Below are some of the most common questions we get as neurofeedback practitioners:
- What is neurofeedback therapy?
- What is brain mapping?
- How does neurofeedback work?
- Is neurofeedback safe?
- How long does brain mapping take?
- How much does neurofeedback cost?
- What can neurofeedback treat?
Please reach out to us if you do not find the answer to your question.
Neurofeedback is actually brain training and biofeedback for brain wave activity. Biofeedback works using the body’s own natural mechanisms for retraining itself. In some ways, it works similarly to heart rate monitoring, during which an individual can retrain their breathing to lower anxiety.
Biofeedback helps retrain the brain to be more functional through a series of games, scores, or metrics where you can see your actual brain waves on a monitor through our top-of-the-line equipment. It is non-invasive and clients rave about feeling more focused, functional, and productive afterward. Our mapping services can capture before and after mapping to record a baseline and post-training. The proof is in the results – as 95% of our clients report improvement and report the services are enjoyable.
Since researchers have continued to find similar patterns repetitively for various disorders, the possibilities of neurofeedback continue to expand.
Brain mapping is where we utilize a 19-point cap worn on the head to measure electrical activity. Using this technology, we can record the electrical activity in the brain. Brain mapping software creates two-dimensional and three-dimensional recordings and reports that are measured against a database to determine areas that need training. The map is usually a one-time initial test on all the training and protocols that can be based on.
Neurofeedback works by allowing us to isolate and retrain the levels of various brain waves to bring them more in balance with each other. The brain operates in five different electrical waves or “gears”. The brain tends to use these specific electrical waves to sleep, deeply relax, sit idle, concentrate, and be hyper-aware. It operates like a bio-computer that uses chemical reactions to create electrical impulses that the brain, nervous system, and body use.
With neurofeedback, we can look at brain patterns of electrical activity and compare results against several large highly researched databases of persons with normal brain and abnormal brain patterning for comparison data. This allows us to explore correction of problems with sleep, rest, concentration, depression, anxiety, concussive symptoms, migraines, sleep disorders, and much more.
Individual neurofeedback sessions involve watching real-time brain wave patterns on a monitor, and then using games, puzzles, protocols, and advanced training mechanisms to help increase or decrease individual brain wave levels. Sessions are often described as fun and relaxing.
One way to think of it is to imagine seeing your heart rate on a monitor. With practice, an individual can be able to lower their own heart rate or speed it up by a series of protocols that they are taught. Imagine if you were able to teach your heart rate and breathing to stay in a more economical setting. Neurofeedback brain retraining is the same idea. Our newest software will even allow clients to bring in their own games and television shows to help the brain retrain with your preferred biofeedback settings.
Neurofeedback is one of the safest interventions. The benefit of biofeedback is that it uses the brain’s own mechanisms and helps stretch mental flexibility, change, and learning. The brain is already a learning computer so it is a fun process to help the brain learn new ways of operating. Because it is non-invasive, we do not have clients leaving with symptoms or problems.
With our state-of-the-art system, most of our clients can record their sessions in 20 minutes. We then spend some time speaking to them about the process and providing feedback. From start to finish, our clients usually need about 45 minutes to one hour for the whole session.
Neurofeedback is a little bit of an investment. Our goal is to make it affordable and allow people to try it to ensure it is a fit. We don’t sign people up for long-term commitments or contracts.
Our brain maps are a one-time fee of $650. This also includes about 10 hours of reading and comparison of map data as well as any send-outs or advanced review of reports all built into the equation. This also includes giving a full-color report emailed or hard copy for your review. Follow-up brain maps that we need or require are at no cost to you. We are trying to remain competitive in our pricing as maps average between 650 to several thousand dollars. We do charge 50 dollars to review the map in detail as it takes about 1 hour of technician time. In complex cases, we will sometimes send out our maps for an additional fee of $300. This is if there is an extenuating circumstance and a client would be notified and allowed to review the cost or ideas. Individual neurofeedback sessions are $199, on a pay-as-you-go basis. Our sessions are also refundable if you decide to pay in advance. We also offer a 10% discount for 10-session packages which allow for 2 free sessions. We do everything imaginable to make it affordable. We work with several scholarship funds in the community that are not income based and we all have payment plans. Our mission is to serve and help as many people as possible and to make it cutting-edge but find a way to make it accessible to anyone. Do not hesitate to call and we can try to work on a plan with you that will work for your situation.
Our clients come in for many different reasons. Our clients come in looking for help with Attention Deficit Issues, Aspergers (Autism), Concentration, Sensory Issues, Memory Issues, Impulsivity, Irritability, Anxiety, Depression, Oppositional Behaviors, Reactive Attachment Disorders, Attachment Disorders, Adoptive Connectivity Issues, Cognitive Processing Disorders, Learning Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mood Disorders, Stress Reactions, PTSD, meditation, relaxation, hyperfocus, hyper fixation issues, impulsive behavior related to addictions, bipolar support, and many more issues.
We start every new client relationship by evaluating if our services can help and consult with appropriate medical providers on your team or within our networks to ensure we are the proper fit. We can work with people on medications and people come to us that are looking to see if they can resolve issues without medication.
We do ask that clients seek medical and mental health support and we ask clients to have behavioral health counseling services to support their process.