Adventures in Neurofeedback: A case study

I recently started working individually with a client who is dealing with anxiety and depression and has a significant trauma history. She has PTSD symptoms that include flashbacks, dissociation, and hypervigilance. This makes finding coping skills for the anxiety and depression tricky. Every time she tries to calm down with traditional skills like taking a bath or reading, her trauma gets triggered since she has associated being calm with being in danger through repeated instances of trauma.

We started doing neurofeedback to help calm her nervous system in a non traditional way. By noticing prevalent brainwave patterns, we could also think of ways to even them out that would help calm and distract her but not trigger trauma. Knowing what her brain needed, rather than what just sounds soothing, helped us develop a more effective tool box. After a few sessions and consistent skill practice between session, this client reported "feeling empowered for the first time." We still have a ways to go, but neurofeedback therapy will likely be a game changer for this client.

If you or someone you know is a good candidate for neurofeedback therapy, please reach out to me. I would love to see if I can help make strides in their therapy progress.

Adventures in Neurofeedback: A Case Study

A 19 year old female came for Neurofeedback at the request of her therapist. She had abused many different substances from alcohol, to pot, to heroin. She had a horrific trauma history and PTSD symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and panic attacks that left her unable to sleep and afraid of her own shadow. She had tried the usual medication and therapy route, but was stuck.

Within a week with three Neurofeedback sessions, she was sleeping through the night. It's amazing what sleep will do for mental health!! A week later she could do basic errands and had cut back on caffeine and nicotine. By being more regulated and stable, her strained relationships were improving too. Life wasn't perfect, but she was able to put the skills and insights she learned in therapy to work.

If you or someone you know might be a good candidate for Neurofeedback, I would love to talk to you. This type of treatment can be the key to helping those who think all hope is lost. Please contact me today for a consultation.

Erika

Adventures in Neurofeedback - A Case Study

A 25 year old female came in for neurofeedback training at request of her therapist. This client was dealing with anxiety, an eating disorder, and difficulty tolerating and expressing emotions. These symptoms were chronic, since she was a teenager, but exacerbated by grief over her best friend's suicide. She had been doing intensive individual and group therapy, but kept noticing internal walls and blockages that kept her feeling stuck and frustrated.

Enter neurofeedback.

After 5 sessions she was sleeping better and able to complete a shift at work with only one cup of coffee (instead of her previous 4-6 cups). A month into our 2x/week treatment, her therapist called and said she cried in session. Typically she would get squirmy, use humor, or dissociate, but instead she was able to stay in her emotions and connect. After about 10 sessions, she reported that she had eating disorder urges, but she was able to notice them, evaluate them and label them as urges, notice underlying emotions driving her behavior, and often, not act on the urges.

By helping her brain regulate itself through neurofeedback training, she was able to use the tools offered in therapy and make major changes in her life.

If you think you might benefit from neurofeedback, shoot us an email or give us a call.