are more powerful than any marketing campaign: when one family sees calmer bedtimes, better focus, or improved emotional regulation, the community takes notice.

You’ll also hear how Braintopia partners with micro schools and the Texas Legends to support students and athletes, and why education—through short videos, simple search visibility, and clear language—helps demystify the science. Sandra shares her journey as an adoptive mom and longtime educator, plus how her MD father collaborates inside the Frisco clinic to merge clinical insight with compassionate care. Her core message is simple: there is no perfect brain, only better regulation, and every person deserves support that honors who they are.

Whether you’re exploring options for a child who struggles to focus, a teen recovering from a concussion, or your own sleep and stress, this conversation offers a clear, jargon-free guide to what neurofeedback can—and cannot—do.

To learn more about Braintopia go to: https://www.braintopiacenters.com

Braintopia
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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_02 (00:10):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a health andwellness company?
Well, one may be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Sandra Hooper Mercott withBraintopia.
Sandra, how are you today?

SPEAKER_01 (00:25):
I'm great.
Thanks so much for having me,Sophia.

SPEAKER_02 (00:28):
Yes, it is a pleasure to have you on.
Now we are so excited to learnall about you and your business.
Can you start off by telling ourlisteners just a little bit
about your company and how yougot into this industry?

SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
Sure.
Yes.
So we are a neurofeedbackcenter.
We have 10 across the Metroplex.
And I got into this because Ijust finished up a 25-year
career in education.
And we wanted to give childrenand families the opportunity to
understand what was going on inthe brain and help with things
like anxiety, sleep issues,ADHD, concussion protocols.

(01:03):
And a lot of parents were notlooking to go the medicine
route.
And so we want to educate peoplethat we have a different, a
different option should they belooking for it.

SPEAKER_02 (01:13):
Getting a little bit deeper into that other option
that you provide, what are someof those main services at
Braintopia you provide for yourpatients or clients?

SPEAKER_01 (01:24):
Right.
So what neurofeedback does is itworks with the electrical system
of the brain.
So it helps to finddysregulation in the brain,
which can be caused by foodsensitivities or injury, mold or
mycotoxins, or trauma.
And so we identify the areas ofthe brain that are showing
affected by that, correlate thatwith symptoms that the child or
adult may be experiencing andfeeling.

(01:46):
And then we work to get thebrain waves back into organized
patterns through audio andvisual stimulations.
So ultimately, they get to watcha show.
It's very passive.
They're watching a show, brainis getting healthy and
regulated, and everyone's happy.

SPEAKER_02 (02:01):
For the listeners who may value more of a
faith-based approach to things,um, what would you say in terms
of kind of going through thosetreatments and praying your way
through it?
Or is there anycontraindications, you know,
between those two mindsets thatyou've seen with clients you've
worked with?
I'm just curious.

SPEAKER_01 (02:21):
Yeah, great question.
So I myself am faith-based.
Um, I've been a Christian schoolteacher for the last 25 years.
So that was a big part offeeling like one that God was
leading us into this space andalso being able to educate
people about the fact that thisdoesn't change personality.
Um, it's not putting anythinginto the brain.
It is using technology that Godhas given us to be able to

(02:43):
really help people in a way thatmetabolically doesn't, you know,
hurt their body with medicine,but actually can help.
We're not anti-medicine, but wejust want to be able to give a
different solution if medicineis not an option.
So I'm I'm a mother of anadoptive son, and we didn't know
if medicine was a good optionfor him because we didn't know,
you know, enough informationabout um, you know, his birth

(03:06):
family.
And so this is kind of how wegot started.
So my mom heart is what broughtme into this and um wanting to
serve people through justknowing that God led us here.

SPEAKER_02 (03:16):
Oh, well, love a good mom heart.

SPEAKER_01 (03:18):
Right.

SPEAKER_02 (03:20):
What is the most common myth or misconception you
come across in your industry?

SPEAKER_01 (03:24):
So the biggest myth is that this absolutely doesn't
work.
So people will say, like, well,you know, if if something
doesn't involve medicine orisn't covered by insurance, it
doesn't work.
Or another myth is that umyou're putting something into
the brain and you're you knowelectrocuting the brain.
We don't do that either.
We use the brain's power, likeaudio and visual stimulation and

(03:45):
what the brain already knows howto do, and that's how we evoke
change.
So um a lot of people don'tunderstand it, and
understandably so, because it'sit's not new, but it is new to a
lot of people.
And so, as an educator, that'smy goal is to just get out there
and really teach people whatit's doing and how it works so
that they feel very comfortablewith it.

SPEAKER_02 (04:06):
So, Sandra, getting into things a little bit deeper
today.
Now we know marketing is theheart of every business, it's
what keeps your businessrunning.
So, who are your target patientsor clients?
And in terms of marketing today,how do you attract them?

SPEAKER_01 (04:21):
Absolutely great question.
So, we we use what we callmom-to-mom marketing.
That's how we started.
And we do a lot of differentmarketing things that I'll go
into, but we know that the powerof referrals is the best thing
because if one mom or one parentis going to tell another mom
that something worked for theirchild or their family member,
that is the most powerful thing.
And so we really work to one, bein-house, having our clients be

(04:45):
so happy so that they'll referout to another family member or
to a friend.
So that's the first thing we do.
The second thing we do is againeducating people through Reels
and through um Google marketingto just let them know that we're
there, that we're here and whatwe do.
So that that is a big thing forus.
And then we also havepartnerships.
So we partner with the TexasLegends in Frisco as their

(05:07):
official neurofeedback partnerand partner with um different
schools, like micro schools inthe area, just so that they so
that people that are looking foranother option will know where
to find us and will be able toknow that we're we're here.

SPEAKER_02 (05:20):
Amazing.
Now, have you ever thought abouthaving your own branded podcast
before?

SPEAKER_01 (05:26):
You know what?
The more that I get intopodcasts, the more that I'm very
interested in it.
So it is definitely something uhhaving that education piece and
being able to come becausethere's so much going on right
now in the world as far as likefood sensitivities with kids and
allergies and differentenvironmental factors.
My dad's an MD as well, and sohe works in office with us in
our Frisco location.
So, yes, the short answer, yes.

(05:48):
I would love to be able to uheducate people more in this in
this realm.

SPEAKER_02 (05:52):
And outside of work, when you're not helping the
patients, what do you and yourloved ones like to do for fun?

SPEAKER_01 (05:59):
We love to travel.
So uh going to Europe is a bigpart of what we do.
We feel like our for our myhusband and I want our son to be
able to feel like the world ishis classroom.
And so we do a lot of travel.
That's the one number one waythat we uh like to spend our
time and we head out of um outof town even uh tomorrow to head
to Washington, D.C.

(06:20):
And then in December we're gonnahead to Europe.
So that's one thing that Ialways love to give him a global
perspective and to know thatthere's life outside of just the
US.

SPEAKER_02 (06:29):
Wow, that's so crazy because that's actually a
mindset I share myself when itcomes to parenting.

SPEAKER_01 (06:35):
Yes.

SPEAKER_02 (06:35):
Now, please tell our listeners one thing they should
remember about braintopia.

SPEAKER_01 (06:41):
One thing that you should remember about braintopia
is everyone's brain.
Um we want to know everything,you know, we want to know what's
going on in our brain.
So there's no perfect brain, butat Braintopia, we're gonna get
you to the best possible uhsituation that you can can be
in.
So you don't have to have somedire, you know, issue to come
into Braintopia.
We just want to uh help you toeither sleep better or feel

(07:03):
better or remember thingsbetter.
So no perfect brain, but we'llget you as far as you can, as
your brain can go.

SPEAKER_02 (07:10):
Well, Sandra, I really appreciate you being on
the show today.
Oh, one more thing.
Where can our listeners go tolearn more about Braintopia?

SPEAKER_01 (07:19):
We have a wonderful website at
www.braintopiacenters.com.
You can uh visit us there andget all kinds of information
about what we do and aboutneurofeedback.

SPEAKER_02 (07:31):
Amazing.
Well, Sandra, thank you forgreat seeing us with your
knowledge today.
Um, I really appreciate youbeing on the show.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward for
having us.

SPEAKER_00 (07:42):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
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