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Connected Brain Counseling offers neurofeedback therapy for OCD and counseling for OCD in Denver Colorado
Neurofeedback Therapy in Denver for OCD + Brain Mapping
qEEG Brain Mapping and Neurofeedback Therapy for OCD
How is OCD Affecting Your Brain?
Did you know that trauma and OCD are frequently linked in study as comorbid diagnoses (meaning they are often diagnosed together)? Some research suggests that OCD is actually a response to trauma - where the prefrontal cortex attempts to adapt to trauma by overthinking.
If you experience obsessive thoughts that do not serve you, excessive cleaning/arranging, a difficulty tolerating the feeling of uncertainty or an urge to repetitively behave in a way that may not logically serve you...Connected Brain Counseling can help.
Neurofeedback is a safe and effective form of treatment for OCD with little to no risk of adverse side effects. Through a qEEG Brain Map, your neurofeedback specialist will help you understand how OCD is affecting your day to day life. We will review patterns that contribute to OCD then create a customized Neurofeedback program that informs your clinician on how to help you heal OCD neurologically.
You can expect to leave treatment with a greater ability to choose your thoughts, let go of old patterns that no longer serve you and feel more deeply connected to the reason why OCD has surfaced in the first place.
Is Neurofeedback Therapy Safe for OCD?
Yes, Neurofeedback is arguably more safe than traditional forms of treatment for OCD as it works with your brain's natural functions. By encouraging neuroplasticity, clients can expect to feel a greater sense of control over impulsivity and regulation within the nervous system.
Most clients leave sessions feeling relaxed and calm. Over time, the small changes that neurofeedback promotes compile and create lasting changes. Connected Brain Counseling's clients self report a reduction in symptoms between 30-70% over the course of their program with the majority of our clients seeing a 20% reduction in symptom severity just the first 10-15 sessions.
Are There Side Effects of Neurofeedback Therapy for OCD?
Side effects from neurofeedback are uncommon with Connected Brain Counseling, though clients sometimes will report a minor headache or agitation following the session that usually subsides within the next 24 hours.
Does Neurofeedback Therapy work for OCD?
Neurofeedback Therapy is a highly effective form of treatment for OCD.
One scientific study showed that all of the 36 patients who received neurofeedback training to treat their OCD showed improvement. More than two years later, the majority of patients in this study (19 individuals) maintained the improvements in their symptoms.
Another report by Foa, Steketee, and Ozarow (1985) on over 200 patients showed that 51% of 200 patients reduced their symptoms by at least 70% with this form of behavioral therapy.
Connected Brain Counseling's approach to treating OCD with neurofeedback starts with a qEEG Brain Map, a baseline assessment that measures electric activity on the surface of the skull that helps your clinician understand what parts of your brain are over working to create symptoms associated with OCD.
This informs your customized treatment program and can also guide a counseling program for your therapist, where they will use empirically backed methods proven to assist with symptoms of OCD.
Therapists Specializing in OCD and in Denver Colorado for Women
It is largely misunderstood that the perfectionist woman is actually a woman who is seeking safety. You may have been called Type A, an overachiever, a little controlling or another term that landed poorly with you. That can be tough feedback to swallow.
Our team of therapists (meet us here!) understands how perfectionism can bleed into all areas of life. At some point in history, doing things really really well likely was a positive coping mechanism for you! Maybe your parents were only showed affection when you got straight a's. Or, maybe your grandmother only praised you when you were at your thinnest. This type of reinforcement as a child teaches the perfectionist's brain that in order to be worthy, you must be perfect.
In the ever changing, complex world that we live in this is a losing game to play. We're here to tell you that vulnerability, authenticity and genuine connection is the water that puts out the fire of perfectionism. Rewiring your old thought processes to know that vulnerability can be safe and authenticity does feel better than being perfect is an uphill climb. But, if we know anything about your inner perfectionist...we know you are ready for the challenge.
Read the Research:
Neurofeedback for OCD
“Indeed, current results with OCD patients recommended that neurofeedback leads to a continuous or long-lasting effect for OCD even weeks after the end of the treatment (Rance et al., 2018).
Neurofeedback and Counseling as Integrative Treatment
“Neurofeedback training offers opportunities for rehabilitation through directly retraining brain activity. For clients with severe symptoms and resistance to many other treatments, neurofeedback has provided a new beginning and has offered hope.
In this paper, four cases of patients with presenting problems including insomnia, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression using this integrated treatment approach are presented. All participants in this case series experienced significant benefits.”
The effectiveness of neurofeedback training on attentional bias in people with obsessive compulsive disorder
“Attention bias refers to the differential allocation of attention to the threatening stimulus relative to the neutral stimulus. In fact, impaired attention and working memory can lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder. As a result, it is necessary to use treatment methods to improve working memory and attention in these patients in order to reduce the symptoms of obsessive compulsive patients. The present research uses a new neurofeedback method to investigate the effect of neurofeedback training on attentional bias in people with obsessive compulsive disorder.”
Predictors of neurofeedback training outcome: A systematic review
“Beyond the learning of self-regulation itself, a few studies reported predictors of farther-reaching functional consequences (e.g., symptom improvements) on OCD and ADHD. Within a group of OCD patients, Kopřivová et al. (2013) investigated the effectiveness of the independent component NF method, which allows for customized trainings as it is based on an individual diagnosis of pathological EEG sources.
For this purpose, 18 patients were randomly assigned to either real (n = 8) or sham NF (n = 10). The data analyses with standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography revealed that a high amount of delta and a low amount of alpha oscillations as well as a low amount of high beta activity before treatment were associated with poor treatment outcome (in terms of OCD symptoms).
Analyses indicated that patients in the NF group had a superior reduction in the compulsion score (56% vs. 21%) as compared with patients in the sham feedback group. However, investigations of differences in both symptoms together (obsessions and compulsions) indicated comparable improvements after NF and sham feedback. It is difficult to say under these circumstances whether the study indeed identified patients that are not able to profit from this NF training method or whether they identified patients that are generally more resistant to changes in symptoms.”
The Effectiveness of Psychoneurotherapy on Reducing Symptoms Severity in Treatment Naïve Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Washing
Results: Thirty patients completed this study. Despite some methodological limitations, our results indicated that psychoneurotherapy is significantly efficient on treatment’s target. ANCOVA results supported that PNT could significantly improve the severity of OCD symptoms, depression, stress, anxiety symptoms, and subjective united distress scale compared to what was seen in the sham feedback control group (All P<0.001).
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