NF begins with a Quantitative Electroencephalogram (qEEG) evaluation. The qEEG is an assessment tool designed to objectively record, analyze, and evaluate your brainwave patterns. Your NF technician will learn about your history and symptoms and use the brain map to compare your brainwaves to a normative database.
A qEEG Brain Map can be a longer process than the NF training session. It requires about 20-30 minutes of recording brain activity. The entire brain map consultation takes 90 minutes on average, but you should plan for it to take 2 hours in case.
At your brain map appointment, your technician will give you a detailed brain map report and help you understand what brainwave imbalances underlie your symptoms.
Your technician will use the information gathered from your brain map to create a plan for treatment that typically includes about 20-40 sessions of NF training. Some trainees will require more or less NF sessions for symptom improvement, but most begin noticing improvements after just 5-8 sessions.
After your brain map consultation, you will begin NF training in order to resolve brainwave imbalances. NF sessions are 30 minutes long — a length of time designed to maximize success and minimize fatigue. Plan for your appointments to take 45 minutes since your technician will want to discuss your training trends and symptoms at the end of each session.
In NF training, your technician will place 1-2 sensors on your head that allow the computer to record and analyze your brainwave activity. These sensors are noninvasive and painless. The sensors simply receive the brainwaves emitted by the brain and carry them to the computer for amplification and recording by the NF software. As the computer processes your brainwaves, you will receive feedback about your brain's activity.
NF software automatically detects where the brainwaves are properly ordered and feeds that information back to you in real time through your chosen training media: a game, movie, TV show, or music. NF software will signal you when your brainwaves normalize by increasing the volume and brightness of your media. In this way, you are in control of the training media. By repeating NF sessions, your brain will learn how to regulate itself.
Please reach us at alphaneurofeedback21@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question below.
NeuroFeedback was first studied in the 1960s, and it started out as an accidental discovery in the treatment of seizure disorders. EEG has long been used as a way of testing for brain abnormalities. It wasn't until the invention of modern computers, though, that NF training with qEEG brain maps like we provide in our clinic became available to a wider range of clients. With greater availability of NF software and technology came more research on the many symptoms and conditions NF can treat. If you haven't heard of NF before, it could be because NF is considered an alternative treatment for psychological and neurological conditions, despite decades of research supporting its efficacy.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is different from NF even though both can help a client heal from past trauma. The main difference is that EMDR requires the client to discuss the traumatic memory with a therapist trained in EMDR, while NF does not require discussion of the memory in order to address it. NF can be effective for people who do not want to talk to a therapist, and it often helps clients have better outcomes in therapy down the road.
There are a number of excellent resources available for you to learn more about NF. One book we recommend is A Symphony in the Brain by journalist Jim Robbins. It gives an overview to NF as well as insights into the history and research that went into developing NF.
During your brain map, you will need to wear an electro cap that looks like a swim cap. You will sit in a comfortable reclining chair and wear the cap, which reads electrical activity from 12 sites across your brain, for 20-30 minutes. The process can take longer if you wiggle or talk, so it is best to be still and relaxed the whole time. You will spend half the time with your eyes closed and half the time with your eyes opened. After your brain map appointment, you will be able to keep your brain map report!
Unfortunately, ALPHA Neurofeedback does not currently accept insurance at this time. Most insurance companies do not offer coverage for NF. However, we are able to accept payments through HSA and FSA, and we have had some clients whose insurance agreed to reimburse them for their NF payments. We encourage you to check with your insurance to see if you are able to take advantage of any benefits.
We have several options to reduce the cost of NF for our clients. These include bundles, family pricing, referral rewards, and more. Call today to learn more about our options.
ALPHA NeuroFeedback Centers, LLC
1132 Dow Street | Murfreesboro, TN
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.