Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback

*Please note that Dr. Dana is not currently offering neurofeedback but will return to this modality once she returns to in-person therapy.

This specialized form of treatment is a form of biofeedback. Biofeedback uses monitoring instruments attached to the body to "feed back" to people information on the functioning of their bodies. In a very simple way, taking your temperature with a thermometer is a form of biofeedback. The thermometer gives you information about your body that you would not ordinarily know. It has been scientifically established that, once people have more detailed access to information on what their bodies are doing, they are able to learn to alter that function.

This is an important skill, as biofeedback can teach us to enter positive states of being such as focus, relaxation and happiness that are incompatible with other conditions like ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder), anxiety and depression.

Neurofeedback is biofeedback using EEG or brain electrical activity as the target for change. When it comes to EEG, there really is a “normal” pattern of activity for a person’s gender and age. The way that a given person’s “EEG signature” may be different from normal will match his or her symptoms. For example, there are a number of different brain signatures (or patterns of EEG activity) for depression, anxiety and ADHD. The assessment that compares a person's own EEG patterns to a database full of "normal" (as defined statistically) EEG recordings is called a quantitative electroencephalogram, or qEEG. The results of the qEEG will tell your psychologist what form of neurofeedback therapy will benefit you.

Neurofeedback involves reading the electroencephalographic (EEG - brain electrical activity) signals from the surface of the scalp. Once people become aware of the subtle variations in their brain activity, they can be trained to change them toward a pattern of activity that is more optimal. Again, if an individual's pattern of brain activity deviates from usual, the result can be anxiety, depression, attention problems, difficulty with emotional control, sleep difficulty or a multitude of other problems. Neurofeedback is a drug-free way to help people return to a more optimal level of function.