In April 2026, Dr Olena Edwards-Skadowska, Founder and Clinical Director of London Trusted Therapy, and Jonathan Edwards, Head of Operations, travelled to Tokyo for a meeting that marked a significant moment in the practice’s growing international presence. The visit, to the headquarters of Kaga Electronics, opened a new chapter in an already exciting research collaboration — and pointed towards possibilities that we believe could change the landscape of workplace wellbeing in the United Kingdom and beyond.
A Meeting Made Possible by Science
The connection with Kaga Electronics came through Professor Yasuhiro Suzuki and Rieko Suzuki of the Vibrotactile Lab at the University of Nagoya, with whom Dr Edwards-Skadowska has been collaborating on research at the intersection of sensory technology and psychological wellbeing. Professor Suzuki’s pioneering work in vibrotactile stimulation — the use of precisely calibrated, gentle vibration to engage the nervous system — has long fascinated Dr Edwards-Skadowska as a clinical psychotherapist who works daily with clients whose nervous systems are under sustained pressure.
It was Professor Suzuki and Rieko who introduced the London Trusted Therapy team to Hiroshi Sado at Kaga Electronics, and it was their generosity in making that connection that brought about a visit neither party is likely to forget.
The Wellbeing Room: A Vision Takes Shape
At the heart of the Tokyo meeting was a concept that Dr Edwards-Skadowska has been developing for some time: the on-site Wellbeing Room. The idea is elegantly simple. Within a workplace, a dedicated space is equipped with vibrotactile devices — including an eye mask and a room sound amplifier developed by Professor Suzuki’s lab — allowing employees to take a structured, technology-supported break of 15 to 20 minutes during the working day.
The science behind this is robust. Gentle vibrotactile stimulation around the periorbital area — the region targeted by the eye mask — promotes microcirculation, activates the parasympathetic nervous system, and has been associated with measurable reductions in cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. The mask also provides complete occlusion of vision, giving the eyes and the visual cortex a rare and much-needed rest from screen exposure. Research on ultradian rest cycles confirms what many of us sense intuitively: the brain actively seeks periods of reduced sensory input throughout the day, and honouring those cycles pays dividends in mood, focus, and cognitive performance.
To see the Wellbeing Room concept taking shape at Kaga Electronics was one of the most exciting moments of my professional year. I could see immediately how this technology, applied with clinical intention, could make a genuine difference to people’s lives at work.
Dr Olena Edwards-Skadowska, Founder and Clinical Director, London Trusted Therapy
A Device Whose Time Has Come: Neurodiversity and the Workplace
For Dr Edwards-Skadowska, whose clinical expertise is deeply rooted in neurodiversity — and who brings her own lived experience of late autism diagnosis to her work — the implications of this technology for neurodivergent employees are particularly compelling.
Autistic burnout is a serious and increasingly recognised phenomenon: a state of profound exhaustion that results from sustained masking, sensory overload, and the cumulative toll of navigating a neurotypical world without adequate recovery time. For employees with autism, a short and regular reset — structured, sensory, and restorative — could serve as a genuine preventative measure against burnout, absenteeism, and the quiet attrition of talented people who simply can no longer cope.
The same applies to employees with ADHD, who require intentional breaks to regulate their attention and nervous systems effectively. And the applications extend beyond the workplace: for students during examination periods, where sensory demands are acute and mental fatigue sets in quickly, a device of this kind could offer meaningful support at precisely the moments it is most needed.
In the United Kingdom, the reasonable adjustment of working conditions for neurodivergent employees is not a matter of goodwill — it is a legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010. Many employers are actively and urgently seeking practical, evidence-based tools to fulfil this obligation. At present, very few products exist that address it in a way that is both clinically grounded and straightforward to implement. London Trusted Therapy, as a recognised leader in ADHD and autism assessment and support for both adults and children, is uniquely positioned to help bring this technology to the UK market with the clinical credibility it deserves.
London Trusted Therapy: Leaders in Neurodevelopmental Assessment
London Trusted Therapy is proud to be one of the UK’s leading practices for specialist ADHD and autism assessments in adults and children. Our multidisciplinary team of clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists, and psychotherapists combines diagnostic rigour with a neurodiversity-affirming ethos — recognising that a diagnosis is not a label that diminishes, but a framework that liberates.
The past decade has transformed our understanding of these conditions. We now know that autism and ADHD present very differently across genders, ages, and cultural backgrounds — and that an enormous number of people, particularly women and older adults, have been living with unrecognised neurodivergence for decades. Late diagnosis, though it can bring its own complexity, is often one of the most life-changing and clarifying experiences our clients describe.
As part of our developing relationship with Kaga Electronics and the Vibrotactile Lab, we are also exploring the possibility of contributing to assessment and diagnostic tool development in Japan — work that can largely be conducted online, and that we hope will help to destigmatise neurodevelopmental difference in a culture where the pressure to conform can make seeking support particularly difficult.
What Comes Next
The visit to Tokyo was the beginning of a conversation, not the end of one. London Trusted Therapy and the London Academy of Modern Psychology — our parallel educational venture, which offers psychologically grounded courses for professionals, organisations, and the public — look forward to exploring a range of collaborative possibilities with Kaga Electronics and the Vibrotactile Lab in the months ahead.
These may include joint research, corporate wellness initiatives, educational content, and the introduction of vibrotactile wellbeing technology to the UK market through clinically informed channels. We are also excited to be facilitating a potential pilot of Kaga’s animal massager device through Mammals Care, a specialist veterinary clinic in London with a dedicated behavioural science team — a development that speaks to the breadth and originality of what this technology may ultimately be able to offer.
We will share updates here as the collaboration develops. In the meantime, if you are an employer, an HR professional, a clinician, or simply someone who is curious about the future of neurodiversity-informed wellbeing, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with our team
