QuickTake:
Multiple police departments in Oregon over the last few years have begun offering Alpha-Stim electrical stimulation devices as a wellness option for employees. A counselor on contract with Eugene police said she believes the devices help with sleep but are best used as a complement to other therapy or treatments.
Electrical stimulation therapy can be carried in a coat pocket.
But rather than earbuds for sound, earclip electrodes allow the transmission of low-power electrical waveforms to the user. The result — after 20, 40 or 60 minutes — is a treatment for anxiety or insomnia, according to the manufacturer of the Alpha-Stim device.
Since last month, five Alpha-Stim devices have been available for checkout by officers and other employees at the Eugene Police Department.
It’s the latest wellness initiative for the department as it expands efforts to help employees avoid burnout and stay healthy, said Sgt. Sean McCauley, a supervisor for the department’s Peer Support and Resilience Team.
He said he feels “like a little tingle or something in your earlobe” when using the device.
Already, the devices have proven popular, said Katy Ainslie-Wallace, a licensed professional counselor hired to work with employees, and a believer in the treatment.
“They were all checked out within five days. I’ve already got people who are ready to order” their own devices, she said, crediting the devices with helping improve sleep for those who have tried it.
Sergeant Sean McCauley of EPD uses the Alpha Stimulation device at the Eugene Police Department headquarters, March 13, 2026. The device functions by sending a controlled amount of electrodes into the users ears. Credit: Isaac Wasserman / Lookout Eugene-Springfield / Catchlight / RFA
Trends at police departments
The devices, in their modern form, have a history in the United States dating back decades.
The Food and Drug Administration first approved a device in 1978 for what is now commonly known as cranial electrotherapy stimulation, or CES, according to researchers.
A 2018 Department of Veterans Affairs review of the treatment found “low-strength evidence for a possible beneficial effect of modest size in patients who have anxiety with depression.”
But research continues into the treatment’s effects, such as a 2024 study by a VA researcher and others looking at how the treatment affects those with fibromyalgia. They noted “the mechanisms of CES are not fully understood,” meaning that it isn’t clear exactly how the treatment works.
Also in 2024, the nonprofit organization ECRI released results from an “evidence assessment.” ECRI concluded, based on a review of peer-reviewed studies, that the treatment relieves anxiety symptoms.
“This type of electrical stimulation is thought to normalize electrical activity in parts of the brain that contribute to excessive fear and anxiety,” ECRI said in a June 2024 news release.
However, ECRI said it found “insufficient” evidence that cranial electrotherapy stimulation is effective for insomnia or depression, and it wasn’t clear if the therapy is effective over long periods of time.
The treatment is generally not covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private-payer insurance, ECRI noted. For the Alpha-Stim, a prescription is required, according to the manufacturer’s website.
Sergeant Sean McCauley of EPD uses the Alpha Stimulation device at the Eugene Police Department headquarters, March 13, 2026. The standard procedure is to have the device in use for 20 minutes at a time and can be used passively as the user does something else. Credit: Isaac Wasserman / Lookout Eugene-Springfield / Catchlight / RFA
Popular among police
Several police departments in Oregon use the Alpha-Stim devices.
“A lot of employees utilize them and rave about the benefits to promote relaxation, insomnia, depression and pain,” Laura Hawkins, a spokesperson for the Albany Police Department, said in an email. The department has been using the devices since 2021 and, according to Hawkins, was the first police department to offer the devices in Oregon.
The Portland Police Bureau began offering the devices to employees in 2023, said spokesperson Terri Wallo Strauss.
McCauley, the Eugene police sergeant, said he sees the Alpha-Stim as “just one more thing on our tool belt of resources that we can provide directly to employees who are dealing with whatever they’re dealing with, whether that be personal stress, work stress or a combination.”
Ainslie-Wallace said the Alpha-Stim treatment can perhaps be used with psychotherapy or other treatments.
“I would say it should be complementary,” Ainslie-Wallace said.
Buying in bulk, the devices cost $550, with the cost covered by the Eugene Police Foundation, which uses donations to support the police department, McCauley said.
Wellness to the forefront
McCauley started his career in law enforcement in 2014 with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, when officer wellness “wasn’t something that was really at the forefront the way it is today,” he said.
An officer with the Eugene Police Department since 2020, McCauley pointed out other recent initiatives by the department, including the opening of a wellness room on the top floor of headquarters last September with comfy furniture, diffused lighting and a massage chair.
“Even though you’re within the police department, you can kind of sit down, eat your lunch or have a meeting with someone one-on-one, and it’s not a desk or a cubicle or an office with gray colors,” McCauley said.
McCauley talked about the importance of the department’s peer support program, which has roughly 30 employees across various departments who can be a resource for co-workers, as well as the hiring of Ainslie-Wallace, a contractor with a background in working with police.
Ainsley-Wallace said over her career she’s run into some skepticism about the Alpha-Stim devices.
“‘It sounds like woo-woo bulls— is what I usually get,’” Ainslie-Wallace said. “And I tell them, ‘Yep, I thought so too.’”
“But the people that have been using it, myself included, have had great results, and why not?” she said.
While the device is on, “try to do something that’s relaxing, because otherwise you’re going against what you’re trying to achieve,” Ainslie-Wallace said, explaining how she advises new users of the Alpha-Stim.
Results vary, according to Ainslie-Wallace.
“Sometimes people feel more energized after they use it, like they’ve had a cup of coffee, in which case, don’t use it two hours before bed. Then other people find it really relaxing, that it helps them fall asleep,” she said.
It’s up to the user also to consider what usage might be best given their day, Ainslie-Wallace said.
“Some days, maybe you’ve had higher stress levels, you might not be able to tolerate as much, or vice versa. So you’re always assessing yourself,” Ainsley-Wallace said.
