Understanding Neurofeedback: How it Works and How it Can Benefit You
Stress, anxiety, and depression are common mental health issues that people struggle with every day. For some people, the side effects of these issues can take over their lives and leave them feeling hopeless and helpless.
The good news is you can gain control over these issues through neurofeedback training. With this therapy, you can gain insight into how these issues affect your brain. In this blog, the experts at Integrative Medica Salt Lake City, Utah explain more about what neurofeedback training is and how it may be able to help you.
How neurofeedback training works
Neurofeedback training is a noninvasive treatment that uses electroencephalograph (EEG) technology to give you real-time feedback about your brainwave activity.
During a neurofeedback training session, our team places several electrodes on your scalp. These electrodes are attached to an EEG machine, which is a device that measures the electrical impulses in your brain and displays this activity in visual graphs on a monitor.
Throughout your session, we guide you through different thoughts, actions, and emotions to see how your brain reacts. The EEG device picks up on your brain wave activity while you’re thinking about certain circumstances or experiencing emotions, so you can gain a greater understanding of how your environment and emotional health affect your brain.
The information that results from neurofeedback training is beneficial, because you can use it to learn how to control your brain activity overtime as part of your treatment plan for stress, mental health disorders, and emotional distress.
Fitting neurofeedback training into your treatment plan
The treatment of mental and emotional health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, often involves psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medications to relieve symptoms.
However, some people still experience symptoms of these issues even with treatment. There are also people who have unwanted side effects of medications that make their situation even more complex.
Neurofeedback training is a noninvasive, medication-free treatment option for a variety of mental and emotional health conditions. Our team at Integrative Medica can recommend neurofeedback training as a treatment for anxiety and depression. This innovative therapy can also be beneficial for issues like:
- Trauma
- Autism
- Life stress
- Work stress
- Substance abuse
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Early-stage Alzheimer’s disease
Neurofeedback training also offers benefits to anyone who is interested in increasing their performance at work, sports, or in creative endeavors. This therapy can boost your concentration and mental processing, so you can operate at peak performance.
Benefits of neurofeedback training
In addition to being a noninvasive treatment option for many mental and emotional health issues, neurofeedback training is safe for many adults and children. The treatment causes no side effects and can provide long-term relief of your symptoms from anxiety, depression, and other conditions.
In some cases, neurofeedback training can eliminate the need for medications, which can have unwanted side effects. You also can learn how to better cope with your condition, so you can stay in control of your long-term health.
Our experienced psychologists offer comprehensive health evaluations to determine if you’re a candidate for neurofeedback training. We also offer additional resources, such as individual and group therapy, life coaching, and online video therapy to help you manage stress and boost your mental and emotional health.
To find out how neurofeedback training can benefit you, book an appointment online or over the phone with Integrative Medica today.