BIOFEEDBACK IS A TECHNIQUE UTILIZED TO CAPTURE A PERSON'S PHYSIOLOGICAL STATES SUCH AS HEART RATE, BODY TEMP, GALVANIC SWEAT RESPONSE, ETC.AND PRESENT THE INFORMATION THROUGH A TECHNOLOGICAL LENS. THIS IS A FANCY WAY OF SAYING; IT APPEARS ON THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF YOU. THAT BEING SAID, WITH ALL OF THE TIME PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT SCREENS, WHY NOT USE SCREEN TIME TO YOUR ADVANTAGE?
THE IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK/INFORMATION ALLOWS A PERSON TO MODIFY THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL STATE BY ENGAGING IN A MINDFUL PRACTICE. CONSISTENT PRACTICE HEIGHTENS A PERSON'S AWARENESS OF THEIR ABILITY TO CONTROL (AND/OR INFLUENCE) THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL STATES ACROSS SETTINGS SUCH AS IN TRAFFIC, SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, AND VARIOUS OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAY BE STRESSFUL. STRESS WILL ALWAYS FLUCTUATE. NEUROFEEDBACK TRAINS THE BRAIN TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A REGULATED STATE OR OPTIMAL/ BASELINE STATE OF FUNCTIONING THROUGHOUT THE EBB AND FLOW OF LIFE'S CIRCUMSTANCES.
SIMILARLY, AN EEG (ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY) RECORDING IS A DIGITAL VIEW OF A PERSON'S ELECTRICAL BRAINWAVE ACTIVITY. A CERTIFIED PROVIDER CAN COMPARE AN EEG ASSESSMENT TO A NORMATIVE DATABASE TO PROVIDE A qEEG REPORT OR A MINI-q. THE ANALYSIS OF THE ASSESSMENT ALLOWS US TO IDENTIFY BRAINWAVE ACTIVITY THAT MAY BE NEGATIVELY IMPACTING A PERSON'S FUNCTIONING AND/OR ABILITY TO REGULATE.
NEUROFEEDBACK, (NEURO-TRAINING OR NEUROTHERAPY) CAN ENHANCE OPTIMAL BRAINWAVE ACTIVITY BY PROVIDING CONSISTENT POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT OF MORE IDEAL BRAINWAVE ACTIVITY. NEUROFEEDBACK IS TYPICALLY DIFFERENT FROM BIOFEEDBACK DUE TO THE MOSTLY UNCONSCIOUS ENGAGEMENT IN THE PRACTICE. WITH BIOFEEDBACK, THE TRAINEE IS WATCHING AND GAINING AN UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR ABILITY TO CONTROL THEIR (I.E.) HEARTRATE BY BREATHING MINDFULLY. NEUROFEEDBACK IS MUCH MORE NUANCED. THE TRAINEE IS NOT WATCHING THE EEG, THE PRACTITIONER IS MONITORING THE EEG WHILE ALSO CHANGING THRESHOLDS AND MONITORING THE TRAINEE THROUGHOUT THE SESSION. THE TRAINEE MIGHT BE WATCHING A VIDEO OR MOVIE, PLAYING A VIDEO GAME, OR SIMPLY RELAXING COMFORTABLY IN A CHAIR LISTENING TO MUSIC AND OTHER SOUNDS. EACH APPROACH PROVIDES FEEDBACK TO THE TRAINEE BY SHIFTING THE VOLUME OF THE SOUND OR QUALITY OF THE VIDEO.
NEUROFEEDBACK HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE AN EFFECTIVE, ALTERNATIVE APPROACH. SPECIFICALLY, MINDFUL RESTORATION PROVIDES TRAINING FOR THE FOLLOWING:
ATTENTION DISREGULATION (PROBLEMS TASK SWITCHING, COMPLETION, OR ENGAGEMENT)
THE TRAINING IS ALSO USEFUL FOR CHANGING DESTRUCTIVE PATTERNS OF RUMINATION, DISTRACTION, ENHANCING THE ABILITY TO CALM AND SELF-SOOTH, MEDITATE, AND IMPROVE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, WORK/TASK PERFORMANCE, AND RELATIONSHIPS.
AT MINDFUL RESTORATION, OUR HOPE IS TO PROVIDE TRAINING TO THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE THEMSELVES AND THE WORLD AROUND THEM MORE CLEARLY. TO RESPOND TO THE WORLD IN A WAY THAT RESONATES AND TO BE YOUR BEST SELF.
*Reproduced from; Collura, T.,
Technical Foundations of Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback Assessment (QEEG)
A NEUROFEEDBACK ASSESSMENT BEGINS WITH PLACING SENSORS ON A PERSON'S SCALP TO READ BRAINWAVE ACTIVITY. THE PERSON CONNECTED TO THE SENSORS FEELS ONLY THE PLACEMENT OF THE SENSORS BECAUSE THE SENSORS NEVER PRODUCE CHANGES TO A PERSONS BRAIN. RATHER, THE SENSORS GATHER INFORMATION BY PICKING UP FREQUENCIES THAT THE HUMAN BRAIN PRODUCES. THE READING IS THEN ASSESSED BY THE CLINICIAN AND THE CLINICIAN WORKS WITH THE CLIENT TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT. AN ASSESSMENT TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR. MINDFUL RESTORATION PROIVDES BOTH A MINI-q AND A FULL qEEG ASSESSMENT. THE FULL QEEG INCLUDES A REPORT WITH BRAIN MAPS.
NEURO-TRAINING & NEURO-THERAPY
AFTER DECIDING ON TARGET AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT, THE CLINICIAN FACILITATES ONE-HOUR TRAINING SESSIONS ON A WEEKLY BASIS. NEURO-TRAINING, CONSISTENT WITH THE ASSESSMENT, READS BRAINWAVE ACTIVITY THROUGH CONNECTION TO SENSORS. PRESENT-MOMENT FEEDBACK ALLOWS THE TRAINEE TO SEE HOW THEIR BRAIN IS FUNCTIONING AND REWARDS THEM WHEN THEY EXHIBIT DESIRED BRAIN STATES. THROUGH CONTINUED PRACTICE, SIMILAR TO EXERCISE, BRAINWAVE ACTIVITY THAT IS DESIRABLE BECOMES MORE EASILY REPLICATED AND ACCESSIBLE. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS PROVIDED THROUGH INTERACTIVE, COMPUTERIZED GAMES AND ACTIVITIES. THE FEEDBACK ALLOWS THE CLIENT TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS (CREATE NEW OR REINFORCE MORE FUNCTIONAL) NEURO-NETWORKS IN REAL TIME. NEURO-THERAPY INVOLVES ENGAGING IN THERAPY TECHNIQUES SUCH AS PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOTHERAPY; THAT ALLOW A CLIENT TO NOTICE AND INTEGRATE THE EFFECTS OF THE PRACTICES INTO THOUGHT, BEHAVIOR, AND PERCEPTION.
WE CANNOT GUARANTEE RESULTS,
*FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT NEUROFEEDBACK AND QEEG (in collaboration with the MN Neurotherapy Institute, CLICK HERE.
Available for purchase from Mindful Restoration: Audio Visual entrainment: AVE devices
