6 replies to this topic

[thebrainstore]

Hi everyone,

 

A lot of the posts in this mental health subforum seem to be addressing issues that could potentially be treated with EEG Neurofeedback.

 

I just wanted to appear here as an advocate of that technology, and am happy to clarify any confusion there may be as to it's application for a variety of mental health problems.

 

I come to this as a survivor, someone who has been fortunate enough to feel the effects of neurofeedback training in a life changing way after a lifetime of poor mental health, and now work in the field both in the development of technology and in it's application to common mental health difficulties.

[Ames]

Thanks for posting.

 

What's your best recommendation, ideally validated through either clinical or personal experience, for NF treatment for anxiety?

 

Are there any mental health issue successes that you would like to share with us in more detail, or that you feel that NF is especially suited to?

 

disclosure: I have a bioexplorer / QWiz rig at home but have not yet exploited its potential.

Edited by golgi1, 11 November 2016 - 07:47 PM.

[thebrainstore]

Hey golgi1,

 

There are many possible causes of anxiety. For example ADD can produce anxiety when the person is unable to action with a foggy brain the things they feel they need to. This can create a fear of the future and worry is an aspect of anxiety.

 

Depression can also cause anxiety, for a similar reason to the above but with a different imbalance in the brain.

 

To directly treat anxiety itself you could either inhibit the high beta band wherever it appears in the brain or train alpha coherence in the four quadrants of the brain simultaneously, but to solve the anxious thinking the underlying issue would also need to be treated.

 

I have had success treating depression, anxiety, ADD, social dysfunction, anger, motor control, the aftermath of psych medication, the effects of head injury and even nervous-system related conditions. This has been done either face to face or via Skype for people who have their own equipment.

 

All of my clients are success stories, probably the most impressive use of neurofeedback I have seen so far is the ability to heal developmental trauma in people who suffered a traumatic childhood. Anxiety, depression/OCD, ADD, poor working memory, poor sleep are also commonly fixed with neurofeedback.

[oolongmonkey]

I'm glad this topic came up. If neurofeedback has efficacy it has opportunity to enhance the lives of countless individuals. This would be the first time the fields of psychology and psychiatry would actually work with the organ they are supposed to treat instead of just the symptoms.

Having said that I want to pick the collective brain and see what everyone here thinks about it's effectiveness. I'm a professional counselor who is looking for new ways to help his clients, I will be the first to admit that our field is horribly archaic and advancements need to be made. I was hoping to get certified in the field, self-study and apply it to my patients. My only concern is that neurotherapy is nothing more than fools gold.

 

It seems like those that have been helped by neurotherapy rant and rave about it. The actual research on it, is spotty at best. It points to neurotherapy not having any more efficacy than placebo. Is that any respectable research out there that can attest to it's effacy? I would love to see it.

I also have had first hand experience with neurotherapy. After a nervous breakdown and dissociation many years ago I was let with this nasty heave brain fog. I felt like my brain was running in safe mode, totally disconnected from my emotions, from my thoughts, from others. I still have it to this day and most days I struggle to get through. I tried just about everything I could think of to overcome this problem to no avail. One of the things I tried as well was neurotherapy. The clinician did a brain scan, created a treatment plan and implemented the treatment plan. I would do neurotherapy 30 minutes X2 a week. I did this for about 30 sessions. During the review, the clinician would show me how my scores were gradually getting better, however I was not feeling any better. I saw no correlation to my feel and the supposed changes that were happening.

I am facisnated by this science and I really want to believe in it's efficacy. I however have no seen anything concrete and for the meantime I remain skeptical.  

[thebrainstore]

You are a professional counsellor, yet you have not recovered from a nervous breakdown and still have the symptoms. Something is not right there.

 

There is a huge amount of research on neurofeedback, of the double blind, placebo controlled type which shows positive correlations and efficacy so I don't know how you can state like it's fact that "the actual research on it, is spotty at best." as this simply isn't true.

​I'm not sure of the point of our post. You're glad the topic of neurofeedback came up so you could dismiss it?

​15 hours of neurofeedback is not going to bring you out of a nervous breakdown, so it is not fair to assess the whole of the field on the basis of it's short term effect on a single individual. 

​It also must be understood that there are no magic bullets and that everything is connected. Clean diet, exercise, friendships, good sleep and some kind of meditation practice all increase neurogenesis, which is critical if the neurofeedback is going to have lasting effects in the brain. To fix something as complex as PTSD / adrenal fatigue 30 sessions of one protocol is just not going to have much effect.

​I'm sorry it did not work out for you but I can assure you that your experience does not represent the experience of the majority of neurofeedback cases.

 

 

[oolongmonkey]

You are a professional counsellor, yet you have not recovered from a nervous breakdown and still have the symptoms. Something is not right there.

 

There is a huge amount of research on neurofeedback, of the double blind, placebo controlled type which shows positive correlations and efficacy so I don't know how you can state like it's fact that "the actual research on it, is spotty at best." as this simply isn't true.

​I'm not sure of the point of our post. You're glad the topic of neurofeedback came up so you could dismiss it?

​15 hours of neurofeedback is not going to bring you out of a nervous breakdown, so it is not fair to assess the whole of the field on the basis of it's short term effect on a single individual. 

​It also must be understood that there are no magic bullets and that everything is connected. Clean diet, exercise, friendships, good sleep and some kind of meditation practice all increase neurogenesis, which is critical if the neurofeedback is going to have lasting effects in the brain. To fix something as complex as PTSD / adrenal fatigue 30 sessions of one protocol is just not going to have much effect.

​I'm sorry it did not work out for you but I can assure you that your experience does not represent the experience of the majority of neurofeedback cases.

I was meditating under the guidance of a teacher and we worked together for many years very diligently. It was a very specific practice in which his instruction what to work with energy centers in the brain. After years of intense practice he instructed me to raise my attention out and above my head, that this would be my new practice, to open up the crown chakra. During an intentsive meditation retreat all heal broke lose and I began to dissociate constanly and intensely. This was naturally met with much anxiety and fear and the following years I went down many bottomless rabbit holes with various teachers who were glorifying my experience. My teacher, of course, who was doing the same practice as he was instruction me had induced the exact same, improper state and was even in a much worse situation then me. So yes, I use the term "nervous breakdown" for lack of a better word. 

 

I am a counselor. This experience has forced me to try every modality under the sun from EMDR to psychoanalysis. At the end of the day, I came away unimpressed. This situation has allowed to see just the capacity of suffering that my clients face and my heart breaks for them and at the same time I feel that the field of psychology is severely lacking. As far as me not working with clients until all my symptoms abated, I had tremendous issue with this. I feel that it has increase empathy and I find I am much more readily available for them. I've had a lot of success with my clients and retain my clients at a much higher rate then my colleagues. 

My intent wasn't to come on here and dismiss neurofeedback. I am absolutely fascinated by the field, I want to learn more. That being said, my limited research on the internet came up empty as far as finding any concrete proof for it's efficacy. Perhaps you could point me in the direction of research? The practitioner I saw said that I should be feeling the effects after 15 hours, furthermore he was able to show me the corrections that were being made by my brain but that didn't seem to translate into lessening of symptoms. What technology do you use, if you don't mind me asking? 

 

I'm also just wanting to learn more on the subject before I take the plunge, get a certification and drop $10K on equipment. 

[cat@]

I too have had great success with neurofeedback (recently finished 24 sessions). I should have gone for neurofeedback first, then experimented with nootropics after. Now looking back at all the money I threw at nootropics, most could have should have gone into neurofeedback instead.