Is Neurofeedback for you?
Educating the Brain to Enhance Your Life

By Arlene Martin, Ed.D

Do you, or do you know someone who struggles with focus and concentration, suffers from anxiety or is overly emotional?  Do you know of a child who has difficulties in school, is impulsive, has obsessive thoughts, does not sleep through the night or lacks social awareness?  If so, at Wellness Unlimited we have an innovative technology called neurofeedback that diminishes or eliminates these problems.

The exciting feature about neurofeedback is that we are able to go right to the source of many of our difficulties, The Brain.  After years of research, we now know what specific areas of the brain regulate various behaviors, thoughts and emotions.  Based on this knowledge, a technology has been developed to reduce dysfunctional behavior and enhance our overall wellness.

Brain inflexibility or dysregulation often results in behavioral and emotional disturbances we have described.  Neurofeedback enables us to teach the brain to be more flexible and to function optimally. Our brains have an extraordinary capacity enabling us to respond to each situation in an optimal way, to adapt successfully.  This is called “state flexibility”.  A flexible brain is able to lead us to sleep when we are tired, concentrate while learning and to calm down after being mad or excited.   Neurofeedback enables us to learn state flexibility. 

When our brain is adaptable, many things fall into place.  Sleep patterns, ability to stay focused on a task,  appropriate emotional responses, satisfying relationships with peers and siblings,  sensory organization, and ability to let go of obsessive thoughts and respond calmly to day to day stressors that ordinarily cause anxiety.  Through  neurofeedback training, we can teach our brain to become flexible so that we can respond successfully and attain our goals.

Although the technology is sophisticated, it is very easy for the client to learn to alter non-adaptable brain patterns. He plays a simple computer game that gives his brain feedback when responses in a particular area of the brain are more adaptable.  The brain learns on its own.  During this process, the trainer watches the brain waves being produced by the client and makes continual adjustments to the feedback in the game, gradually increasing the brain capacity. 
Neurofeedback can be used as an alternative to medication.  Many of our clients have chosen neurofeedback for themselves or their child when medications have either not worked as intended, or have caused undesirable side effects.  A person who is already on medication usually responds well to neurofeedback.  As training progresses his physician may find that he is able to reduce or eliminate his need for medication.

Here is what some of our past clients have had to say about neurofeedback at Wellness Unlimited.

Mother of a boy age 4
“Neurofeedback has been a gift to our family.  Our son has Sensory Processing Disorder that can often place him in a chaotic whirlwind of fight or flight.  Calm was never a word we would have used to describe our son, but now we are seeing him stay calm and organized.  He is feeling happy without a dark cloud hanging over him.  Last year in school, he was unable to concentrate enough to even think about doing mathematically based lessons, but now he is counting by tens and writing all of his numbers.  He is more verbal about his feelings and the world around him.”

Mother of a boy age 8
“Since neurofeedback began, I can account for many changes that have occurred both behaviorally and emotionally.  My son is having much fewer tantrums, recovering more quickly and is much more tolerant of his brother and sister. Outside of the home, day to day errands and family trips are more manageable.  He no longer becomes emotionally volatile when things do not go his way or when the environment is too stimulating.  All in all he is much more flexible. At school, he is gaining on his peers in math and reading.  Because of the changes he feels within himself, he is building his self-esteem and social contacts at school. He no longer frightens them with outbursts. We feel he has made significant progress.”

Mother of a boy Age 9
“There is a dramatic increase in independence with daily routines and he is more calm and relaxed.  Transitions have improved; we have seen an increase in organizational skills, less impulsivity, increased awareness of his environment and less sensory defensiveness.”

Male Adult Age 21
“I’ve been coming for neurofeedback for two and a half months now and I feel that many things have changed for me.  I’m much calmer and less angry and down on myself.  I am holding down two jobs and have just gotten my driver’s license which I hadn’t been able to do.” 

Research has shown that symptoms of Autism are the result of brain dysfunction in multiple brain regions. Some areas of the brain are chatting excessively with themselves failing to communicate normally with other relevant regions. (Medical News Today, 2008)  A 2006 study using neurofeedback, showed a 40 percent reduction in autistic symptoms.  Research articles on the effect of neurofeedback on other dysfunctional behaviors can be found at http://www.isnr.org.

Wellness Unlimited treats a wide range of un-adaptive behaviors including difficulty in sustaining attention, hyperactivity, mood disorders, excessive anger and anxiety and dysfunctions related to aging.  Our clients range in age from four into their seventies. Neurofeedback is also used to enhance the functioning of executives and athletes and to deepen meditation.

This summer we will be holding a data collection study in hopes of
documenting the success of neurofeedback.  We are recruiting 20
individuals on the Autism Spectrum who wish to increase their awareness
to others and the environment, decrease negative behavior patterns and calm
any sensory sensitivity they may have. 

On May 15, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wellness Unlimited will hold an open house for anyone who is interested in learning more about the possibilities neurofeedback. We will have demonstrations and answer any questions you may have.