Neurofeedback
 

I did a search of previous posts on this, but haven't seen anything in a while. I'm curious what today's opinion is for it and: pain relief.

I talked to the doctor in my area that does it, but of course, that person is a bit biased.

Thanks!

If you are talking about neurofeedback, you need to specify whether you are interested in volitional neurofeedback or non-volitional neurotherapy.

What has been offered to you by the doctor in your area?

Does it have a research based protocol?

Has it been approved by the FDA?

What claims are made about it?

Thanks for the response.

I just sent your questions in an email to the doctor since I have no idea.

Here's a link to the site if it helps in the meantime:

http://candiasmithdmh.com/index.html

This place is also in my area:

http://www.brainhealer.com/

I'm not rushing in. I distrust the medical industry & all that claim to be part of it. They're all out for $. But some of them can help. Just a matter of weeding them out.

I did Neurofeedback for about 15 sessions approx. in the beginning. I did it in 2 months after my TBI which may be too soon according to the research this MD did a few years ago. (Mary Lee Esty, Ph.D., LCSW)

Still I saw some instant benefit but didn't last longer. Immediately after the therapy my fatigue goes down a lot, my bad smell went down (I have smell disorder after my TBI), even my head ache went down a little.

I am thinking of doing it again but I am not sure I can drive that far in D.C. traffic.

http://www.brainwellnessandbiofeedback.com/

Some people reported negative effects like seizures etc., if it is non-volitional and it is intrusive in a sense they work on your brain waves. Just do your research and see if the MD has experience to treat TBI/PCS. And it is not cheap and not covered by Insurance.

Interesting questions. You've come in with language I"m not familiar with.

I would think volitional and non volitional are other perspectives on what I call traditional and non traditional. Traditional nuerofeedback is entrainment, in which the doctor assesses what kind of eeg activity would be an improvement for you.

THen a protocol that rewards that selected eeg activity is used and the selected eeg activity is rewarded Thus Entrainment., and I suppose volitional in that you have signed on to make these specific eeg changes. I use several entrainment techniques - z-score training, alpha theta, etc.
Non traditional, non volitional is a disentrainment system called LENS.

I use LENS also, often. Lens encourages the brain to focus upon itself and repair itself. To break bad habits, to take down the walls of inhibitory neurotransmitters that trauma puts in place and reallocate resources.
Both of these types of training technologies now have FDA approval. All of the protocols are research based. However most often this research is not large, funded, double blind.

There are many problems with conducting that type of research in the private clinic setting, which is where this work comes from. We see what works and then we can't not provide it (hence the problem with double blind). What most people think of as researched based, is from the pharmacological model, which has tremendous ethical problems. I do this work, because it works.

What claims are made for it? It works. Are you looking for something more specific here? Nothing works for everyone. I have seen my techniques work for people with depresssion, migraine, pain, anxiety, traumatic head injury, dissociative disorder, add, adhd, ocd, panic attack, and many other less clearly diagnosed complaints about life.

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I'll consider it, but am of course, hesitant.

I don't spend $ too often on medical, since I don't have insurance.

The simplicity of volitional versus non-volitional should help with the definition of the many therapies. Volitional means the patient makes cognitive efforts (volitional efforts) to effect the changes desired. In non-volitional, the patient does nothing but subject their brain to the inputs of the equipment. I find it odd that the non-volitional systems are defined as non-invasive. The strobing lights of EMDR, ROSHI and pROSHI are invading the normal senses of the brain. The microshocks of LENS are also invading the brain's normal environment.

LENS is a non-volitional neurotherapy. ROSHI and pROSHI are also non-volitional therapies. Neither are true neurofeedback or biofeedback. The practitioners of many of these non-volitional therapies are trying to co-opt the name neurofeedback so as to avoid the negative connotations associated with shock therapy and other therapies that try to modify the way the brain works.

Both clinics mentioned in your post use the non-volitional systems while The Center for Advanced Neurotherapy also does true neurofeedback.

I am a believer in the usefulness of true volitional neurotherapy but have many concerns about the others. LENS, ROSHI and pROSHI are only FDA exempted for use as relaxation enhancing therapies. They are not to be promoted as therapy for and medical condition.

The FDA has two different systems of allowing medical devices to be made, sold, and used. The FDA approval systems is where the manufacturer clinically tests the device to show that it is safe and effective at treating the medical condition studied. The other FDA system is exemption. This means the device maker has shown the FDA the device does not cause a risk of harm. The documentation required for this exemption is much simpler to complete. With this exemption, the device maker and those using it are limited to promoting it for treating non-medical conditions only.

The LENS and ROSHI systems have this exemption. Unfortunately, the adverse events records for these two devices has not been provided by the practitioners using these devices. The "exempt" FDA rating does not require the strict reporting of adverse events as it does for FDA APPROVED devices.

Carolyn Robertson is very good at name dropping. Many of her 'team' practice in distant locations and thus are only used in a consulting format.

I would caution you or anyone to go into these forms of therapy with your eyes open and your wallet closed. They can be huge financial drains before there have been enough sessions to determine if the therapy is working.

The value of developing better relaxation skills can be worthwhile but only if the cost is not adding additional stress.

I just spent $90 at the chiro office yesterday, so "wallet closed" sounds appealing to me. Thanks!