BoulderNeurofeedback.com

david — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:27:25 +0000

“Ritalin Gone Wrong” article from the New York Times link

Molecular model of Ritalin…

Stress and aging…

david — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:35:57 +0000

In the July/August 2011 Scientific American Mind magazine.

General Adaptation Syndrome

A diagram of the General Adaptation Syndrome model.

Physiologists define stress as how the body reacts to a stressor, real or imagined, a stimulus that causes stress. Acute stressors affect an organism in the short term; chronic stressors over the longer term.

Selye researched the effects of stress on our bodies.

Alarm is the first stage. When the threat or stressor is identified or realized, the body’s stress response is a state of alarm. During this stage adrenaline will be produced in order to bring about the fight-or-flight response. There is also some activation of the HPA axis, producing cortisol.

Resistance is the second stage. If the stressor persists, it becomes necessary to attempt some means of coping with the stress. Although the body begins to try to adapt to the strains or demands of the environment, the body cannot keep this up indefinitely, so its resources are gradually depleted.

Exhaustion is the third and final stage in the GAS model. At this point, all of the body’s resources are eventually depleted and the body is unable to maintain normal function. The initial autonomic nervous system symptoms may reappear (sweating, raised heart rate etc.). If stage three is extended, long term damage may result as the body, and the immune system is exhausted and function is impaired resulting in decompensation.

The result can manifest itself in obvious illnesses such as ulcers, depression, diabetes, trouble with the digestive system or even cardiovascular problems, along with psychological dysfunction.

By training your brain to be more resilient in the face of stress, you are more adaptable and better able to deal with stress. Since each time we react negativity to a repetitive stressor we lose energy (exhaustion), by training your brain to not react and thus not lose energy, it has a deep effect on your aging process. This is well known and has been well known by the Oriental Cultures.

One Mother’s experience of NeurOPTIMAL Brain Training: herself and her son

david — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:41:28 +0000

My son has a diagnosis of Dyspraxia and ADD, and found NeurOPTIMAL (neurofeedback) helpful.

*Developmental dyspraxia is a chronic neurological disorder beginning in childhood that can affect planning of movements and co-ordination as a result of brain messages not being accurately transmitted to the body

**Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder. It is characterized primarily by “the co-existence of attentional problems andhyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone” and symptoms starting before seven years of age.

As a parent I can only report what I observed. He became much more efficient in daily activities,

did everything faster and more fluently, and was more “on” rather than off, as you know an ADD person can be.

HIs language and also motor skills improved markedly under NO.

It was very much like, his brain went directly to what it wanted to do, instead of meandering around in a field for a while first.

However, 2 years later we have seen varying regression in nearly all areas. I have some ideas why in our particular case, but as another has said,

each brain is different and one person’s experience does not necessarily predict the exact outcomes for anothers’ brain.

Your personal genetic and biochemical make up is not the same as anyone else’s. I think of neurofeedback as an efficiency

generator. It gives your brain a chance to find it’s own way to be the most efficient it can be at processing and outputting information.

We went back recently for a tune-up session and the rebound effect from 1 session was pretty good. I think there are people who just need to go back occasionally to remind their brains how to be the most efficient. Who are they? Impossible to guess as there are no tests for these kinds of things.

Neuroscience is very much in it’s infancy even in the traditional medicine world and medications have all kinds of side effects

some of which do not go away. Zengar falls short from my ideal in that they have weak anecdotal published studies, so it leaves people like you

and me asking questions and getting poorly defined answers. It leaves you having to take a leap of faith that I personally think is silly to

ask a client to do, but that’s where it stands right now. I was working with a professional at the time that I trusted, and I felt that if it was safe

I didn’t have much to lose trying it. PS. you can find studies on the outcomes of neurofeedback on the internet that have been fairly constructed.

They may not have used Zengar to do the work, but I think it is safe to say there are positive correlations between the outcomes of different manufacturers.

Neurofeedback is not well publicized in the US, and I think it is really too bad as it has been proven to be effective with various disorders in many studies.

The most important longitudinal study on the use of neurofeedback for attention deficit disorders was completed and reported from Ohio State Univ School of Medicine last year – several yrs in length and paid for by the US National Institutes of Mental Health. They unfortunately used some little known manufacturer’s system (that was not nearly as sophisticated as NO in my opinion) and took some professional criticism for the construction of the study. I spoke to the researchers in person twice during the study, as well as 1 parent of a child participant, and the anecdotal reply is that parents were thrilled with the outcomes for ADD/ADHD in their kids, but the statistical evaluation at the end was inconclusive. They are considering redoing the entire study and getting more professional input on the study design.

My experience was that NO is safe. I did about 35 sessions myself and I feel that I have had lasting effect

with some regression, but not nearly to where I was originally.

If you have the chance to try NO and it’s possible for you, I’d give it 10 sessions to experience the full ongoing effect. I had a big change after 4 sessions but I can’t say what will happen with someone else.

Of all the things we have tried, both traditional and non-traditional, NeurOPTIMAL was the most effective as an all around remediation for attention deficit, language and executive functioning.

I hope this helps you in your decision. In the end, my feeling is that it comes down to your personal decision of how to spend your time and money and the degree of safety.

Best,

Andrea

UTILIZING TRADITIONAL COUNSELING WHILE RECEIVING NEUROFEEDBACK

david — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:23:44 +0000

I received an email from a client who was referred to me by a colleague in Denver. She went to my website and decided that I was not a traditional psychotherapist. And at first glance, that might seem true. But in all actuality, my training and background include traditional talk therapy and counseling, having worked as a supervisor who trained masters level interns in the internship phase of their training in a community mental health facility. And research indicates that a good therapist needs to be tremendously flexible and adaptable based on the needs and desires of her/his client.

So I have clients who come to me to do traditional talk therapy, yes. And these clients indicate that how I work with them is very effective, either in a short or long term therapeutic relationship. But many of these clients also see the benefits in combining traditional approaches with more scientific, up-to-date approaches that help heal unresolved biological problems that keep dysfunctional behaviors in place. and that talk therapy cannot address in many cases.

Example: I have a person who was referred to me by a colleague who I share offices with. This individual has long standing anxiety, depression, and debilitating stress issues. My colleague referred this person to me because we have worked as supervisors in the past in a local mental health agency; but he also knows my background and training in approaches like brain biofeedback, somatic psychotherap and so on- and how using it along with talk therapy can speed the healing process. So with this person who has long time issues, I know from years of experience that it could take months or longer to produce noticeable changes in his life because of his age and his family of origin patterns and because how our brain develops neurologically in dysfunctional environments; what we are doing, thinking and experiencing is what we are becoming- literally.

Most therapists don’t talk about the difficult cases- they talk about their success cases. But to be honest, we have to be straight about the limitations of ONLY talking about our problems. Because of defense mechanisms that started during traumas in our childhoods, we need scientific approaches to address them. Yes, talking can be most helpful, but without other ways of affecting the neurotransmitters and hormones, which are at the basis of our automatic and unconscious survival self, movement is often slow, and up and down at best. And any honest therapist will admit this openly.

So I see this gentleman and we do traditional talk therapy WHILE he receives brain biofeedback. Since I use a form of brain biofeedback, also called neurofeedback, that goes underneath the conscious mind and communicates directly with his sub-conscious or instinctual self, letting it know in its language about its turbulent and dysfinctional behaviors (we measure energy differences in the brain or called brainwave activity) this man in experiencing a cessation of suffering with is immediate and will become cumulative with ongoing visits. After last weeks session (number 2 visit), he said that he had a beautiful evening, driving home enjoying the scenery, enjoying the beauty of the mountains- rather than his norm of suffering with stress and anxiety. Yes, his patterns returned the next day, though not exactly to the same degree; and with ongoing sessions, he will notice a lifting of symptoms and with the talk therapy, we will help him begin to make the necessary changes in his daily life to avoid generating these feelings, emotions, and thoughts in the future.

So, sure, let’s do traditional counseling- combined with the most up to date and effective neurofeedback approach that matches our current science in brain neuroplasticity, or the brains ability to let go of old neurological, dysfunctional networks and improve its effectiveness and resiliency by producing new and higher ordered networks. Any improved calm and improvement in our brains energy expenditure has a major impact on our life as we now recognize that it takes tremendous energy to keep dysfunctional behavior going. Brain research now shows that most of our suffering states are generated inside our nervous system in the present moment- or in other words, it is ultimately how our brain reacts unconsciously to life events.

General Benefits of NeurOPTIMAL Brain Training

david — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:30:09 +0000

Weekly, I speak with clients who have been to my website and been to Zengar’s NeurOPTIMAL™ website (www.zengar.com). They come for a broad spectrum of reasons and symptoms. ADD/ADHD, depression, anxiety, Lyme Disease, to improve social interaction, work stress, optimal and peak performance, to improve focus in their sport, performing artists, and on and on. The list is much longer. (see the 2008 Independently produced Client Survey for all the categories).

So how does providing your brain with moment to moment feedback about it’s turbulent behavior improve such a broad spectrum of symptoms and problems?

Our brains. we are learning, are the most sophisticated organic, dynamical ‘adaptable systems’ that we know of. Nature has provided us with the ability to self correct or self heal, as well as evolve our brain’s structure and function with direct learning or direct experience; improve its energy efficiency over time. So we listen to your brains energy output (we pick up about 96% of the brains signal whereas most other neurofeedback approaches pick up around 4%) moment to moment, and based on non-linear math/physics, any time the program recognizes the beginning of a phase shift or also called state change (non-linear science), your brain will interrupt the stream of music that you are listening to and evoke the Orienting Response- that biological, instinctual, survival response to any change in our environment. When the Orienting Response is evoked, the brain must return to the present moment, scanning to see if there is an actual threat to your survival. So we are training your brain to recognize that IT is generating your suffering states, stop doing it, and return to the present moment.

Generating suffering states is mostly an internal, self generated process.

Ancient man understood that suffering is generated internally based on our unresolved past. Events in our young psyches that produced fearful reactions will generate further reactions to present events. If a child feels that Dad is threatening him, whether Dad actually is or not, may very well generate future automatic reactions when around all men. This is pretty well accepted today given the research on the brain and how it is organized. Talk therapy can help to a degree, but past a certain point, if we cannot get under the protective defenses that guard these old wounds, we either make them stronger or never directly affect them. But by working under the conscious mind, at the level of the instinctual reactions, we can help the brain actually drop old reactive, protective behaviors and simply be more present. It is a natural process based on good and solid science.

Diagnosis of ADHD On the Rise

david — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:13:40 +0000

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/
120319134214.htm

Diagnosis of ADHD On the Rise

ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2012) — The number of American children leaving doctors’ offices with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis has risen 66 percent in 10 years, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Over this same timeframe, specialists, instead of primary care physicians, have begun treating an increasing number of these young patients, the study found.

The study, which will be published in the March/April issue of the journal Academic Pediatrics, analyzed ADHD trends from 2000 to 2010 among children under the age of 18 who were diagnosed and treated by office-based physicians. Researchers analyzed changes in the diagnosis of ADHD and treatment of the disorder over this 10-year time period.

“ADHD is now a common diagnosis among children and teens,” said Craig Garfield, M.D., first author of the study. “The magnitude and speed of this shift in one decade is likely due to an increased awareness of ADHD, which may have caused more physicians to recognize symptoms and diagnose the disorder.”

Garfield is an assistant professor in pediatrics and medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a pediatrician at Children’s Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Symptoms of ADHD, such as trouble paying attention and controlling impulsive behaviors and being overly active, can affect children and teens both academically and socially, Garfield said.

In the past decade several important regulatory and clinical changes regarding ADHD and the medications used to treat it have occurred, yet it was unknown how these factors have affected ADHD management, Garfield said.

For the study, Garfield and his team of researchers quantified ADHD diagnosis and treatment patterns among people under 18 using the IMS Health National Disease and Therapeutic Index. This is a nationally representative sample of office-based visits and included 4,300 office-based physicians in 2010.

According to the study, in 2010, 10.4 million children and teens under age 18 were diagnosed with ADHD at physician outpatient visits, versus 6.2 million in 2000.

Researchers also found that psychostimulants have remained the most common medication prescribed to children with ADHD. Psychostimulants were used in 96 percent of treatments in 2000 and 87 percent in 2010. The exact reason for the decrease is unclear, but there was not an increase in treatment with other, substitute medications, Garfield said.

While the majority of children and teens with ADHD are still managed by primary physicians, the study found that there has been a substantial shift away from primary doctors and towards specialists, such as pediatric psychiatrists.

“Recently, there’s been more public health advisories issued about problems or side effects of different ADHD medications,” Garfield said. “It may be that general pediatricians are shying away from treating patients themselves and instead rely on their specialist colleagues to provide the treatment and management of these medications.”

Given the short supply of psychiatrists specializing in pediatric ADHD, Garfield said this trend might make it difficult for many children to receive medical treatment of ADHD in the future.

This study was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

ADHD and Diet

david — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:52:40 +0000

Children with ADHD Need Healthier Diets

A new study suggests that feeding children the wrong kinds of food could lead to behavioral problems.

By Emily Main

Broaden your kids’ culinary horizons with a diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, and fish.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Most parents know that feeding kids lots of sugar will undoubtedly lead to the youngsters bouncing off walls, crying and, eventually, crashing out on the couch in a sugar-induced coma. That’s one case where the link between food and behavior is pretty clear. But a new study in the Journal of Attention Disorders suggests that sugar, along with other types of unhealthy processed foods, could have more subtle effects on a child’s mental health. The study found an association between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and diet, specifically Western diets that include too many processed meats, full-fat dairy, and unhealthy carbohydrates.

THE DETAILS: The authors used data collected from a 14-year study on pregnancy and child health that involved 2,900 women. The mothers were recruited during pregnancy, and at the 14-year mark, they filled out questionnaires about their children’s dietary habits, and any diagnosis of ADHD. The latter was confirmed using clinical records. Data was collected on 1,860 14-year-old children, of whom 6.5 percent had been diagnosed with ADHD. Boys were more likely than girls to have ADHD, and children who ate a heavily “Western” diet—heavy on processed foods and meats, full-fat dairy, and fast food—were more likely to develop the condition than children eating a healthy diet that centered on vegetables, whole grains, and very little meat or dairy. The pattern existed even after adjusting for factors such as income and socioeconomic status.

The authors noted that certain foods were also more likely to influence ADHD risk. For instance, kids who had the highest intakes of fast food, sweets, red meat, processed meats, and high-fat dairy products were the most likely to have ADHD, and kids who at a lot of potato chips and drank more soft drinks had an elevated risk as well. The good news is that children who exercised at least twice a week outside of school saw a significantly decreased risk of ADHD, regardless of dietary pattern.

WHAT IT MEANS: The link between diet and mental health is well established for other mental disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, and impulsive behavior, says the study’s lead author Wendy Oddy, Phd, MPH, a research fellow at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at the University of Western Australia. “It would appear that a diet dense in fresh fruit and vegetables, oily fish products, legumes, whole grains, and a reduced intake of takeout, red meat, and sugar-dense foods is best for one’s mental well-being,” she says.

In the case of ADHD, however, she notes that it’s difficult to know which is the cause and which is the effect. It could be that a poor diet leads to a greater chance of ADHD, or it could be that children with ADHD make poor food choices. On the one hand, Western diets are low in omega-3 fatty acids, she says, noting that a number of studies have shown a decrease in behavioral and attention difficulties in both children and adults who consume high levels of omega-3s. Other studies have found that high-protein diets, such as those heavy in meats and full-fat dairy, can adversely impact mental health, she adds. On the other hand, children with attention disorders aren’t the best at making healthy food choices. “An individual suffering from ADHD or attentional disorders may not contemplate the negative impact their food choices may have on their overall health and well-being,” Oddy says.

In either case, parents can do wonders for their children’s behavior simply by switching over to healthier foods. “In clinical practice, I am increasingly being asked to address children’s or adolescent’s aggressive behaviors and soon discover their family members are feeding them products which are low in fiber, water, fresh fruit and vegetables, and fish but are high, sugar, salt, and trans oils,” Oddy says. “I’ve found very simple behavioral-management interventions, along with small changes in these individual’s [DIETS?]have produced significant shifts in the ‘undesired’ behaviors.” She adds that ample evidence exists to suggest that cutting salt out of a child’s diet is protective against schizophrenia, which usually manifests itself in the late teens, that boosting omega-3 intake alleviates symptoms of depression, and that adding more vitamins and minerals to the diet can improve behavioral impulse problems.

When you’re planning healthy meals for your kids, here are a few things to think about:

• Think Mediterranean. Many components of the healthy diets eaten by kids in this study are the same as those that make up the über-healthy Mediterranean diet, which can not only help kids with behavioral problems, but also help Mom and Dad ward off Alzheimer’s disease and improve overall brain health, as well as fight depression. For dinner ideas, try these Mediterranean diet recipes.

• Think organic. While feeding kids more healthy fruits and vegetables of any sort was found in this study to keep ADHD in check, other research suggests that the pesticides used on chemically grown produce could themselves cause the disorder. Opting for organic vegetables provides your child with added protection against ADHD.

• Think about exercising. Oddy says that exercise of any sort or duration was protective against ADHD in her study, provided that children engaged in it at least twice a week. If your children aren’t athletic sorts, find other activities that get them active, whether it’s riding a bike or simply walking to school.

Source: http://www.rodale.com/print/4910

Cancer Patient’s Experience…

david — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:50:46 +0000

This week, I heard from a neurofeedback client I had worked with a few years ago for anxiety who now has cancer and has been going through an extremely difficult time. Receiving radiation treatments is never easy, and on top if it, he has been having panic attacks, mostly in the middle of the night. The panic is a repercussion of overload that he is dealing with, a relief valve of sorts. And it is a healthy mechanism for maintaining equilibrium in his system, but certainly not pleasant at all. So he called to ask if I could help.

After his first session back…

After his first session, he said that he would wake up in a panic, but then it would drop immediately. Prior to this, it would go through its full course of beginning, middle and end- and he could not get back to sleep. You can imagine how difficult this would be on top of the fact of the cancer and fear of survival. He is so relieved that this is helping.

How could this be you say?

Our brain is the most complex biological computer that we know of; billions of neruons, or brain cells, interacting independently as well as interdependently 24/7/365, whether the conscious mind is online or not. When we are overwhelmed, called unresolved stress or unresolved fear, our biological fight/flight/freeze response can get triggered and the following process can cause panic or similar response as a way of trying to resolve the real or imagined challenge:

Neural Adaptability…

So my client is already receiving assistance for his brain to adjust how it deals with the stressful circumstance. Simply be letting it know that IT is producing these flight/flight responses, based on triggers inside us and external to us, it is able to drop the reaction, return to the present and realize that there is no immediate threat. The calm state or what is known as the Relaxation Response (opposite of the Stress Response) is the best state to be in to face any situation be it cancer, a physical threat, an exam, the tax man, global weirding, or whatever else you can imagine. It’s good to calm in the face of a challenge…

Neurofeedback helps Veteran with PTSD

david — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:57:31 +0000

Experimental treatment gives hope to sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder

ANNE MCILROY

Last updated Saturday, Oct. 01, 2011 6:19AM EDT

Aubrey Francis, 42, undergoes a neural feedback therapy session which he has found very helpful in treatment of his PTSD in Kingston, Ontario on Sept 27, 2011. He and his wife, Tracy have recently started a family with the birth of their first child, Perry, three months. (Peter Power/The Globe and Mail)

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It is difficult for navy veteran Aubrey Francis to talk about the faces that have haunted him for years in flashbacks and in nightmares, but this week, he sat for an interview and compelled himself to recall one of the worst days of his life. His goal: to make others aware of an experimental treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder that has blunted the destructive power of his memories.

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“I was in Syria, in 1999, I was with the UN. I was having a stroll through Damascus,” Mr. Francis began, sitting in a quiet room in his psychiatrist’s house in Kingston, Ont. “It was my weekend off. There was a square, with a statue of the president, covered in flowers, with a nice floral scent. I sat there and had a sandwich and a drink of water. Just outside the courtyard there was a marketplace. A young boy runs past. He might have been no more than 8.

“Two security guards ran in behind, and they grabbed him. He had an orange. He was a little street urchin. One held his arms, the other took out a club and beat his brains out. Before they hit him, he looked at me and I just froze. And the guards looked at me and said, ‘What are you going to do, UN?’ They beat him and the blood went all over my beret. I walked away. But my life changed that day.”

That was one of many horrifying incidents during 20 years in some of the world’s most troubled places. Mr. Francis was diagnosed with PTSD in 2003 after returning from a tour in Afghanistan. In 2008, he had to leave the service, suffering from flashbacks, nightmares and other symptoms, until a therapy called neurofeedback delivered some relief. Designed to help people influence the activity of their brain waves, it offers a new approach to a disorder that affects one in 10 Canadians.

“I’m not back to normal, but I am functional. I wasn’t functional before. The dreams aren’t so intense, the flashbacks aren’t so hellish. The terror is not there,” Mr. Francis, 42, said.

Neurofeedback is still experimental and costs up to $150 a week. But the idea of using it for PTSD is gaining steam among veterans in Kingston, who are encouraged that Veterans Affairs Canada agreed to cover the cost for many of them.

Mr. Francis first tried the therapy two years ago at the suggestion of his psychiatrist, Janet McCullough.

Dr. McCullough is a clinician, not a researcher, but she and two colleagues did a small pilot study that showed the therapy significantly reduced the severity of PTSD symptoms in 12 veterans. So far, Dr. McCullough has treated more than 40 men.

Many relive traumatic events in dreams or flashbacks that can be triggered by sounds and smells. Some withdraw from family and friends, and many have difficulty sleeping. It is an anxiety disorder, but is linked to depression and addictions to alcohol or drugs, as well as an increased risk of suicide. Treatments include medication and talk therapy.

Neurofeedback was once seen as alternative medicine, but a growing number of preliminary studies suggest it could help with several brain disorders. U.S. researchers are planning trials to see if it can help veterans with PTSD.

During each session, Dr. McCullough places electrodes on the patient’s scalp that record brain waves. The pattern goes through an amplifier to a computer that analyzes electrical activity as it occurs. Information is sent back to the patient through audio and visual feedback. Patients wear earphones and listen to music. They also watch constantly moving colourful patterns on a screen. When their brain-wave activity becomes too intense they hear static in the music and see a slight jump or hesitation in the movement on the screen.

“It acts like a rumble strip on a highway,” Dr. McCullough said. “The brain self-corrects.”

It is unclear exactly how it helps reduce the symptoms. Mr. Francis said he had more energy almost immediately. He is off antidepressants and other medication.

Veterans Affairs recently authorized payment for Mr. Francis to have the system at home. It costs about $5,000, Dr. McCullough said.

Mr. Francis was a cook in the navy, and now has a chip wagon near his home in the Kingston area. His wife, Tracy, said they had put off having children, but last year decided he was well enough. Their son, Perry, is now three months old.

“Three years ago, would I have been able to have a baby? No. Neurofeedback has given me hope,” Mr. Francis said.

Published on Friday, Sep. 30, 2011 7:00PM EDT

Source: http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/health-news/experimental-treatment-gives-hope-to-sufferers-of-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/article2187112/?service=mobile

Neurofeedback Improves Student Performance

david — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:59:17 +0000

Published in the online publication: MyWestHartfordLife.com

West Hartford psychotherapist uses neurofeedback training to improve student performance
Monday – July 25, 2011

The student who can never sit still during a teacher’s lesson is often viewed as a “problem child.” However, in many cases these kids are in fact facing their own learning barriers, such as restlessness, inability to maintain visual focus and being easily distracted. As a result, the academic requirements make the child feel “bullied” by the environment as they do not sense that they are able to succeed.

West Hartford psychotherapist Rae Tattenbaum is a pioneer in the use of a unique training that has offered dramatic results helping children with all of the above difficulties. Neurofeedback training is a form of Biofeedback based directly on the brain’s electrical activity. The process includes monitoring the brain’s activity through the placement of tiny sensors placed on the scalp. While the therapist monitors the session on one computer, the client receives visual and audio feedback from another computer through images and sound that are controlled directly by their brain. Ultimately, this process can help quiet the brain treating a number of conditions that impact success.

“Time and time again I’ve seen neurofeedback accomplish major changes in children with conditions that impair the ability to focus,” said Tattenbaum. “This is a therapy and requires repetitive in-person sessions in order to work.”

Among the many patients Tattenbaum has treated over the years is Lebanon student Jack, starting when he was just 8 and a half. Jack was referred to Tattenbaum due to his inability to sit still long enough to learn subjects such as math and reading. Shortly after he began working with Tattenbaum’s multi-step program, change was soon evident.

In a journal, Jack’s mother Barbara wrote, “Jack’s DRA level was an 18 when he started with you back in 2009. I asked his teacher what level he’s reading at now and it’s a DRA of 34. Currently, the DRA level has increased to 39.”

His teacher also noted, “he continues to make solid progress, and I have noticed growth with his reading expression as well.”

During the neurofeedback process, Tattenbaum works on training the electrical activity of the brain, in turn providing the brain more information about itself. This process allows for better organization of the brain and clearer focus.

“The brain uses visual and auditory information to re-organize itself and release old patterns of “stuckness”. Neurofeedback allows the brain to relax, leading to an increase in alertness and focus,” said Tattenbaum. “Before long, people realize that fidgeting, daydreaming, planning events, worrying and other brain activity interrupt the feedback.”

For Jack, the neurofeedback training has changed him from a student who was unable to focus on the task at hand to one that’s determined to succeed in school.

“His DRP (degrees of reading power) was a 51, which is just a few points away from goal,” adds his teacher. “He made some incredible gains this year and we’re so proud of him!”

Rae Tattenbaum is a recognized leader in the field of Neurofeedback and Biofeedback and the innovator of a groundbreaking methodology. She is the first in her field to develop a comprehensive and integrated approach, which has been proven to enhance performance in business, academics, athletics and the performing arts, as well as increase mental balance, productivity and wellness for those with learning, attention and physical disabilities. A good portion of her practice involves helping children overcome anxiety and trauma.

Tattenbaum earned her MSW from the Columbia University School of Social Work after receiving a BA in Advanced Study in Theatre Arts at Hofstra University. Her office is located in West Hartford, Connecticut. She serves clients in Connecticut, New York, Boston and the New England area. You can learn more about her program online.