Is Neurofeedback a Useful Therapy?
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Is Neurofeedback a Useful Therapy?
For more information about Neurofeedback, go to http://www.NeurofeedbackBook.com Dr. Clare Albright is a psychologist (CA License PSY11660) and a Neurofeedback practitioner and can be reached at (949)454-0996
For many years, modern medicine has placed an emphasis on the use of medications to treat almost every ailment, including those involving the brain and nervous system. In more recent years, however, many of the medications we were taught to believe were safe have been found to have serious, sometimes long-term side effects. This has led many people to seek out alternatives to prescription medication for many medical conditions.
New Ideas and Therapies
One of the most exciting developments in modern medicine has been the use of neurofeedback, or brain biofeedback, techniques to help address a large variety of conditions. This type of therapy has been found to be very effective in the treatment of migraine headaches, anxiety and chronic pain, as well as ADD/ADHD and several more serious conditions such as epilepsy, autism, and traumatic brain injuries.
The medications commonly used to treat these disorders sometimes mask the true cause of the condition by relieving the symptoms. Many patients will remain on medication, and have to cope with the side effects of it, for life because the underlying cause of their ailment has not been addressed. With neurofeedback therapy, however, many patients have remained symptom free for many years after completing the cycle of treatments, and suffer no ill effects.
The Basics of Neurofeedback Therapy
Neurofeedback therapy involves using an EEG or electroencephalograph machine to read your brainwaves and display them on a computer screen for you to see. The machine reads your brain activity via a series of electrodes that are comfortably placed on your scalp with the use of a dab of special gel. There are no painful insertions of any kind, the electrodes simply rest against your scalp and read your brainwaves. This procedure provides valuable insight about how your brain is functioning.
A specially trained therapist will show you how to control what you see on the monitor using just your brainwaves, using certain relaxation techniques. It can be described as learning to play simple computer games with your mind. Your brain perceives this activity as a reward, and will seek to stay within the desired frequencies. Eventually, these changes in the way your brain works may become long lasting.
Depending on the condition, these results can be achieved within anywhere from twenty treatments to sixty or more, and may require weekly visits until the disorder is under control. Most patients who have been through neurofeedback therapy, and experience the profound changes it creates in their lives, say that they would never go back to the way they felt before the treatment.
Some other benefits of neurofeedback are reduced stress, relief from insomnia, an improved ability to cope, and an overall sense of control and well being. Neurofeedback has also been discovered by many athletes, musicians, and others, as an aid to achieving peak performance.
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