NEUROFEEDBACK

Neurofeedback works!

From the medical world to ‘Biohacking’, Neurofeedback has been used to help restore and enhance brain function.

Neurofeedback, aka EEG biofeedback, is a research-supported treatment that changes the way your brain functions by sharpening attention, soothing anxiety, enhancing mood, and improving learning —without medication.

Neurofeedback makes use of the brain’s natural capacity to change by reshaping neural networks.

Our brains are constantly being shaped by experience. Repeated experience results in increased, stronger connections within the brain.

Small changes that are repeatedly reinforced lead to changes in how our brains work; This is why neurofeedback is so effective.

Neurofeedback involves monitoring and analyzing brain signals picked up by electrodes placed on the scalp.

Brainwaves are generated by individual cells in your brain called neurons that communicate by electrical changes. We can visualize these electrical changes in the form of brainwaves, as recorded on an electroencephalogram (EEG). The EEG itself is used to guide the feedback you receive.

In neurofeedback, a person is effectively playing video games with his or her brain. Eventually the brainwave activity is “shaped” toward more desirable, more regulated performance. During a session, people usually report feeling relaxed. They sit in a chair and listen to sounds and/or watch a video on a  screen. Nothing is being put into your brain-- we are simply "listening" to your brain wave activity through sensors.

In neurofeedback, we provide positive feedback to increase desired brain activity to teach self-regulation of brain function. Self-regulation is fundamental to healthy psychological functioning. New patterns of neuronal communication tend to result in changes in thinking, emotions, and behavior. Over time, these changes can endure without continued use of an instrument. 

With neurofeedback, your brain changes itself. This is known as “neuroplasticity” and is the way we learn anything.

Because neurofeedback is involved in helping the nervous system regulate itself, it can be used with patients of all ages with a wide range of concerns. Many people’s brains have become stuck in a rigid pattern of responding. With neurofeedback, we can help the brain to become more flexible and efficient, allowing you to be better able to adapt to challenges in the future. 

People who might otherwise avoid traditional forms of therapy are often drawn to neurofeedback.

With neurofeedback training, it is not necessary to relive traumatic events or evoke painful emotions, we can simply work with brain dynamics. Many people appreciate the fact that they are active participants in the training. They value the opportunity to see how their brain is responding in each moment and feel a sense of agency in the change process.

The conventional approach to managing problems such as anxiety, depression and sleep problems is medication.

Drugs can temporarily alleviate symptoms, but come with undesirable side effects and never produce lasting changes: they don’t teach old brains new tricks. When discontinued, the symptoms are likely to return, because the brain hasn’t learned to operate any differently.

With neurofeedback, we often see a reduced need for medication as brain regulation increases. There is no way to predict a medication change.

As the brain learns greater self-regulation, it works more efficiently and reliance on medication is often reduced. Not every patient’s medications are affected. For some, EEG biofeedback seems to act synergistically with medication, allowing a better response, or stabilizing the use of medication.

Neurofeedback rarely is a stand-alone therapy – it is meant to be complementary to other treatment approaches, helping them be more effective.