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You May Experience
Difficulty Staying on Task
Trouble Tracking Conversations
Low Self Esteem in Social Situations
Connected Brain Counseling specializes in neurofeedback therapy for ADD/ADHD including counseling, couples counseling and qEEG Brain Mapping therapy
Neurofeedback and qEEG Brain Mapping for ADD/ADHD
Neurofeedback Therapy for ADD + ADHD
Neurofeedback for ADD/ADHD is extensively studied and has some of the highest rates of success compared to other disorders treated with neurofeedback (read more here). By regulating brainwave activity, an individual struggling with symptoms of ADD/ADHD are able to focus, execute tasks, take information in and stay on task more efficiently.
This form of treatment is safe, effective and has lasting results with many of our clients choosing to taper off medication or lower dosage with the guidance of their psychiatrist during their treatment program.
Are you interested in learning more about how a Neurofeedback program customized for your ADD/ADHD will work? Check out our page here to learn more about Neurofeedback.
What is ADD?
Understand your ADD/ADHD Diagnosis
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental health disorder that can cause difficulty focusing, hyperactivity, impulsive behavior, and distractibility. ADHD is often diagnosed in childhood, but still affects adults.
Adult ADHD may manifest as difficulty paying attention, trouble staying organized, restlessness, lethargy, irritability, lack of motivation, and trouble with executive functioning tasks. It can be difficult to manage adult ADHD because symptoms often overlap with depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder.
According to the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), Adult ADHD symptoms must be persistent over 5 months in 2+ settings throughout the individuals life. The symptoms must also be showing to have negatively impacted academic, social, and/or occupational functioning (aafp.org). Some, but not all, of the symptoms associated with ADHD are:
"Hyperactive Symptoms:
• Squirms when seated or fidgets with feet/hands
• Marked restlessness that is difficult to control
• Appears to be driven by “a motor” or is often “on the go”
• Lacks ability to play and engage in leisure activities in a quiet manner
• Incapable of staying seated in class
• Overly talkative Impulsive Symptoms:
• Difficulty waiting turn
• Interrupts or intrudes into conversations and activities of others
• Impulsively blurts out answers before questions completed"
What is the difference between ADD and ADHD?
Historically, ADD and ADHD were two different diagnoses. However, the DSM-V has changed the criteria for diagnosis and there is no difference between ADD and ADHD other than ADHD being considered a subtype of ADD. If an individual meets the criteria for ADD plus has symptoms of hyperactivity, they may fit a subtype diagnosis for ADD.
Brain Mapping Therapy for ADD/ADHD
Every Neurofeedback Therapy program starts with a qEEG Brain Map. A Brain Map is a two part process consisting of data collection and data review with a licensed clinician.
In your first data collection session, you can expect to wear a tightly fitted cap that is lined with 19 electrodes that sit on the surface of the head. Through a series of readings with your eyes open and closed, the electrodes pick up activity that is processed into a 27 page report for you and your clinician to review together.
In your data review session, your clinician will help you understand what parts of the brain are overworking and underworking to create symptoms such as distractibility, trouble with word finding, hyperactivity, brain fog, etc. This information will guide your protocols for a uniquely designed Neurofeedback program customized for your brainwave activity.
You can learn more on qEEG Brain Mapping therapy here.
Therapy for ADD/ADHD
Connected Brain Counseling approaches counseling for individuals with ADD/ADHD with empirically backed modalities that are shown to have high success rates with this particular disorder. Our team of therapists for ADD/ADHD in Denver understand how to work with client suffering from symptoms of ADD/ADHD.
We pull from a blend of CBT and DBT when working with individuals who have an ADD/ADHD diagnosis. You can expect your clinician to guide you through processes associated with noticing thoughts, increasing mindfulness and implementing strategies at home that help you overcome the struggles associated with ADD/ADHD.
Couples Counseling for ADD + ADHD
A unique set of struggles comes along for those who are partnered with someone who has ADD/ADHD. It is not uncommon to feel frustrated with a lack of initiative or decreased levels of intimacy due to distractibility.
Connected Brain Counseling takes a unique approach to understanding ADD/ADHD within couples by offering both individuals a glimpse into their neuronal functioning with a qEEG Brain Map. Being able to see the difference in your partner's brain compared to yours, we often find grace and understanding follows.
If you're interested in learning more about our Couples Mapping Program, schedule a free 20 minute consultation at the link below.
We take a strength based approach to empowering clients with ADD + ADHD
We are here to remind you...you are not your diagnosis! Often, we find clients are highly attached to diagnoses rather than seeing the strengths that also come with ADD/ADHD.
We take a strength based approach to helping clients relate to their ADD/ADHD by offering tools to manage symptoms while also feeling empowered to see it as one piece of their unique structure as an individual.
Read the Research:
Neurofeedback for ADHD + ADD
Neurofeedback as a Treatment Intervention in ADHD: Current Evidence and Practice
"Based on meta-analyses and (large multicenter) randomized controlled trials, three standard neurofeedback training protocols, namely theta/beta (TBR), sensori-motor rhythm (SMR), and slow cortical potential (SCP), turn out to be efficacious and specific."
A randomized-controlled neurofeedback trial in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
"Results indicate statistically significant improvements in primary and secondary clinical and neurocognitive measures over the training course in both active groups as well as in the semi-active control group. Improvements remained stable 6 months after training, suggesting long-lasting effects."
Neurofeedback as Intervention for ADHD
"There are six partially controlled studies published that examine the effectiveness of neurofeedback as an ADHD intervention (See link below). In a review of the published literature to date, Monastra noted that over the past 25 years, numerous studies have reported benefits from neurofeedback in ADHD."
The effects of QEEG-informed neurofeedback in ADHD: an open-label pilot study
Twenty-one patients with ADHD were treated with QEEG-informed neurofeedback and post-treatment effects on inattention (ATT), hyper-activity/impulsivity (HI) and comorbid depressive symptoms were investigated. There was a significant improvement for both ATT, HI and comorbid depressive complaints after QEEG-informed neurofeedback
Neurofeedback can also provide helpful insight when considering which medication might work best for you. For example, it has been reported that ADHD patients with excess frontal theta EEG power (Arns et al.2008; Clarke et al. 2002; Satterfield et al. 1971) and excess frontal alpha EEG power (Arns et al. 2008; Chabot et al. 1999) are more likely to respond to stimulant medication.
Neurofeedback for ADHD: A Review of Current Evidence
The rationale for using neurofeedback as an intervention in ADHD derives from the consistent observation of altered brain activation in many children with ADHD detected in EEG and imaging studies. By repeated training of improved cortical (or subcortical) self regulation, neurofeedback aims to address these deficits by making use of the brain’s plasticity.
Efficacy of Neurofeedback Versus Pharmacological Support
in Subjects with ADHD
Results indicate that the combined group obtained more benefits and that the neurofeedback group improved to a greater extent in executive control than the pharmacological support group. It is concluded that this kind of training may be an alternative to stimulate activation in subjects with ADHD.
However, in recent years, diverse studies have shown the effectiveness of neurofeedback training because as levels of cortical activation increase, symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity decrease (Fuchs et al. 2003; Holtmann et al. 2014; Maurizio et al. 2013; Mayer et al. 2015; Monastra et al. 2005).
Training in neurofeedback emerged as a complementary or alternative treatment to pharmacological support (Bakhshayesh et al. 2011) aimed to stimulate cortical activation (Arns et al. 2012; Duric et al. 2014), especially in disorders that require increasing intervals of attention, self-regulation and control skills, such as ADHD (Monastra et al. 2005).
The benefits of neurofeedback versus pharmacological support show the utility of this kind of training and the need to continue this type of research, in order to know the efficacy of the treatment by subtypes of the disorder
Effectiveness of Neurofeedback Treatment on Adult ADHD: A Meta-Analysis
The result of this study shows that neurofeedback has a large effect on inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, impulsivity/ hyperactivity and ADHD in adults.
“The human brain is capable of healing on their own and has the ability to learn or relearn self-regulatory brain wave mechanisms that have an important role in normal brain functioning (Demos, 2005). So, neurofeedback training strengthens the underlying mechanisms of self regulation to work effectively. This education system with feedback to the brain about what the person has done in the last few seconds and what the bioelectrical rhythm of the normal brain was encourages the brain to correct, modify and maintain appropriate activity.”
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