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Neurofeedback
EEG Biofeedback or Neurofeedback is a widely used method of training the brain to function optimally and in a balanced manner. It can be used on its own, or in conjunction with individual or couples counseling, which is my approach. Neurofeedback takes advantage of the many insights and breakthroughs of the past 20 years in the field of neuroscience and has been found to be of great assistance to individuals who seek to support and boost their personal growth and well-being. Emotional distress and brain statesWhen life’s inevitable stressors come around, we often go into automatic pilot emotionally. One writer has called it “emotional hijacking.” What feelings usually accompany this sudden internal shift? The most common are: Anger, Fear, Defensiveness, Harsh Judgment or Self-Criticism. We can find ourselves ruminating on our injuries (and plotting our revenge) or worrying ourselves into a fit of anxiety or slipping into depression and withdrawal. Productivity falls; a good night’s sleep becomes a distant memory; relationships suffer – particularly the closest relationships. For those of us who have experienced the wounds of childhood abuse or other trauma, the past can invade the present with shattering immediacy. Many of us do not need immediate stressors to activate these unpleasant, distracting brain states. We seem to have experienced them for as long as we can remember, as a chronic condition around which we have adjusted our lives. Still, we long for relief and a new, calmer, more accepting attitude – toward ourselves and others. In the 1990’s we first came to understand how the brain’s neurological function can cause and prolong these distressing internal states. Ways of effecting the brain’s function, like EMDR and mindfulness meditation, were integrated into counseling psychotherapy with very positive results. Another tool supporting healthy brain functioning, which was first developed in the 1960’s, is EEG Biofeedback, which is also called Neurofeedback. This is a modality which I use, in conjunction with individual counseling and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy.
What is Neurofeedback?Who of us doesn’t gaze into the mirror, if only for a moment, before they head out the door to meet their day? That glance, or longer study, gives us immediate feedback, through our eyes, of our appearance, allowing us to make adjustments. Neurofeedback gives us the same immediate view of our brain’s functioning and balance as recorded by it electrical activity. In this age of Prozac, when we are used to thinking of brain function in solely bio-chemical terms (how’s your serotonin level?) we tend to overlook the equally compelling reality that our brains are bio-electrical systems, as well. Neurofeedback permits us to see, in the moment, how our brains are functioning on a bio-electric level and allows us to make adjustments in our brain functioning and balance. For more than 40 years, Neurofeedback has been a primary or supportive therapy (with conventional counseling or “talk therapy”) for the treatment of many personal challenges such as:
It has long been appreciated that different frequencies of brain waves correspond to different states of alertness and brain performance. Certain kinds of brainwaves not only reflect the function of a certain area of the brain, but we also know that a change in brain waves at a certain part of the brain can also change the functioning of the brain. A sluggish brain can become more alert and organized. An anxious, over-aroused brain (robbing us of peace and pushing a full night’s deep sleep out of reach) can be calmed. Neurofeedback is about gently and gradually shifting brain waves, and the brain’s functioning, into greater balance through the process of operant conditioning. How does Neurofeedback work?Sensors are placed on your scalp which are connected to a computer, allowing us to see your brain waves underneath those sensors. A computer screen registers the strength of the different brain waves at that site. We know that encouraging certain brain waves to beef up their intensity and others to lower their volume in specified places can increase our ability to attend to tasks, control our seemingly out-of-control emotions or find the motivation inside of us to make the changes we have long let slide. How is this shift supported? Once we have established what brain waves we want to encourage, and those we want to tune down, these “thresholds” are entered into the therapist’s computer. You, sitting there with sensors on your scalp, are looking at another computer screen. This screen will display one of about a dozen different interactive programs which respond to the EEG waves coming through those sensors. When the brain waves we want to encourage get stronger and the ones we want to damp down get quieter, whatever is on the screen you are watching reacts positively. When your brain isn’t responding in the manner you wish, whatever you are watching on the screen slows, darkens or stops. For example, there is a Pacman-like program that has that round fellow gobbling up little dots, and giving you encouraging “beeps” so long as you are in the “zone.” When you move out of that zone, the Pacman slows down and the screen darkens. After a time, your brain gets the message and slowly, but surely, over time, you begin to generate the kind of balanced brain waves that are desired.
How many sessions can I expect?Experienced practitioners compare Neurofeedback training to brain exercise. Once the right frequencies are established (This isn’t a “one size fits all” process. Each of us has our own idiosyncratic set points for optimal balance and functioning.), it is best to meet twice each week for a few weeks. Your brain will leave the 20-30 minute Neurofeedback session operating at a desired level, but will eventually fall back to it’s original set-point. Eventually, the brain will begin operating in the desired, balanced manner all the way through to the next mid-week session. After a time, it will maintain this new level of functioning over a week’s time, eventually to become your new set point. For many conditions or concerns 20 – 40 sessions is what’s needed to establish a new pattern of functioning. Some issues can take longer, such as ADHD, which can require up to a year or more of training. (There are some excellent practitioners in the community who work with attention issues in young people. This is not my area of professional concentration.)
More info about NeurofeedbackThere are many sites on the web which will afford you greater information about Neurofeedback. Among the best are:
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