Ennui. Offline

Neurofeedback = EEG Biofeedback. We can use neuro/biofeedback to help clients understand how their brain/body works, which allows them to alter their approach and achieve the desired result. For example, if you were to be hooked up to a device that registered your heart rate, you would know if your heart rate increased due to feeling anxious. After seeing that feedback, you could alter your approach (ex. deep breathing, muscle relaxation, positive thoughts) to decrease your heart rate, which is a desirable result. With neurofeedback, your brain uses visual, audio, and tactile feedback to understand what it needs to do differently to achieve the desired result. For example, someone with ADHD may watch a movie while I monitor their EEG brainwaves on a computer screen. When the brain is working properly, the movie's picture is great, the audio is at a normal level, and the object the client is holding (generally a teddy bear, since we work with lots of kids) vibrates. When the brain isn't working properly, the picture becomes "foggy," the audio fades or stops altogether, and the bear doesn't vibrate. Your brain registers all this, and it craves the positive feedback, so it will try different things until something works, and the picture/audio is restored and the object vibrates again. Over time, it will "train" itself to resort to the proper way of working more often than not, leading to the desired result. In the cases of ADHD, neurofeedback could help with the symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity. The same can be said for many mental and physical illnesses (neurofeedback was initially used for epilepsy). So it's very exciting, and I enjoy combining my traditional therapeutic skills (there's a lot of parent training and psychoeducation involved) with the use of technology. =D