Neurofeedback training is used for issues of
attention (ADD/ADHD), focus, memory, motivation,
depression, anxiety, PTSD, sleep disorders, brain
injury, migraines, seizures, PMS, chronic pain,
autism, and many other conditions.
Neurofeedback, or EEG biofeedback, is a non-invasive
and scientifically-proven therapy that trains the
brain and central nervous system to function more
efficiently. Like conditioning muscles at the gym,
Neurofeedback enhances brain flexibility and
stability. The therapy allows the brain to
strengthen its own neurological connections. This
has a desirable effect on the brain's bioelectrical
and biochemical communication. Once the brain has
learned how to better self-regulate, the changes are
generally maintained throughout life.
During a session, sensors are placed on the
patient's scalp with a type of "paste" that enables
the sensors to pick up the electrical signal that
the brain is generating. A computer reads the brain
waves which are displayed to the patient in the form
of a computer "game." The patient receives visual
and auditory feedback guiding the brain towards more
efficient brain-wave patterns. The brain is very
adaptable, and likes to get the visual and auditory
feedback of its own performance. The game provides
rewards for the brain so that it knows when it has
achieved a good balance of brain-wave activity. This
self-regulation process occurs mostly on an
unconscious level; therefore, it's not necessary to
"try" to make the changes happen. The patient can
sit back and enjoy "playing" the computer game
without any joystick while the brain gets invaluable
information for improved performance.
The benefits of Neurofeedback extend beyond what
may be primarily affecting the patient. This is one
of the few therapies in which the side effects are
also desirable - they include improvements in: mood,
sleep, productivity, alertness and calmness. Like
learning any new skill, repetition is necessary to
learn to be good at what you'd like to do. This
therapy is helping the brain to create more
efficient neural communication. Therefore, the brain
needs repetition in order to learn and maintain its
new skills. The most beneficial use of Neurofeedback
training suggests a course of 20 sessions (in more
difficult cases 40 or more may be needed). Training
twice per week allows for sustained learning and
better results over the course of the therapy. Each
session typically runs 30 minutes. Improvements are
experienced by the patient within the first few
sessions.
Neurofeedback training is also used to achieve
better performance by optimizing brain function in
the already high-functioning individual.
Peak-performance training is beneficial for
professionals of all kinds, including
performers, athletes, writers, and speakers. The
brain learns how to be calm and relaxed with
improved focus and motivation, even while under
stressful situations.
Alpha/Theta training, called "deep state"
training, is another application of Neurofeedback.
This therapy allows for the safe resolution of past
traumas and stuck emotional issues, as well as
aiding addiction recovery. The training gently
guides the brain into a very relaxed state where it
can safely process, release and change undesirable
patterns. The effects include a greater sense of
well-being and personal freedom, and increased
energy and creativity.
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How does Neurofeedback work?
A healthy nervous system has good self-regulation.
This means that it is flexible and balanced with
appropriate responses to its environment and what's
being demanding of it. For example, the brain calms
down before bed so that sleep occurs easily, and it
becomes focused and alert when concentration is
required. The brain creates appropriate responses
with its complex electrical activity operating
within a system of timed neurological events. If
this timing system is not working properly,
different areas of the brain are functioning with
inappropriate levels of activity, or arousal. This
creates a state of dysregulation in which various
symptoms develop, i.e. anxiousness, depression,
over-sensitivity to pain, difficulty paying
attention, insomnia, lack of motivation,
irritability, etc. In normal functioning, when the
whole brain is at a very low level of arousal, a
person is sleeping. On the other end of the
spectrum, when the brain is in a very high state of
arousal, a person is experiencing a flight-or-fight
response and feeling terror or rage. Dysregulated
areas of the brains display patterns of arousal that
are often too high (i.e. anxiety, anger, fear), too
low (i.e. depression, lethargy, foggy thinking) or a
combination of both (instability).
Neurofeedback is a powerful tool which trains the
brain to regulate its own level of arousal, allowing
it to continually return to balanced timing and more
optimal functioning on the unconscious, autonomic
level. The EEG reflects four primary brain-wave
frequencies produced by the brain: beta, alpha,
theta and delta. During the training, specific areas
of the brain learn to produce more of the desirable
brain-wave frequencies (i.e. beta) and less of the
undesirable ones (i.e. theta). The training
protocols are specifically tailored to each person's
unique nervous system.
With commitment to the process, the end result is
the alleviation and remediation of symptoms.
Neurofeedback training is transformational work that
allows one's essential self to emerge. It is a tool
for both discovering and recovering one's true self
and the ability to engage more fully in life with
all of its joys and demands.
Frank H. Duffy, M.D., Professor and Pediatric
Neurologist at Harvard Medical School, stated in an
editorial in the January 2000 issue of the journal
Clinical Electroencephalography that the
scholarly literature suggests that Neurofeedback
should play a major therapeutic role in many
difficult areas.
"In my opinion, if any medication had
demonstrated such a wide spectrum of efficacy it
would be universally accepted and widely used. It
[Neurofeedback] is a field to be taken seriously by
all."
~ Frank H. Duffy, MD
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