How Does Neurofeedback Work and Who Does it Help?


Neurofeedback therapy is a type of mental health treatment service that involves retraining the brain in order to better regulate emotions and behaviors caused by mental health issues. It can be used to help treat a number of mental health issues, is completely non-invasive, and requires no medications or recovery time. So, it’s a great choice of therapy to implement for many people who are looking for comprehensive tools to utilize during mental health treatment planning. But, how does neurofeedback work and who are the people who can benefit the most from neurofeedback therapy?

How Does Neurofeedback Work?

So, what is neurofeedback therapy? Neurofeedback is a mental health treatment approach that is an educational tool used to retrain a person’s brain to different functioning. This way, people struggling with symptoms of mental health issues can use more healthy behaviors and thought patterns, resulting in less frequent and severe symptoms of mental health issues. Essentially, neurofeedback provides a means for people living with various mental health issues to better self-regulate their thoughts and behaviors, resulting in a more controlled lifestyle.

Elementally, neurofeedback is a combination of EEG brain monitoring and biofeedback. During neurofeedback sessions, a machine is used to monitor brain activity which can show both patients and the neurofeedback specialist how a person’s brain functions when faced with specific stimuli. This can provide neurofeedback patients with information on how to better understand how their brain works and how to train it to function differently in order to better manage symptoms of mental health issues.

Who Does Neurofeedback Therapy Help?

There are a number of mental health issues that neurofeedback therapy can be used to treat. As the brain plays a huge role in how people experience symptoms of mental health issues, neurofeedback can be a great tool to utilize for any people who are struggling with the behavioral outcomes of living with mental health conditions. 

 

Neurofeedback can be used to help treat a number of mental health issues including:  

ADHD

ADHD is a mental health condition that affects how a person concentrates and behaves. The areas of the brain that are responsible for concentration and memory can be addressed in neurofeedback therapy sessions in order to help a person improve focus, helping people with ADHD in their daily lives.

Depressive Disorders

Neurofeedback can also help people who are diagnosed with depressive disorders like Major Depression, Post Partum Depression, and Bipolar Depression disorders. Depressive symptoms are often the result of specific areas of the brain not releasing neurotransmitters that are responsible for mood management which can lead to negative thought patterns and behaviors like avoidance and isolation. During neurofeedback sessions, people living with depression can identify brain waves that can help to stimulate areas of the brain so that they are more active, resulting in fewer depressive symptoms.

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are characterized by overwhelming symptoms of stress and anxiety. While anxiety is a normal, human emotion, people living with anxiety disorders experience anxiety on a level that interrupts daily life and even when there is no reason to experience anxiety. Neurofeedback therapy sessions can help people diagnosed with anxiety disorders recognize what their brains are doing when they are presented with anxiety triggers. This way, they can better learn to control how their brain responds to these stimuli.



Comments