Neurofeedback
WHAT IS NEUROFEEDBACK?
Neurofeedback (also called EEG biofeedback) is a powerful form of biofeedback applied directly to the brain. It is a reputable and scientifically-proven technique practiced by specially-trained psychotherapists. Neurofeedback shows your brain its own dysfunction through feedback (see below) and your brain goes to work to rebuild or reconnect neuropathways and calm the brain.
Your brain receives billions of stimuli from your senses, correlates this information to what your brain and body are doing, and communicates this information to other areas of the brain.
Lots can go wrong with over 86 billion neurons and 800 trillion constantly-changing connections done through chemical and electrical (potential) activity. This activity produces electricity, called brainwaves, which relay information to different parts of our brains.
Imagine you are learning to hit a ball (or learning any new skill)– but you miss. The brain keeps correcting itself until you hit that ball, your brain calibrates on its own. When your brain receives positive feedback that you hit the ball, it keeps using the same neurons, called pathways. Your brain correlates what your body is doing to the information received from your senses.
We describe the neurofeedback process as training the brain. It is a process for the brain to figure out which neurons produce the best results and then a process of using the same neurons before the paths are wired together.
Neurofeedback relieves symptoms, non-invasively and drug- free.
Neurofeedback is conducted in hospitals, school systems, drug and alcohol treatment centers, physical rehab centers, and even professional sports teams have their own neurofeedback provider.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A NEUROFEEDBACK SESSION
While you are watching a movie, the NFB software displays feedback by changing the screen size or causing flickering of the movie. Your brain will recognize that it is causing the feedback & within one minute will go to work to correct itself.
When the brain recognizes that it is causing this feedback (the screen flickering), the brain will determine where dysfunction is and will go to work to correct it.
Neurofeedback relieves symptoms, non-invasively and drug- free. Our goal is for your brain to stabilize enough to allow your prescription drug provider to reduce the medications you may be currently taking.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A NEUROFEEDBACK SESSION?
Neurofeedback is enjoyable! While you relax in a recliner & watch a movie of your choice, we will attach four sensors to your head to listen to your brainwaves. Nothing goes into the brain.
Your brainwaves are read through our software and feedback is provided over the movie by causing the colors to brighten or fade, changing the screen size, and from a vibrating stuffed animal. It only takes about a minute for your brain to recognize that it is causing this feedback.
Your brain will do all of the work, you do not have to think about anything, thoughts will not control the feedback.
Our program is powerful and effective. You will come in twice a week, for about an hour. It is that easy for you.
HOW CAN NEUROFEEDBACK HELP WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT ISSUES?
Your brain is your command center and the most complex matter in the universe! It controls your thoughts, emotions, cognition, attention, hope, logic, learning, organs, hormones, metabolism, movement . . . Okay, everything in your body.
When you have difficulties with sleep issues, anxiety, depression, pain, etc. it means something is not working properly in the brain. It is all a brain thing, your brain is capable of working better than it is.
WHY OUR SYSTEM?
There are many different systems, equipment, and practitioner training required to conduct neurofeedback. Intellect Neurofeedback utilizes the most current Cygnet software, equipment, and the Othmer Method. It is the world’s leader in training, support, & state-of-the-art system in neurofeedback. The ongoing support and worldwide collaboration are important to produce the best-individualized outcome.
With most other systems, you have to watch pre-schoolish games on a loop that stop & start. With our advanced system, you get to relax and watch movies or Netflix. The feedback is over the movie.
We train your brain and central nervous system not your brainwaves. We individualize our protocol to your symptoms and your brain.
I have been trained to conduct neurofeedback with three different systems.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM NEUROFEEDBACK?
According to research, 80- 90% of the population will respond to neurofeedback, from infants to the elderly population. Even if you don't have a diagnosis or symptoms, we can do a brain boost.
Neurofeedback is not a cure but may reduce your symptoms with many disorders by simply enabling your brain’s neuroplasticity to work more efficiently. Your brain knows how to correct itself when given the proper feedback. If you want to improve the functioning of your brain or if you have symptoms interfering with your life, neurofeedback may help.
Many professional sports teams have their own neurofeedback provider. Neurofeedback is offered in some hospitals, treatment centers, and schools.
HOW OLD DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO BENEFIT FROM NEUROFEEDBACK? Neurofeedback works with most ages & has been conducted successfully on children from weeks old to the elderly population.
HOW DOES NEUROFEEDBACK WORK? Neurofeedback, also called EEG biofeedback, is a reputable and scientifically-proven technique practiced by specially-trained psychotherapists. It provides the brain with the proper feedback to enable neuroplasticity, the brain's natural ability to correct itself.
Your brain will do what it does every second of your life, receiving input from your senses and correlating this information to what your brain and body are doing. Your brain's default mode is to correct itself, but it needs the proper feedback to do this so that it can communicate information to other areas of the brain.
You receive neurofeedback every second of your life. You can walk across a room and maintain balance, stay erect, put one foot in front of the other, know where the floor is, not run into things-and do all of this without thinking about it and before the decision is made conscious.
Essentially, the brain does all this by correlating what it is doing to what the feedback is. If it receives positive feedback, it reinforces the neurons that caused the response. Once you learn how to walk, you don't consciously decide where to put each foot, how and when to transfer weight from one leg to the other - you just walk.
When a toddler is learning to walk, but falls, the brain receives negative feedback (hitting the floor), which makes the brain recalibrate. The brain will begin to communicate with other neurons based on the feedback it receives. As the brain learns which neurons result in positive feedback (walking), then those particular neurons keep communicating with each other. These neurons will start to wire together, which we describe as pathways. This is why we describe the neurofeedback process as training the brain. It is a process for the brain to figure out which neurons produce the best results and then a process of using the same neurons before the pathways are wired together.
The brain receives billions of stimuli from your senses, and the brain has its ability to make correlations between what it senses (the input) and what it is doing (the output, or messages it sends to your muscles, organs, etc.). The brain has over 86 billion neurons and 800 trillion constantly changing connections through chemical and electrical (potential) activity. This communication produces electricity, called brainwaves, which relay information to different parts of our brains. Neurofeedback trains the brain to work more efficiently by enabling the neurons to communicate with other areas of the brain.
Neurofeedback alleviates and relieves symptoms, non-invasively and drug-free, with many mental and physical health conditions. It is powerful and effective.
SO WHY ISN’T MY BRAIN CORRECTING ITSELF?
Your brain’s default mode is to work as efficiently as it can, but emotional or physical trauma, injury, poor diet, lack of or too much sleep, inflammation, low blood flow, etc. can change the brain’s structure and function & can cause misfiring of neurons.
When this happens, the brain processes inaccurate information. The brain does not know that it needs to be corrected and does not communicate proper info to other areas of the brain.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A SESSION?
During your assessment, we discuss symptoms that you want to improve. I assess what areas of the brain are producing your symptoms.
I then place four sensors (mini microphones) on your head to listen and monitor your brainwave activity while you watch a movie in a comfortable (reclining) chair.
The activity measured by the sensors provides feedback to the brain by changing the screen that you are watching, increasing or decreasing the sound, movie flickering on the screen (it looks like a glitch with a DVD), or with a stuffed dog vibrating. This feedback provides visual, auditory, and tactile feedback.
Your brain will correlate that it is causing the negative feedback on the screen, know what part of the brain it is, and will begin to connect other neurons. By receiving this feedback, your brain will increase the activity in that part of the brain to improve the feedback on the screen. The feedback is simply showing the brain what it is doing.
Just like learning a new task, your brain will continue to try different neurons until it receives positive feedback, and this builds a new pathway.
Your appointment is about an hour.
Some conditions neurofeedback may be helpful for include, anger, anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, migraines, stroke, brain injuries, Tourettes/Tics
WHO WE ARE
Intellect Neurofeedback LLC provides therapy and/or neurofeedback services for individuals who suffer from many difficulties.