Our team

François Altwies Neurofeedback Luxembourg

François Altwies

Founder of Neurofeedback Luxembourg

It was only at the age of 40 that I discovered my diagnosis of ADHD, which finally explains many of my setbacks and difficulties

François is the founder of Neurofeedback Luxembourg. He has two children and lives in Luxembourg city. He is passionate about new technologies and biohacking.

I have always been attracted by pioneering, innovative and disruptive projects. After studying the functioning of machines, philosophy, psychology, criminology, computer graphics and virtual reality, I landed in the human-machine interface with applied neurophysiology: Neurofeedback.

My life did not start in the best conditions which left me with some imprints (orphan, dysfunctional families of origin), what I would call today PTSD, but I was given the diagnosis of "Depression".

After going through medication, outpatient and inpatient therapies, many trainings (NLP, Hypnosis, EMDR, Coaching, Process Communication, Provocative Therapy, etc.), the problems of addiction and emotional instability were greatly reduced, but I had not yet recovered my brain's cognitive abilities (certainly a burn-out and a head trauma did not help).

I was only 40 years old when I was diagnosed with ADHD, which finally explains many of my setbacks and difficulties: emotional instability, abandoned studies, changes of direction, self-medication and addictions, oppositional and risky behaviors, etc.

While trying to find solutions to this chaos in my head, I came across Neurofeedback: I signed up for a course and volunteered for the first demonstrations, and there I immediately felt the effects: someone had turned my brain back on!
I decided to make it my job (despite a lot of resistance from health professionals), and to share the benefits of this little-known and underestimated technique in Luxembourg, and even in Europe.
I have been trained by some of the greatest experts in the field: Akademie für Neurofeedback, Thomas Feiner, Doerte Klein, Tom Collura, Mark Smith, Pennijean Gracefire, Dr. Harry Keriadisis, Dr. Juri Kropotov, Dr. Richard Soutar, Dr. Robert Thatcher, Dr. Nicholas Dogris, Dr. Tiff Thompson, Jay Gunkelman, Martin Wuttke, etc... to arrive after more than 2000 brains analyzed and more than 1500 sessions provided in 2021 to the point of developing my own approach which promises the fastest, longest lasting results with predictable effects. 

This work has become my passion, and I love to transmit this knowledge with our clients, my team but also to train other professionals (psychologist, psychiatrist, neurobiologist, university training, etc.)

The changes observed in our clients every day continue to fascinate me and with the great potential of new technologies such as photobiomodulation and new projects (neuromeditation, scientific publications) the future promises to be full of adventures and challenges, there is no risk of getting bored.....

Melanie Schmaltz Neurofeedback Luxembourg

Melanie Schmaltz

Graduate psychologist, specialized in Neuropsychology

My life has had its share of hardships and that is what makes me who I am today, what has built my resilience and what allows me to help others on a daily basis

Melanie is a psychologist, specialized in Neuropsychology, graduated from the Faculty of Strasbourg, the city she comes from. After having worked with people with autism in associations and in specialized centers, she spent 3 months in California in a center for the elderly to perfect her English. Upon her return, she seized the opportunity to work in the field of Neurofeedback. Melanie now lives in Belgium with her partner and their cat. She is an avid car and video game enthusiast. She loves gardening, drawing, animals and food (especially cheese!). Recently, she started learning piano and yoga after having practiced horseback riding and archery for a long time.

 

My life has had its share of hardships: divorced parents, a mother suffering from alcoholism, placement in social care, bereavement, sexual abuse... It is what makes me who I am today, what has built my resilience and what allows me to help others on a daily basis. Let me tell you how life has allowed me to become the best version of myself:

My dream job has always been a veterinarian but I quickly realized that these studies would be difficult for me. So when the choice of direction presented itself, I said to myself "Psycho? Why not! It sounds very interesting". My first direction was developmental psychology to work with autistic children and help their families.

My school career came to a screeching halt in 2014: after 4 years, my little brother finally lost the battle with cancer. In pain, unable to attend classes, I had to repeat a year. This ordeal was decisive in my choice of career because during this second year, I discovered with a new eye neuropsychology and neurophysiology that I had previously cursed.
During these courses, the professors discussed Neurofeedback very briefly. I didn't really understand... how could someone grow a flame on a screen with their brain and regulate their brain activity? How could it help him? When I asked around, there were two schools of thought: those for whom it was miraculous and those for whom it was lame and placebo. I wanted to make my own opinion, to test the technique. The universe heard me because an internship offer in a neurofeedback practice came in my emails. That's how I met François, neurofeedback and I never left. It was what I was missing in my practice: to do neuropsychological assessments to identify the disorders yes, but afterwards? What solutions to help these suffering people? Practically nothing... Neurofeedback was that solution. I have seen so many positive changes, sometimes even real miracles with clients who have come back from a long way.

Thanks to the sessions I have had myself, my anxiety attacks, fatigue, poor sleep and difficulty concentrating are all gone.

In 2022, at the age of 27, I discovered that I had ADHD with severe Dyscalculia since childhood. A lot of things made sense! And despite these disorders that I didn't know I had, I had successfully completed a Scientific Baccalaureate and a math-filled neuropsychology degree. So never let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do! This is my mantra: If you decide to, nothing can stop you. And your difficulties can become a strength. It is the trials of life that have made me so passionate about my work today.

I accompany people in discovering themselves, in understanding their difficulties and help them to get out of them thanks to EEG assessment and neurofeedback sessions. Geek at heart, I also deal with social networks and communication.

Lou Ries-Melendes Neurofeedback Luxembourg

Lou Ries-Melendes

Graduate psychologist, specialized in Neuropsychology

I remember saying to my mother, at the age of 8, "Mom, I want to know what's going on in people's heads".

Lou is a psychologist, specialized in neuropsychology, graduated from the University of Strasbourg. Motivated by her curiosity, she has accumulated more than 500 hours of internship in different sectors of neuropsychology (geriatrics, neurology, child psychiatry, memory services, IME, ....) and finally she decided to settle down at Neurofeedback Luxembourg. Very epicurean and a bon vivant, she now lives in Belgium (not far from the best French fry shop in town... coincidence?). Always willing to talk about the brain, she is taking courses so that she will soon be able to tell you about it in Luxembourgish.

 

I remember saying to my mother, at the age of 8: "Mom, I want to know what goes on in people's heads". Indeed, my passion for the most complex structure of the Universe is the common thread of my entire career.
I started by studying medicine with the wish to become a psychiatrist. The courses fascinated me but I was missing something, I always had this frustrating impression that we were not acting at the source of the patients' problems, without knowing the origin of their problems.
So I decided to reorient myself in psychology. It was during my first year that I heard about neuropsychology. Suddenly everything became clearer, so I continued my studies in a master's degree in Neuropsychology. However, I found that our discipline was cruelly lacking in rehabilitation solutions to propose to patients. Until one day when .... during one of our courses we had a presentation on Neurofeedback (organized by Neurofeedback Luxembourg). I was completely overwhelmed by what I heard, and when I left the course I called my parents and told them that I had found what I wanted to do with my life. I had to learn more about the subject, so I contacted Melanie and François and had the pleasure to do my final internship at Neurofeedback Luxembourg.
I am now a graduate and proud to be part of this structure that brings together everything I was looking for during my studies; a center of expertise that literally allows us to "see what is going on in the brain" with real solutions to offer our clients.

I myself have benefited from Neurofeedback. Being very anxious at the beginning, the benefits have been innumerable; improvement of my sleep, good stress management, better self-confidence, improvement of my organizational skills, flexibility, concentration,...
But today, it is the improvements and the beautiful evolutions in our clients that represent my main engine.

I will be happy to welcome you for your qEEG assessments, the analysis of neuropsychological tests and your neurofeedback sessions as well as to inform and advise you in the best way possible by teleconsultation.

Patrick Jost Neurofeedback Luxembourg

Patrick Jost

Managing Director

Once you have been to the health professionals, Neurofeedback often brings relief that you no longer believe in. If only it were better known to the general public. We are looking for enthusiasts to spread the word.

Patrick is an entrepreneur from Luxembourg. He speaks Luxembourgish, German, English, French and understands (more and more) Danish.

After his banking training and his studies (A.E.S. - economic and social administration) at the University of Montpellier, Patrick joined the family business in Luxembourg. With the help of a team of almost 60 people, he developed innovative solutions for the financial sector and the institutions of the European Union.

Patrick has traveled to over thirty countries and lived in Australia for almost five years. He is married with two children and lives with his family in Luxembourg. 

Ihas been the managing director of Neurofeedback Luxembourg since June 2022.

 

My first encounter with Neurofeedback was the story of a girl who participated quite well in class, but consistently failed all her exams. Her parents (at the end of their rope, as you can imagine) had of course gone around to all the doctors, psychologists, etc. to find out why. Nothing. During an evaluation of her brain (brain map) during which she was watching a movie, François asked her if the movie scared her. She said no, that she found the movie rather amusing. What she didn't know was that on the screen, her therapist and parents could see (even though her environment was not particularly stressful, on the contrary) that her brain was already in "overdrive" / in the "red" - like on the dashboard of a car. Adding the stress of a school test, one can quickly understand why she could not pass her exams. By "calming" the affected areas, through neurotherapy sessions, her brain learned very quickly what to do and what not to do. Thanks to Neurofeedback, her school career was very different from what she had experienced before and what would otherwise have been a burden for many years - both for her and for her parents. This is how I came to know (and understand?) how Neurofeedback can help where other disciplines have their limitations. I have become a big fan, having come to train my own brain as early as 2015 and my children's. As a Neurofeedback client and a fan of technology in general, I decided in 2021 to get personally involved in what François had started. 

I love working with this motivated, knowledgeable team on a daily basis, always striving to improve the lives of our customers. I am passionate about computers and setting up our systems - that's for me.