Friday, December 05, 2008
- Neurofeedback is a relaxed, comfortable process. Adults usually experience it as pleasant; children usually have fun.
- The first session will be a detailed intake evaluation. We'll learn about you and your concerns and answer your questions. You can see the computer set-up and perhaps try it out. We may use assessment tools to help us evaluate your needs. If additional assessment is necessary, we'll schedule further sessions before beginning neurofeedback.
- To begin neurofeedback, you sit in a comfortable chair at a computer monitor as we set up the feedback mechanism.
- It's natural to feel a little nervous about being hooked up to a computer, but the procedure is entirely benign. Though the word "electrode" can trouble some people, electrodes are just sensors that detect brain activity. They are exclusively one-way--that is, they relay brainwaves to the computer, but they can't send any information (or electricity!) back to the brain. They don't reveal your thoughts. They don't hurt. We attach them to your earlobes and scalp with a special conductive paste that easily washes off with water.
- The therapist sits at another computer screen that displays the relevant sample of your brainwaves. Specialized computer software translates this brain activity into a signal that drives a video game on your screen. You play the game without a mouse, making it work entirely by brain activity. Without conscious effort on your part, your brain receives constant feedback to help you succeed at the game.
- Meanwhile the therapist sets the conditions for success so that the rewards increase as you make more helpful brainwaves and decrease the ones that get in your way. Your brain begins to learn how to function in a more beneficial way. With practice, this new way of functioning becomes more and more natural.
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