Understanding Neurofeedback Therapy at Connected Brain Counseling
Exploring the Depths of Neurofeedback Therapy Neurofeedback therapy offered at Connected Brain Counseling delves deep into the...
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Neurofeedback Therapy in Denver
Learn more about Neurofeedback therapy in Denver
Our most popular program, Neurofeedback helps retrain the brain to let go of old, stuck patterns that contribute to mental health symptoms. Complete your sessions in office with a licensed clinical therapist who are trained to help you process emotion + trauma.
On average, our clients report a 30-70% decrease in self reported symptoms by the end of their Neurofeedback program.
What to Expect From A Neurofeedback Session
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Interested in Neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback is a confusing topic to wrap your head around (no pun intended), we get it! Here's the breakdown.
What is Neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback is essentially operant conditioning for your brain. It is helpful in alleviating dysfunctional patterns contributing to symptoms such as anxiety, PTSD, depression, OCD, ADD and more. Over the course of your program, the brain learns to let go of old, "stuck" patterns that no longer serve you and create new electrical patterns that influence new neuropathways.
What to Expect in Session
In session, the clinician places electrodes at specified sites on the brain (learned from a QEEG, see below) and measures activity in these locations. While the client trains, their brainwaves will naturally fluctuate. When the brain does what the protocols are encouraging, for example bringing down high beta in a frontal site, the client hears a sound. The brain is designed to like stimulus, and therefore learns through repetition that if it continually brings down high beta to lower and lower micro voltages, it will continue to be offered a stimulus.
Over time this type of conditioning teaches the brain to operate efficiently outside of session and has relatively permanent effects. While all of this is happening behind the scenes, the client watches a show of their choice on Netflix or trains with their eyes closed listening to meditation music with the stimulus layered in the background. The process is painless, non-invasive and efficient!
A Safe and Natural Alternative to Medication for Mental Health Symptoms
There are very few side effects to Neurofeedback and most have minimal impact. Some clients experience minor headaches, agitation or sleepiness in the 24 hours following a session. This is due to the brain acclimating to a new way of taking information in, and not all clients can expect to feel dysregulated.
However, most clients actually leave sessions feeling relaxed and more calm than they do walking in to session. We equate it to the sensation you get after acupuncture or a light massage.
Neurofeedback can be used to buffer the intensity of difficult side effects of medication, and some clients use it to compliment their medication. Neurofeedback should not be used as a replacement for medication as it does not work on the brain in the same way. Do not stop or change any medications or other medical treatments without consulting your physician.
Please schedule a free 20-minute consultation to discuss your symptoms and see if Neurofeedback can be utilized as an additional source of support for you.
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
The Nitty Gritty.
What conditions does Neurofeedback treat?
Neurofeedback has empirically backed research showing positive improvement on conditions such as, but not limited to: Anxiety. Depression, Trauma and PTSD, ADHD, Emotional Reactivity, Sleep Problems, Attachment Issues, Developmental Disorders. Each individual is unique and we have found that clients with co-morbid diagnoses tend to feel relief in multiple avenues of life as treatment goes on due to increased regulation within the brain (Marzbani, 2016).
How does neurofeedback help me process trauma?
When you experience a traumatic event, your brain reacts with a fight, flight or freeze response. This disrupts the nervous system and often results in long lasting negative impacts to an individual's mental health. The brain gets stuck in one of these states long after the traumatic event is over, which makes it difficult for the traumatized individual to move forward. When this happens, parts of the brain go "offline" and interpret threats that are not actually present. If a client feels they have higher than average levels of emotional reactivity, rumination, anxiety, depression (and more) their brain may be living in a trauma response without them even knowing it.
Neurofeedback and Brain Mapping helps you and your therapist understand how this trauma is being stored in the brain, then teaches the brain and the nervous system that it is currently safe through repetition and operant condition in Neurofeedback sessions. Totally safe, permanent and natural!
Should I participate in therapy while doing a Neurofeedback treatment program?
Your brain largely processes trauma, events and memories through language. While Neurofeedback is an incredible tool, re-processing memories and trauma or learning new ways to interact with the world will come with talk therapy. We have found (and studies back us up!) through experience that clients crave the space to talk with a therapist as Neurofeedback does it’s job re-wiring old neuropathways. Our specialists are experienced on both modalities and the intersection between the two is our specialty.
What is Brain Mapping Therapy?
We start with a QEEG Brain Map for all Neurofeedback programs. This helps your clinician create a customized set of protocols for your training sessions that are unique to your brain.
A QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalography) measures brainwaves at a variety of different sites throughout the brain producing numerical analysis of patterns that correlate with behavioral functioning. Your clinician will review your report with you, helping you understand where your brain gets “stuck” in terms of resolving historical patterns of trauma, anxiety, and numerous other learned skills that are no longer beneficial (Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022).
Getting Started with Neurofeedback
In Office Neuofeedback Progrm
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All clients starting a Neurofeedback Program are required to complete a qEEG Brain Map.
This baseline level of data collection guides your Neurofeedback program and helps your clinician understand what parts of the brain are overworking, underworking...and everything in between.
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Attend Neurofeedback Sessions
Research shows us that clients need a minimum of 40 sessions of Neurofeedback to create new pathways and patterns in the brain that "stick". For more complex cases, 60+ sessions may be required. Clients train 2-3 times a week in office.
Interested in counseling in Denver as well? We offer 90 minute Neurofeedback + Counseling sessions to save on your commute.
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Monitoring Progress
Our neurofeedback therapy program stands out for it's consistency in monitoring progress throughout your time with us. We will utilize both self report in addition to data review every 10 sessions to monitor progress and tweak protocols as needed.
You can expect an email from us every 10 sessions letting you know how your brain is progressing!
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Tapering & Maintenance
Toward the end of your Neurofeedback Program, you will start to taper down on sessions coming in every other week and eventually once a month. This helps your brain transition out of your program without losing any of the new skills it has built.
Some clients choose to continue counseling after the end Neurofeedback, others don't.
"There are over 2,000 peer-reviewed research reports on PubMed demonstrating efficacy [for Neurofeedback treatment] across a number of pathologies. "
- Neurofeedback London
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