You’ve heard of neurofeedback, you think it could be a good fit for you, but you’re unsure how to get started on finding a provider in your area. We’re here to reassure you that, firstly, you’ve already taken the first step to beginning your journey with neurofeedback by doing the research in the first place, so congrats! Secondly, we want to help you take the following steps, to make your search for the right neurotherapist as seamless as possible.
What exactly is neurofeedback?
To get an idea of what you should be receiving from your provider, it’s important to have a grasp on what neurofeedback is.
Neurofeedback, also known as EEG biofeedback belongs to a group of therapies called biofeedback. Biofeedback works on the principle that if a person can see their bodily functions in real time, they can learn to control them.
Biofeedback is applied by measuring physiological changes in real-time and retraining them. These include muscle tension, body temperature, heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure. It is used to treat a variety of conditions including anxiety, migraines, chronic pain, and incontinence.
With neurofeedback, however, what is measured and retrained is the brain activity. That's done using EEG electrodes, hence it is also called 'EEG biofeedback'.
The goal of neurofeedback is to train the brain to regulate itself, and to help the person training to understand when their brain is in the desired state. Eventually, the patient can control these processes without being monitored. The feedback as a reaction to the measured brain wave activity in the form of games or videos.
Over time, the ability to control the brain waves can be applied in real world situations, for instance, by helping them relax in stressful situations, or concentrate during class.
If you’d like, you can do some additional reading on neurofeedback using these links: