Biofeedback/Counseling

"EBT (EEG biofeedback therapy) 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."

Frank H. Duffy, MD
Associate Editor for Neurology,
Clinical EEG Journal

Frequently Asked Questions (Michael Cohen - Center For Brain Training). For more information please go to our YouTube Channel

Is there enough research?
A recent child and adolescent psychiatric journal devoted much of a special issue to research in neurofeedback. There are over 1000 publications supporting the field.

Are there differences in neurofeedback and biofeedback?
Neurofeedback is EEG biofeedback – it’s just a specialized form of biofeedback. But there are differences in traditional biofeedback and neurofeedback.

Which professionals use neurofeedback?
It's estimated 2500-3500 health professionals now use neurofeedback, including psychologists, MD's, LCSW's, educational psychologists, marriage and family counselors, RN's. Most of the clinicians in the US using neurofeedback are in private practice.  A number are associated with universities.   Several professional organizations have been created around the world to support increased professional education for this emerging modality.

What do health professionals say it does for their clients?
In a survey, clinicians who use neurofeedback reported that it improves symptoms for a large percentage of clients. It often reduces the use of medications.

What do clients/patients say about neurofeedback?
An example of some comments from clients with ADD, autism, depression who've used neurofeedback. What are some of the challenges clients face in understanding the impact of neurofeedback?

Why aren't more MD's recommending or offering neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback works very well in a clinical setting. But few MD's are really educated about it, which is probably the biggest obstacle to acceptance. Why is there such a lack of education? Does insurance coverage play a role in slowing adoption? Is it a problem with research? The answer is straightforward.  It's a lack of education and familiarity.

Are there adverse effects?
There are 30 years of clinical experience with neurofeedback, and hundreds of thousands of training sessions. There are no known situations where a long-term adverse effect has been identified.

Can training occur at home?
Should a parent or individual do training at home with limited experience?
Even if you're supervised at home by a trained professional (many won't do it), it's harder and the chances of failure are higher. There are situations it is appropriate, but it should be done very cautiously. More details

Is training at home less successful than training with a clinician?
Family dynamics, being around a lot of noise, irregular sessions . . . these and others contribute to challenges at home. Autism may be somewhat an exception to this rule so far.

How can training change sleep quickly?
Sleep is one of the first symptoms to respond. Here's a quick example of how to change someone's sleep.

What EEG frequencies are typically trained?
• Beta frequencies (13-20 Hz) tend to be associated with an alert, awake, attentive state
• Alpha-theta training (rewarding 8-11 or 8-12 Hz for alpha and 4-8 Hz for theta) guides people to deep quiet states
• Excessive theta and delta (slow wave activity) can be associated with distractibility, inattentiveness or not focusing.
• Excessive high beta is associated with anxiety, tension. It can interfere with attention.

When you see the EEG change is the brain actually changing?
Yes. The EEG is a physiological measure. Neurofeedback trains you to change the EEG. When someone changes their EEG, by definition, they are changing their brain - and how neurons are firing. If the EEG is changing, what does that represent?

Does the EEG always change after training?
It's not unusual to see a clear change in the EEG's behavior. Sometimes, the change is much less clear, but improvements occur.

How is brain imaging and cognitive neuroscience impacting neurofeedback?
What part of the brain do you train? As more is published daily about imaging studies, its providing important clues.

Other questions

When does anecdotal information become common clinical knowledge?
There's a lot of well known common knowledge in neurofeedback.

Neurofeedback Potential Results

• Warming up and calming down
• Less fear
• Increased capacity for empathy
• More spontaneity
• More assertiveness well accepted by others
• More cohesive sense of self

Conclusion:

    Neurofeedback is a positive tool for relationship development