I have a college age athlete who is doing a hybrid of talk therapy, neurofeedback, and EMDR. She presented with high anxiety that was acutely related to sports performance but had generalized to school and friends. The anxiety manifested as panic attacks, disrupted sleep, indecision, and isolating from friends and sports. She also has ADHD and was needing Ritalin to function (taking her short acting doses all day starting from waking in the morning). She was debating giving up on her sport and thinking about declining a scholarship to an out of state school due to fear of the unknown.
We started with cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, ACT, and sports psychology interventions in talk therapy. EMDR has helped her challenge and rewrite old, unhelpful beliefs. The neurofeedback protocols (SMR and Alpha Theta) have helped calm her brain, increase focus, and regulate her sleep. Those gains have given her an increased ability to use the tools we discuss in therapy. Previously she would get frustrated that she had tools but could not use them in the moment, in the real world. She is also reporting that she feels less reliant on her ADHD meds to get through the day. She is more hopeful about life and her sport. Yay for neurofeedback!