NEUROFEEDBACK

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During neurofeedback training, sensors are placed on the scalp to monitor and record the patient’s brainwaves. These findings are then compared to what’s typically expected for same-age individuals, which allows us to identify the regions and the types of dysregulation that may be causing the patient’s symptoms.

Our medical director then creates a neurofeedback training program that’s custom-tailored to the patient’s individual needs. This program displays the patient’s brainwaves as an animation on a screen, and with the help of experienced staff, patients learn how to alter and modify their brainwaves into a healthier functioning pattern required for focus, organization, and follow-through.

Neurofeedback aims to help individuals improve emotional, behavioural and cognitive functioning by training patients to increase certain brainwaves whilst inhibiting others, to promote optimal brain regulation. Compared to medication, neurofeedback has been shown to create long-term changes in the brain/behaviour when the treatment is stopped, as neurofeebdack is based upon changing the brain directly through neuroplasticity and learning. It aims to actually treat the core problem rather than simply masking symptoms. Whilst stimulant medications can be effective for up to 12 hours benefit, completing a program of neurofeedback is found to have long term benefits. Below are some examples of some of what Neurofeedback could treat:

When a person has ADD or ADHD, concentration and focus are a challenge.This is because the regions of  the brain responsible for focus are experiencing some level of dysregulation, making tasks like studying for an exam or paying attention in class much more difficult. Neurofeedback helps patients self-regulate their brainwave patterns, which in turn reduces, and in some cases, eliminates the negative symptoms associated with ADD and ADHD.

When a person is depressed, there is dysregulation in the brain which can cause a sort of misinterpretation of reality. As a result, patients can become transfixed on what’s wrong in their lives and get caught in negative thought loops. Neurofeedback shows patients how to work through these ruminations, not just by thinking “happy thoughts,” but by directly modifying the brainwaves to a more desirable functional pattern and improving connections that are problematic.

Stress is a normal part of life. In fact, most of us experience some level of stress every day; however, when stress increases and begins to dominate your daily life, you may be suffering from a stress disorder. With the help of neurofeedback training, patients receive real-time and ongoing feedback as they relax, helping them understand how their brain is shifting into a calmer state and learn to control their own process.

Often, the patient is completely relearning what “relaxed” feels like since their brain has been in a state of stress for an extended period. Once they learn what it feels like and how to achieve it, the patient can continue to practice this ability long after treatment has ended.

Like stress disorders, anxiety is a widespread condition that millions of people deal with. It can result in overwhelming fear, insomnia, appetite changes, excessive sweating, and more. While anxiety can actually be adaptive in small amounts, anxiety disorders can reach a level of severity that can become debilitating.

Neurofeedback can treat anxiety exceptionally well in order to reduce or even eliminate the symptoms. During neurofeedback treatment for anxiety, patients receive immediate feedback on what is happening in their brain in moments of anxiety. Training sessions will help them recognize and reduce anxiety, subsequently improving their quality of life.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder resulting in repetitive behaviors and impaired communication and socialization, among other symptoms. There is no cure for autism, but neurofeedback therapy has proven to help patients improve their level of functioning and teach them to self-regulate and adapt more effectively to new situations.  

PTSD  can affect anyone who has experienced a traumatic event that the brain interprets as a persistent threat. Any reminders of this event can trigger anxiety, nightmares, and impulsive behavior. Mood stabilizers are a common medication for treating PTSD, along with cognitive-behavioral therapy.  

By utilizing the mind-body connection, neurofeedback offers patients a reliable way to improve their brain’s ability to accurately interpret reality and remain appropriately calm.

Panic attacks generally result from severe and untreated, or undertreated anxiety disorders, and they can be one of the most traumatic experiences a person can go through.   Neurofeedback provides patients with a real-time look at how their brain responds to stressors. Neurofeedback training enables a patient to relax and to stop their brain from triggering the “fight or flight” response that causes a panic attack. This allows patients to regain control of their mind-body interaction and improve their quality of life.  

The inability to fall and stay asleep – insomnia – is a debilitating disorder that can affect concentration, memory, and overall quality of life. Typical treatments usually include medication, change of diet, and reducing alcohol intake, but none of these are a permanent cure for the disorder. We offers customized treatment for patients suffering from insomnia that increases relaxation, reduces tension, and regulates more normal neural activity for sleep, allowing them to again experience a good night’s sleep.

When a person suffers an injury to the brain, their brainwaves can be thrown off, resulting in a disruption of the connections in the brain, as well as creating an imbalance in the brainwaves causing too many or not enough high or low-frequency waves. When the ratio is off, the person can experience changes in personality and mood, difficulty concentrating, poor impulse control, and more. Neurofeedback takes advantage of the brain’s natural neuroplasticity and helps patients heal the disrupted connections and dysregulation that is occurring in their brains.

Rather than attempting to detect changes in neural activity (as per the clinical application), Neurofeedback training, when applied to areas of peak performance, aims to detect the optimal levels of cortical activity, and harness them for future success. As this optimal state is reinforced via operant conditioning, the training has been implicated in the acquisition and mastery of a wide range of physical and cognitive skills, and reducing the time taken to turn a novice individual into an elite performer. 

The self-regulation techniques involved in Neurofeedback training, such as increasing attention and motivation, concentration, and greater autonomic control, all represent powerful tools for expert performance in elite athletes. Research involving expert marksmen, golfers and archers have all posited that by positively reinforcing individuals for reaching optimal levels of cortical activity, practitioners are able to help athletes quiet their mind, and regulate their mental and emotional environment and concentrate more thoroughly – all of which reflect both indispensable tools for daily life, and states highly conducive to peak athletic performance.