For All Ages
Transform Your Mind Today
What Is Neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback training also known as EEG biofeedback has been used for over 30 years. It is a method of improving brain function by working with our brain waves. It's based on the scientific finding that we can all learn to change our brains functioning through feedback and brain wave activity. Research has shown that the brain is capable of reorganizing itself to the point of producing new neural circuitry in response to specific training this is currently referred to as “brain plasticity”. Improving brain function helps to significantly reduce or eliminate the underlying causes of many conditions that cause discomfort.
The variety of symptoms and disorders for which Neurofeedback is so effective are fundamentally related to arousal. Flexibility and resilience can best be understood in terms of the brains ability to regulate itself.
The ability of the brain to focus its resources without distraction is resilience.
The ability of the brain to self-shift between states of mental engagement- responding appropriately to a new internal and external stimuli - is flexibility.
Self-regulation is the ability of the brain to utilize its capacity for flexibility and resilience so as to respond appropriately and efficiently to one's internal and external experience.
One of the crucial components of self-regulation is the regulation of arousal. Flexibility and resilience are only possible when one's arousal level is in a state of balance - not too high and not too low. With too much or too little arousal the brain is unable to exercise its capacity for resilience and flexibility and gets stuck in a variety of dysfunctional patterns which can manifest in a variety of different ways.
As the brain learns to regulate itself with increasing efficiency, flexibility and resilience, individuals can experience significant improvements in their personal and professional lives.
Who Could Benefit?
Research and clinical studies have provided evidence of the effectiveness of Neurofeedback when used with individuals who exhibit symptoms of or have been diagnosed with:
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Stress related issues
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Attention problems ADHD
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Behaviour disorders
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Sleep issues
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Autism and autistic spectrum disorder
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Addictions
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Post traumatic stress disorder
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Learning disabilities
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Traumatic brain injury
Essentially everyone can benefit from improving brain function. Athletes performing artists and professionals interested in mental fitness training and achieving optimal performance also use Neurofeedback.
What Will You Experience
The electrical activity in the brain is picked up using sensors which are attached to your ears and scalp with an EEG paste. (It is important to note these sensors only pick up the electrical activity that is present and does not add or put anything into the person to whom they are attached). This information about the electrical energy is relayed to a computer program which feeds information about what that person's brain is doing in real time back to the client in the form of audio and visual streams. The brain orients itself to this feedback using this information to decrease its unstable and dysfunctional neural firing patterns.
What Neurofeedback Is Not
Neurofeedback does not treat the structure of the brain. If the brain tissue is severely damaged there is nothing Neurofeedback can do to reverse the damage. The best effects are seen in those cases where the brain is physiologically healthy and just not operating as well as it should. However, Neurofeedback can organize the brain to function better in the context of whatever injury or loss exists.
How Long Does It Take?
This process involves a series of 1-hour sessions. Some issues are straightforward. Usually, people notice an improvement in their outcome goals within six sessions. On average 20 sessions are recommended to stabilize new patterns. Having a sleep disorder may be an isolated brain wave area that would respond quickly to the training. A challenge such as FASD may involve a severely damaged brain and depending on the severity, the training may involve more sessions. As the purpose of Neurofeedback is to teach individual self-regulation, the training effects are usually permanent
About Nanaimo Neurofeedback
Penny Mitchell B.A.
Penny Mitchell, BA. has worked with children and families in both residential and non-residential settings for over 25 years. Her extensive background in childcare, behavioral dynamics and family work provides a professional base for her training as a Neurofeedback trainer.
Having been trained by Dr’s. Valdeane and Sue Brown, she has been using Neurofeedback since 2002. People have come for Neurofeedback with various diagnosis/ disorders including anxiety, depression, FASD, autism, OCD, ADHD, stroke. During the training, families and children have reported an array of positive changes in their lives.
Changes Include:
Improved
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quality of sleep
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meditation
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concentration and focus
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memory
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mental and emotional energy
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physical coordination
Decreased
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impulsivity
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physical hyperactivity
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reactivity
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levels of depression
Increased
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overall feeling of well-being, mental clarity
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ability to process and organize information
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capacity to handle stress, problem solving skills
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ability to take in external stimuli, and energy
Reduced
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mental chatter
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mind racing
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nervousness
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brain fogginess
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anxiety
What People Are Saying
"The literature, which lacks any negative study of substance, suggest that EEG biofeedback therapy should play a major therapeutic role in many difficult areas. In my opinion, if any medication had demonstrated such a wide spectrum of efficacy, it would be universally accepted and widely used."
-Frank Duffy, MD Neurologist, Head of Neuro-imaging
Department of Boston's Children Hospital,
and Harvard Medical School professor
"The brain is a central contributor to the emotions, physical symptoms, thoughts and behaviours that define many problems for which people seek psychological consultation. Problems being addressed through Neurofeedback include anxiety, depression, memory difficulties and general cognitive functioning, learning disabilities, head injury, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic attacks, sleep disturbances, stress and more. Scientists have identified specific patterns of brain waves that contribute to the lack of wellness and that tend to be related to disorders such as some of those listed here."
-Dr. Dana McDougal
"Among the newer approaches to managing ADD, the most exciting is a learning process called Neurofeedback. It empowers a person to shift the way he pays attention. After more than 25 years of research in university labs, Neurofeedback has become more widely available. This is a pleasing development because Neurofeedback has no negative side effects."
-William Sears, MD The A.D.D. Book
