Neurofeedback

Transform your mind with neurofeedback therapy!

This revolutionary method helps you improve your focus, reduce anxiety, and achieve emotional balance, all through a simple and interactive process. Think of neurofeedback as a personalized brain workout that opens the path to authentic well-being.

Start now!

Among the results obtained through neurofeedback therapy are:

• Better sleep
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Good coping mechanisms in day-to-day situations
• Improved mood
• Decreased hyper-vigilance
• Fewer mood swings
• Improved academic performance
• Improved attention and concentration
• Reduced sensitivity to pain.

There are a series of symptoms and conditions that neurofeedback can address. Below are some of them:

• ADHD
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Anxiety
• Sleep disorders
• Tics
• PTSD
• Headaches - migraines
• Depression
• Bruxism
• Chronic fatigue
• Chronic pain

All the above conditions represent neurological overexcitement, underexcitement, and/or an electrical imbalance in the brain. Because neurofeedback teaches the brain to stabilize and synchronize its activity, it enables addressing all these issues through a non-invasive process.

Unlike other techniques that only offer temporary relief, neurofeedback helps the brain build pathways and allows for long-term stabilization of function, as long as you train for a sufficient period of time. Since each individual is unique, the training period required for lasting effects varies from person to person. As with any other intervention, an emotional and/or physical traumatic event or a neurodegenerative condition can cause regression.

What is neurofeedback and how does it work?

Neurofeedback is a brain training technique used to improve the brain's ability to self-regulate and thus become more flexible and resilient. In neurofeedback therapy, technology is used to measure brain activity through sensors placed on the person's scalp. These measurements are then used to provide visual and auditory feedback through games or movies displayed on a computer screen.

Before the neurofeedback training sessions, the clinician conducts a thorough assessment (anamnesis) to determine the appropriate training protocols.

During the training sessions, the patient plays a computer game or watches a movie and receives real-time visual and auditory feedback on brain wave activity. The brain adjusts its wave patterns to continue receiving positive feedback.

Through regular training sessions twice a week, the brain becomes better regulated, and this has a cascading effect on the patient's symptoms.

Neurofeedback is a non-invasive treatment that encourages the brain to develop healthier activity patterns. The goal of the treatment is not only to change the way you think and feel but also to bring about better biological functioning of the brain.

Recent research has shown that when given the right support, the brain has the ability to change and adapt, a property known as neuroplasticity. Neurofeedback can encourage and accelerate this process of neuroplasticity.

Words alone are often not enough. Simply telling someone to calm down or concentrate does not address the underlying issues of conditions such as anxiety or ADHD. On the other hand, neurofeedback allows us to speak to the brain in its own language: brain waves.

What are brain waves?

Our brain cells communicate through electrical impulses known as brain waves. Each brain wave has two properties:

• Frequency, which is how fast the wave moves.
• Amplitude, which is how high the wave goes up and down.

In general, faster brain waves are associated with focus, thinking, and awareness, while slower brain waves are associated with relaxation, meditation, and deep sleep.

After neurofeedback sessions, positive changes in psychological, cognitive, and behavioral functioning of the patient are observed, leading to better mental health and improved quality of life.

Neurofeedback, also known as Neurotherapy, Neurobiofeedback, and EEG biofeedback, is a specialized and advanced form of brain therapy that is a safe, natural, non-invasive, drug-free positive brain training.

Neurofeedback is an advanced brain training technology that uses real-time display of brain activity through the use of electroencephalography (EEG) necessary and very useful for self-regulating brain function. It detects inconsistency and sudden changes in electrical activity of the brain that undermine optional functioning and informs the brain of these sudden changes through interruptions of the sound you are listening to or changes in the image. This redirects the brain's attention to the present moment and allows the brain's activity to naturally self-correct.

Modern neuroscience shows us that we have more personal control over our brain than we thought possible. The process that allows this is called neuroplasticity, which enables us to make changes in attitudes, beliefs, emotional states, and behavior.

The brain is capable of functioning optimally, but when the central nervous system is decentralized, the brain can function inefficiently.

When we use the neurofeedback training program to work with the brain's natural capacity for change then we train the brain to work at optimal performance. Over time, our cognitions can become weakened, and neurofeedback can redirect thought patterns, modify emotional habits, and help restore healthy mental processes. It provides direct feedback to your brain, allowing it to regulate more efficiently, which can enable life-changing results.

How does Neurofeedback help?

Sometimes, the brain does not function as well as it is capable, and this is called a decentralized brain. This situation means that when you should be calm, you might feel overstimulated; and when you should be alert, you might feel understimulated.

Sometimes, the brain can correct itself naturally, and sometimes it does not do so and requires some form of assistance to do this, with traditional methods, including medication. What actually happens in the brain when the brain does not naturally correct itself, is where dysregulation becomes the "new normal" for the person. So, what Neurofeedback does is it helps the brain to retrain itself to its naturally regulated state from birth.

The benefits of neurofeedback therapy

The focus of neurofeedback training is on the central nervous system and works to improve neurological regulation.

Neurofeedback is an innovative practice with ample clinical evidence of its efficacy and a promising future in the medical field. Here are some of the most important benefits of this therapy:

• It regulates your brain activity and guides it towards optimal functioning patterns.
• It can help your brain learn to calm itself, using coping strategies you already have or by developing new ones.
• It can improve executive function.
• It can specifically help certain areas of the brain to make it easier for you to focus and thus improve your performance at school or work.
• It offers emotional stability by changing brain patterns, so you will no longer remain stuck on negative thoughts and will have a better mood.
• You can use it as complementary therapy, together with medication, psychotherapy, and physical therapy.
• It is non-invasive and safe.
• It can help you find hope that you will be "yourself" again.

How does the brain regulate itself?

With Neurofeedback, the brain starts to learn very slowly and very surely to engage in a new way, as neurofeedback teaches it to self-regulate and correct a certain activity.

The electrical activity in the brain is detected by placing a small number of electrodes on the scalp. A small amount of conductive paste is placed on each electrode, which allows them to stay on the scalp and allows the transmission of electrical signals. The electricity generated by the processing of the Central Nervous System (CNS) is detected and displayed on a monitor in real time. This system is called an electroencephalogram or EEG. Using the latest innovations and technological advances based on evidence in Neurofeedback, the specially designed computer software allows information about the performance and behavior of the brain and the CNS to be provided to the patient through interruptions of auditory perception that sound like music or image problems through changes in brightness.

What happens at my first meeting?

• For the first meeting, an hour is needed because the therapist will do an assessment, an anamnesis through a questionnaire, but also based on the analyses that the person has, to identify which therapeutic scheme is suitable
• At this first meeting, you will work with a Neurofeedback specialist who will make assessments of psychological and emotional well-being
• Experience a neurofeedback session, so you can immediately start to benefit from the benefits of brain training.

What happens in a Neurofeedback session?

Your neurofeedback therapist will conduct the session for you. You are seated in a reclining chair, comfortable and relaxing. Your session will start with a short 10-minute conversation with the therapist, who will then proceed to connect you to the EEG system. This involves placing sensors (electrodes) in different places on the scalp to record brain activity that is transmitted through an amplifier.

Once the therapist has connected you to the EEG system, you start to see an image on a TV screen and listen to pleasant relaxation music. As you watch the image and listen to the music, you will see and hear small interruptions of brightness or sound errors (similar to static), and this is the feedback generated by the brain. Interruptions are not pre-set in the program with image and music, but are live feedback from your own brain wave activity detected through the EEG system. Every time you hear an error in the music or see a change in the image, the central nervous system trains itself to self-regulate naturally.

The feedback is based on the principle of so-called operant conditioning. This means that the feedback given to the patient is a reward if the patient manages to activate certain areas of the brain in such a way as to generate the necessary brain activity.

In concrete terms, the reward means that the image, for example, appears brighter and clearer. Discovering an area that needs to be regulated by the brain and which it records as needing to be regulated will show a dark and blurred image. These processes work analogously with music. It is either loud and pleasant, or reduced in volume and almost incomprehensible. Our brain wants to be rewarded as often as possible. It tries to recognize and understand the hidden patterns in feedback to receive a reward as often as possible. This process is completely unconscious, without the active involvement of the patient and without medication.

You will need 30 minutes or a maximum of an hour for a Neurofeedback session, and during this time you will follow a program with music and image in a comfortable chair.

For children, the process is slightly different because of their attention capacity. Therefore, we offer children programs with images in the form of a film or a game while they sit in the chair. These are adapted to meet the specific needs of the child and their own interests.

At the end of the Neurofeedback session, the therapist removes the electrodes and asks for some post-session feedback to see how you feel after the session and to help you identify the changes your brain has made during the session.

How will I feel after a Neurofeedback session?

Everyone is different. Some people feel full of energy, while others may feel a bit tired, some may yawn or need to use the toilet urgently. There are people who feel rejuvenated by a workout and others who feel exhausted; but both obtain great benefits. Neurofeedback is like a gym session for the brain. The more you train, the stronger you become.

What happens after my first Neurofeedback session?

Your Neurofeedback therapist will contact you within 48 hours of the first meeting to see how you feel after your first Neurofeedback. This will give us an idea of your processing times and response to training. The therapist will offer you options for your Brain Training Plan at the first meeting, depending on the problem presented and your specific needs.

You don't have to do anything as homework, Neurofeedback is a very passive experience – so all you have to do is show up for your next session to build and reinforce and to convince your brain of a new way of thinking.

How many sessions will I need?

The central nervous system of each individual is different, it is not possible to predict exactly how your brain will respond to the information provided by neurofeedback training.

On average, clients need 22-30 sessions to address the problem from the first presentation, however, many clients report improvement from the first or fifth session. As you progress through each session of your program, you will find and discover positive changes throughout your journey. More severe presentations, such as depressions, suicidal thoughts, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), for example, require more sessions (30+) to have an effect on the brain to help it stabilize and retrain the central nervous system to respond.

Also, at each session, we use progress tracking tools, which means we track changes and progress in each session. We are different and we have different learning times, similar to the situation when we learn to read. It is a process and everyone learns differently.

How many sessions will be necessary to "complete" a program?

This depends on the goals of each person. If you're training to overcome your mental health issues and feel better quickly, you might decide after 22 sessions that you've done enough and stop. On the other hand, if you are looking for lasting changes through which not only do you correct the problem that brought you to the office, but also live a better functioning and improved quality of life, then 30-40 sessions is a better estimate. You always have control and can stop at any time and come back later if you want.

In short, doing any Neurofeedback brain training is better than not doing any brain training at all. Any training you've done in the past will always be useful if you do more sessions in the future - no session is ever wasted. For some, however, brain training is like body training. They want to function as well as possible throughout life and like to maintain this. After an initial period of training, they continue with maybe monthly sessions to give their brain a regular opportunity to check and self-regulate. Or, like many of us, they just do a session when they feel the need. But, in the end, it's always up to you, because your brain is the one doing the training and knows what it needs.