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Neurofeedback Therapy in Denver
Learn more about Neurofeedback therapy in Denver
Our most popular program, Neurofeedback helps retrain the brain to let go of old, stuck patterns that contribute to mental health symptoms. Complete your sessions in office with a licensed clinical therapist who are trained to help you process emotion + trauma.
On average, our clients report a 30-70% decrease in self reported symptoms by the end of their Neurofeedback program.
Interested in Neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback is a confusing topic to wrap your head around (no pun intended), we get it! Here's the breakdown.
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What is Neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback is essentially operant conditioning for your brain. It is helpful in alleviating dysfunctional patterns contributing to symptoms such as anxiety, PTSD, depression, OCD, ADD and more. Over the course of your program, the brain learns to let go of old, "stuck" patterns that no longer serve you and create new electrical patterns that influence new neuropathways.
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What to Expect in Session
In session, the clinician places electrodes at specified sites on the brain (learned from a QEEG, see below) and measures activity in these locations. While the client trains, their brainwaves will naturally fluctuate. When the brain does what the protocols are encouraging, for example bringing down high beta in a frontal site, the client hears a sound. The brain is designed to like stimulus, and therefore learns through repetition that if it continually brings down high beta to lower and lower micro voltages, it will continue to be offered a stimulus.
Over time this type of conditioning teaches the brain to operate efficiently outside of session and has relatively permanent effects. While all of this is happening behind the scenes, the client watches a show of their choice on Netflix or trains with their eyes closed listening to meditation music with the stimulus layered in the background. The process is painless, non-invasive and efficient!
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A Safe and Natural Alternative to Medication for Mental Health Symptoms
There are very few side effects to Neurofeedback and most have minimal impact. Some clients experience minor headaches, agitation or sleepiness in the 24 hours following a session. This is due to the brain acclimating to a new way of taking information in, and not all clients can expect to feel dysregulated.
However, most clients actually leave sessions feeling relaxed and more calm than they do walking in to session. We equate it to the sensation you get after acupuncture or a light massage.
Neurofeedback can be used to buffer the intensity of difficult side effects of medication, and some clients use it to compliment their medication. Neurofeedback should not be used as a replacement for medication as it does not work on the brain in the same way. Do not stop or change any medications or other medical treatments without consulting your physician.
Please schedule a free 20-minute consultation to discuss your symptoms and see if Neurofeedback can be utilized as an additional source of support for you.
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
The Nitty Gritty.
What conditions does Neurofeedback treat?
Neurofeedback has empirically backed research showing positive improvement on conditions such as, but not limited to: Anxiety. Depression, Trauma and PTSD, ADHD, Emotional Reactivity, Sleep Problems, Attachment Issues, Developmental Disorders. Each individual is unique and we have found that clients with co-morbid diagnoses tend to feel relief in multiple avenues of life as treatment goes on due to increased regulation within the brain (Marzbani, 2016).
How does neurofeedback help me process trauma?
When you experience a traumatic event, your brain reacts with a fight, flight or freeze response. This disrupts the nervous system and often results in long lasting negative impacts to an individual's mental health. The brain gets stuck in one of these states long after the traumatic event is over, which makes it difficult for the traumatized individual to move forward. When this happens, parts of the brain go "offline" and interpret threats that are not actually present. If a client feels they have higher than average levels of emotional reactivity, rumination, anxiety, depression (and more) their brain may be living in a trauma response without them even knowing it.
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Neurofeedback and Brain Mapping helps you and your therapist understand how this trauma is being stored in the brain, then teaches the brain and the nervous system that it is currently safe through repetition and operant condition in Neurofeedback sessions. Totally safe, permanent and natural!
Should I participate in therapy while doing a Neurofeedback treatment program?
Your brain largely processes trauma, events and memories through language. While Neurofeedback is an incredible tool, re-processing memories and trauma or learning new ways to interact with the world will come with talk therapy. We have found (and studies back us up!) through experience that clients crave the space to talk with a therapist as Neurofeedback does it’s job re-wiring old neuropathways. Our specialists are experienced on both modalities and the intersection between the two is our specialty.
What is Brain Mapping Therapy?
We start with a QEEG Brain Map for all Neurofeedback programs. This helps your clinician create a customized set of protocols for your training sessions that are unique to your brain.
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A QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalography) measures brainwaves at a variety of different sites throughout the brain producing numerical analysis of patterns that correlate with behavioral functioning. Your clinician will review your report with you, helping you understand where your brain gets “stuck” in terms of resolving historical patterns of trauma, anxiety, and numerous other learned skills that are no longer beneficial (Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022).
Getting Started with Neurofeedback
In Office Neuofeedback Progrm
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All clients starting a Neurofeedback Program are required to complete a qEEG Brain Map.
This baseline level of data collection guides your Neurofeedback program and helps your clinician understand what parts of the brain are overworking, underworking...and everything in between.
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Attend Neurofeedback Sessions
Research shows us that clients need a minimum of 40 sessions of Neurofeedback to create new pathways and patterns in the brain that "stick". For more complex cases, 60+ sessions may be required. Clients train 2-3 times a week in office.
Interested in counseling in Denver as well? We offer 90 minute Neurofeedback + Counseling sessions to save on your commute.
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Monitoring Progress
Our neurofeedback therapy program stands out for it's consistency in monitoring progress throughout your time with us. We will utilize both self report in addition to data review every 10 sessions to monitor progress and tweak protocols as needed.
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You can expect an email from us every 10 sessions letting you know how your brain is progressing!
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Tapering & Maintenance
Toward the end of your Neurofeedback Program, you will start to taper down on sessions coming in every other week and eventually once a month. This helps your brain transition out of your program without losing any of the new skills it has built.
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Some clients choose to continue counseling after the end Neurofeedback, others don't.
"There are over 2,000 peer-reviewed research reports on PubMed demonstrating efficacy [for Neurofeedback treatment] across a number of pathologies. "
- Neurofeedback London
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What is neurofeedback?Neurofeedback teaches the brain through operant conditioning (think Pavlov's dog!) how to adjust electrical patterns and neuronal connections that contribute to difficulty in behavioral change. More details can be found here.
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Are there any negative side effects to neurofeedback?Neurofeedback is an incredibly safe modality that works within the natural processes of your brain. At the worst, some of our clients report minor headaches, agitation or a brief disruption in sleep. In general, most clients leave feeling relaxed or neutral.
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What psychiatric disorders does neurofeedback treat?While most brains can benefit from neurofeedback to increase feelings of peace, joy and overall wellbeing...the conditions that neurofeedback most commonly treat include generalized anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, PTSD/C-PTSD, insomnia, memory loss and more. These disorders are well studied and documented to have positive results.
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Are the results of neurofeedback permanent?Relatively, yes! While no treatment program can completely ease the effects of unpredicted stress or future trauma, our clients tend to feel more resilient and confident in managing stressors without neurofeedback after their treatment program. The vast majority of our clients end their program with a 30-70% reduction in symptom severity and only visit us for "tune ups" in the face of extreme stress or newly developed trauma.
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How does neurofeedback therapy help behavioral change?Neurofeedback therapy assists in calming the nervous system which allows the client greater access to making behavioral changes. Many individuals know they need to change a behavior, but their nervous system is acting from a trauma response that keeps them in repetitive destruction patterns. Neurofeedback regulates the brain to a calmer, safer baseline state that then allows the client to mindfully choose new behaviors and perspectives with the assistance of a licensed therapist.
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Do you accept insurance?We do not currently accept insurance. We accept HSA/FSA cards and are able to provide superbills at request.
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Can I complete EMDR, TMS or another form of trauma treatment while completing neurofeedback sessions?Yes! Many of our clients take a holistic and well-rounded approach to mental health treatment and complete multiple types of treatment at once. Your clinician will discuss the implications of completing multiple forms of therapy at once during your consultation. We suggest completing talk therapy with your neurofeedback therapy program at a minimum in order to gain the most benefit from your time with us.
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How many sessions of neurofeedback do I need to complete?Most clients complete a minimum of 40 sessions, with some requiring 80+ sessions. The number of sessions a brain needs is determined from a QEEG Brain Map. We re-evaluate your progress every 10 sessions to discuss what changes you feeling or not feeling, and adjust protocols depending on data fluctuations. With this level of detail paid to your progress, you will likely not need more than the quoted amount of sessions.
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I have more questions! Who can I talk to about Neurofeedback and see if it's right for me?We offer free 20 minute consultations for clients interested in neurofeedback, counseling or the combination of the two! Schedule your free consultation online here to get started with your journey to mental health healing.
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What is the difference between biofeedback and neurofeedback?Neurofeedback is a subcategory of biofeedback. Biofeedback works on bodily functions such as heart rate and body temperature to help regulate the nervous system. Neurofeedback works specifically on brain waves to help regulate symptoms associated with mental health such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADD, insomnia and more.
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How many times a week should I do neurofeedback?We recommend you train two to three times a week consistently in order to gain the most out of your program. Brief absences from training are not detrimental, however if you are going to be gone for over a month during your time with us we suggest you wait to start your program until you return from your time away.
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Is neurofeedback FDA approved?Yes! Neurofeedback therapy is FDA approved as a safe and effective form of treatment for mental health symptoms especially when combined with other modalities such as counseling.
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Does neurofeedback help kids and adults with ADD?Yes! ADD and ADHD are some of the most well studied diagnoses for neurofeedback therapy. Read up on our specialty page here
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Can neurofeedback cure trauma?qEEG Brain Mapping and Neurofeedback therapy can help ease symptoms of trauma by regulating the brain, taking it out of "fight or flight" mode and help increase patterns of mindfulness and mood regulation. It is also proven to help ease symptoms of anxiety, depression, OCD and others that may co-occur with trauma. Read more on our page here.
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How to find a good therapist in DenverWe suggest you start at our "Meet the Team" page here to see if any of our therapists are a good fit for you. If not, resources such as Psychology Today allow you to filter the type of therapist you are looking to work with based on symptom and goal to help you find the right therapist in Denver for you.
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Do you accept insurance for counseling?We do not currently accept insurance. We accept HSA/FSA cards and are able to provide superbills at request.
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Is at home neurofeedback effective?Up until recently, the technology for at home neurofeedback training systems was not proven to be as effective as in office equipment. With the field rapidly growing, though, new options for at home neurofeedback that are effective are hitting the market. We conduct consults to see if the type of equipment we offer is right for you and what types of results you can expect to see in office vs at home in a training program.
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How often do I train with my at home neurofeedback program?Most clients are asked to train 3-4 times a week with their at home neurofeedback program. Some clients will train as often as daily to start depending on symptom severity and what is learned from your qEEG Brain Map.
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What is the investment for an at home neurofeedback program?All remote neurofeedback training programs start at $600 for the initial qEEG Brain Map. This includes two hours of data collection and reviewing data with a clinician. Clients will purchase their headset for $250 (which can be used with multiple family members in the home). The monthly charge for remote training after that is $600/month. We do not have contracts and clients are free to end training at any time.
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What conditions can at home neurofeedback training treat?Empirical evidence shows that at home neurofeedback training can ease symptom severity for conditions including anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADD/ADHD, insomnia and more.
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What happens if I end an at home neurofeedback training program prematurely?You can expect to feel some benefit from the training you completed prior to ending your program, however the longevity and permanency of these results cannot be guaranteed without an adequate amount of time being trained.
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