A New Paradigm for Psychosis

From Sensory Breakdown to Perceptual Resilience

We are advancing a neuro-integrative model of schizophrenia. Our research and therapy development target the core deficit — a failure in the brain’s predictive filtering system — to build resilience and restore agency.

Understanding Neural Sensory Overload

At Aesthesis Health, we explore the critical connection between schizophrenia and how the brain processes sensory information.

Reframing Psychosis: A Failure of Sensory Integration

Schizophrenia is more than a disorder of thought; it is a fundamental breakdown in how the brain filters and makes sense of the world. This failure in predictive coding leads to a state of chronic perceptual overload and aberrant salience, where ordinary sensations feel intense, chaotic, and threatening.

At Aesthesis Health, we are moving beyond symptom management. Our work is grounded in a precise neurobiological model that identifies dysfunctional neural oscillations in the brain’s salience network as a key mechanism. We translate this understanding into Perceptual Resilience Training (PRT), a novel therapeutic framework designed to help individuals recalibrate their relationship to sensory experience and rebuild a coherent sense of self.

Learn About Our Mission

Our Research Focus

Exploring innovative approaches to understand and treat sensory processing challenges in schizophrenia

Predictive Coding & Aberrant Salience

Investigating the failure of the brain’s sensory filtering (gating) and prediction-error signaling that transforms neutral stimuli into sources of overwhelming salience and distress.

Read our Theoretical Framework

Biomarkers of Disintegration

Utilizing MEG and immersive VR to map the neural signatures of sensory integration failure, such as reversed beta-band oscillations in the insula, to objectively measure treatment target engagement.

View our Methods

Therapeutic Outcomes

Measuring long-term improvements in quality of life through novel therapies that address sensory processing challenges.

See Results

Our Intervention: Perceptual Resilience Training (PRT)

Designing and testing manualized, adjunctive therapy modules that build metacognitive awareness, sensory discrimination, and self-model flexibility to directly address the core pathology.

Phase 1
Mindfulness-Based Symptom Containment

Adapted practices to build the "observer self". Teaching individuals to decenter from distressing thoughts and perceptions as passing mental events.

Phase 2
Sensory Grounding & Discrimination

Psychoeducation and exercises based on the predictive coding model to improve perceptual agency and reality-testing, helping to "audit the brain’s false alarms."

Phase 3
Self-Model Flexibility

Metacognitive and compassion-focused strategies to loosen rigid, pathological self-narratives and cultivate a more integrated and resilient identity.

Collaborate With Us

We are building a collaborative network of researchers, clinicians, and participants who share our vision of a more mechanistic and empowering approach to psychosis.

Collaborate With Us

We seek partnerships for

Clinical Research to validate our biomarkers and efficacy of PRT. Academic Collaboration to deepen our neurophenomenological understanding. Participant Engagement in our ongoing and future study cohorts.

Therapeutic Approaches

Evidence-based therapies designed to reduce sensory overload and improve long-term mental health outcomes

Sensory Modulation

Techniques to help regulate sensory input and reduce overwhelming experiences through environmental adjustments and coping strategies.

Sound Therapy

Using specifically designed soundscapes and music to calm neural activity and improve sensory processing capabilities.

Mindfulness Integration

Teaching mindfulness practices tailored for sensory sensitivity to build resilience and improve emotional regulation.

Cognitive Adaptation

Therapy focused on rewiring thought patterns around sensory experiences to reduce anxiety and improve daily functioning.