Kedras Clinics, which offers mental health treatment, expanding in Edinburgh after securing funds from Investment Fund for Scotland

Firm providing pioneering mental health treatment.

Dawn Harris, CEO of Kedras Clinics, says: 'Our next step is to see how we can continue our growth to open more clinics across the UK.' Picture: contributed.

A clinic specialising in a form of wellbeing therapy described as a “gym for the brain” has become one of the first businesses to benefit from funding through a Scottish initiative run by the British Business Bank (BBB). The £150 million Investment Fund for Scotland launched in October 2023 and offers loans ranging from £25,000 to £2m and equity investments up to £5m.

Delivered through DSL Business Finance, the loan of £50,000 has enabled Kedras Clinics to open a second location in Edinburgh’s New Town, following the success of its first clinic in Perth.

Clinical psychologist Dawn Harris started the business in 2022, building on her 25-year career in healthcare. It offers neurofeedback, which it says is a non-invasive way to help the brain perform at its best. It is billed as leading to an overall feeling of physical and mental relaxation, and able to help treat mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, and PTSD. “As it works with both the conscious and subconscious, neurofeedback often works where other psychological and pharmacological interventions have struggled to make an impact,” the clinic added.

Building on its Edinburgh expansion, Kedras Clinics is now looking to add staff and open sites in Newcastle and London. Harris, its chief executive, said: “While neurofeedback treatment is still fairly uncommon in the UK, high-profile organisations like Liverpool Football Club and NFL already use this technique. Our next step is to see how we can continue our growth to open more clinics across the UK. We’re currently recruiting more psychologists or psychotherapists, and looking further ahead, we’re hoping to start the process of developing new pioneering technology. The funding we received from the Investment Fund for Scotland has been pivotal in this next phase.”

Mark Sterritt, director, nations and regions funds at the BBB, said: “Supporting female entrepreneurs is a key priority for us and it is great to see founders like Dawn leading the way in their respective fields.” Also commenting was Murray Marshall, loan officer, DSL Business Finance, who said: “As fund manager for the Smaller Loans part of the Investment Fund for Scotland, DSL is pleased to support Dawn and Kedras Clinics contribute to improving lives across Scotland and beyond. The groundbreaking therapy provided is a game-changer for mental health in the UK."