Neurofeedback Training in Florida

 

Florida is an important place for neurofeedback.  It is the home of the Florida Biofeedback Society which is based in Boynton Beach, Florida.  This is one of the most active biofeedback organizations in the nation.  It is a resource for potential clients looking for biofeedback and neurofeedback providers.  The website is  http://www.floridabiofeedback.org/  They also have workshops where providers can receive training and continuing education credit.  The Florida Biofeedback Society offers a membership that includes a subscription to its Florida Biofeedback publication, networking opportunities, as well as other perks.

Applied Neurosciences Inc. is an EEG software company based in Saint Petersburg, Florida.   They develop software for clinical and research applications of EEG including brain mapping and neurofeedback training.  The company was founded by Robert Thatcher.  Their flagship software product is the NeuroGuide software program.  It is one of the most known and important software programs in the neurofeedback field.  Many neurofeedback practitioners use NeuroGuide and other Applied Neurosciences software.

There are many drug treatment centers in Florida partly due to the continuing opioid problems there.  Neurofeedback is also used as a therapy for substance abuse.  Although only some centers currently offer neurofeedback, I expect that more of these centers will be offering this service.

Florida is a popular retirement destination.  Incontinence is a problem that many older people suffer with.  Biofeedback is an excellent therapeutic intervention for incontinence.  Its efficacy is highly rated.

Many older people are also concerned with loss of cognitive function and memory.  Neurofeedback is effective for improving cognitive function and shows promise in the area of memory because of its ability to stimulate neuronal connections.

Another important connection between biofeedback and Florida is Dr. Bernie Brucker.  He was the director of the Brucker Biofeedback Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.  He served as past president of the Academy of Rehabilitation Psychology, past President of the State of Florida Brain and Spinal Injury Advisory Council Association, and president of the Academy of Rehabilitation Psychology and the Florida Brain Injury Association.  He was known for using surface EMG biofeedback and operant condition protocols for helping people with paralysis and other disorders, regain muscle function in Southern Florida.

As you can see, neurofeedback and biofeedback training are well established and important in the state of Florida.  I am looking fo biofeedback training rward to continuing to help people get started in learning these skills by offering training in the area.  Training opportunities are posted at www.biofeedbackinternational.comas well as www.bcia.org

Harry L. Campbell

914-762-4646 – Harry@biofeedbackinternational.com

Author of What Stress Can Do, Available on Amazon.com

Biofeedback Resources International Corp.

More Info :  Neurofeedback Training in Florida

Neurofeedback Equipment Applications

 

What is neurofeedback equipment used for?  It is used for assessment, clinical therapy, and performance enhancement/peak performance.  There is also medical EEG equipment that is used diagnostically without the purpose of using the EEG measurement therapeutically.  I will not be addressing medical EEG equipment in this article.  Neurofeedback means that the EEG is being measured and the data fed back to the subject in a way that they can learn to regulate the activity.

There are a variety of devices from ones that measure from one location on the head to ones that measure up to 32 or more locations on the brain.  The ones with 19 or more channels are designed for doing brain mapping.  During this process, EEG data is recorded from 19 or more sites.  The accompanying software compares the data to that from a normative database to determine which locations have “normal” activity and which have an activity that is 1, 2, 3, or more standard deviations lower or higher than normal.  This information, along with information from a client intake, is used to determine if dysregulated EEG activity is associated with presenting symptoms.  A protocol is recommended or developed to then train the brain using the neurofeedback equipment to a more regulated state with the hopes of decreasing symptoms.

The follow-up neurofeedback training sessions may be done with the same 19 or more channel systems or equipment with fewer channels.  Even 1 channel can be used to train EEG activity to change in a single area.  Some other protocols require 2-4 channels so that the left and right and or front and back of the brain can be trained at the same time.  19 or more channels may be trained so that the entire brain is trained including certain networks, or different areas that work together can be trained together.

Examples of the clinical applications of neurofeedback equipment include ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder), Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and Substance Abuse.

Examples of non-clinical peak performance/performance enhancement applications include improving cognitive function for academic performance, reducing test anxiety for academic performance, reducing anxiety and improving focus for sports or other types of performance, and using neurofeedback equipment as an aid for helping people to get into a meditative state by monitoring brain wave activity and giving feedback when the brain is in a meditative state and when it is not.

Harry L. Campbell

914-762-4646 – Harry@biofeedbackinternational.com

Author of What Stress Can Do, Available on Amazon.com

Biofeedback Resources International Corp.

www.biofeedbackinternational.com

More info :   Neurofeedback Equipment Applications

Performance/life Enhancement Training Integrating Biofeedback with Special Emphasis on Neurofeedback

 

R. Adam Crane BCIA Senior Fellow, BCIAEEG, NRNP Diplomate

This is an edited excerpt from our forthcoming book, The Process, and given as a talk at the Palm Springs Neurofeedback conference in February 1998.

I’m Adam Crane, president of American BioTec and CapScan corporations. We have decided to substantially increase our commitment to the emerging art and science of Peak Performance, Optimum Functioning, or as we prefer to call it Performance / Life Enhancement. We have introduced the term MindFitness which we believe will work well as informal language for the general public. BioFeedback and especially NeuroFeedback is a critically important component of our first program, which is called The Process- MindFitness- Stage I .

We believe that NeuroFeedback provides a niche opportunity in the MindFitness, sub clinical symptom, educational market for those practitioners ready and able to enhance their own lives by making a place for themselves in this already huge and growing field. Those of you who want to get into the nitty gritty of our program, The Process, can come to our workshop or even better our three-day training program in June. But the purpose of this talk is to try to overview the big picture together and perhaps suggest some ways we can improve cooperation, creativity and productivity in our field.

As we enter this adventure of the mind (body & spirit) one of the earliest challenges we face is communication – what we really mean with each other. There already exists and is evolving both a formal and an informal language. The better we understand and use that language the more the phenomenon of intelligence unfolds in our own individual lives and like a stone hitting the water spreads in waves touching the lives of others. In some cases igniting these concepts in their minds, in other cases adding fuel to a flame already begun. For me the term Peak Performance refers to a subset of what we are so excited about. I prefer the admittedly awkward / double barreled term of Performance/Life Enhancement . Optimum Functioning has a nice feel to it as well, but for this talk let’s adopt Performance Life Enhancement or MindFitness. The director of the Center for Performance Enhancement at West Point military academy recently joined our faculty. Note they have been using the term Performance Enhancement for many years.

I’m sure everyone in this room already understands there is something extraordinary emerging out of the marriage of MindFitness and sublclinical symptoms with NeuroFeedback. It is also clear that we are all doing rather different versions of it. Frankly, I believe our version, dubbed The Process, may be self limiting because we are extremely aggressive about making it as heuristic a program as possible (define) and we have some unusual ideas about the role that winning and competition play in determining quality of life. We define heuristic as the method in which the learners discover for themselves while reducing dependence on past experience and outside authority to the minimum wisdom deems necessary.

Now, we think we can adapt our program to a number of different markets (Business, Education, Sports, Art and Personal Growth) and still stay true to heuristic principles but the proof is in the doing. Rob Kall challenged me to outline our two-hour workshop in one paragraph and although we go much further than this.

That paragraph reads:

1. Garfield is correct, the most important thing is a sense of mission. NeuroFeedback can play a powerful role in the alignment of that sense of mission with highest personal values. This adds power.
2. MindFitness is already a substantial industry. NeuroFeedback is adjunctive and provides a niche opportunity if used extremely skillfully. We are tiny tree frogs ambitiously contemplating conquering the sea.
3. One of the critical keys to success in this field is a training program that stands on its own with or without NeuroFeedback. Being forced to walk the talk is an uncomfortable blessing of infinite potential.
4. MindFitness transcends the limitations of managed care and attracts trendsetters thereby feeding the clinical practice at the same time.
5. The NeuroFeedback component of Performance Life Enhancement requires more training time than clinical NeuroFeedback. Therefore, equipment and per capita training costs must dramatically decrease in order to reach more of the population. This means group training and quality personal trainers.

The purpose of this brief talk is to share with you our view of the big picture and some sense of the underpinnings of our model. Some of these thoughts may be repeated in the workshop since a number of the people coming to the workshop are not with us today. Our view of the best way to deliver The Process is to script the entire 20 hour program… i.e. so many minutes for this concept or exercise, etc

More info :  Performance/life Enhancement Training Integrating Biofeedback with Special Emphasis on Neurofeedback

Slow Waves, Profound Attention, a Compass for the Gifted Thinker

 Presentation at 2nd Annual SSNR Meet Las Vegas May 1994

The late Edward’s Deming is arguably the most inspiring statistical engineer and business thinker of the century. He introduced the term “Profound Knowledge” in order to differentiate between the kind of knowledge which really breeds quality and healthy growth and far less effective even counter productive forms of knowledge.

The historian Oswald Spengler said that a hypothesis does not have to be absolutely correct as long as it is useful. A number of people have told me they consider the following hypothesis useful.

This hypothesis holds that thought is matter and (like movies) thinking is a material process and an image making process based on memory. Furthermore, high order, what could be termed the capability for “Profound Attention” is probably the most important asset a human being can have.

The Capacity for “Profound Attention” can in many if not most human beings be enhanced. This enhanced, “Profound Attention” carries with it the capability of conscious observation of thought and the implications of this are that this ability to watch oneself think is the healthiest possible way to manage and improve the quality of thought. This observation itself is a kind of “field”. Einstein said, “The field is the soul governing agency of the particles”. In this case the particles are thought. The implication follows that one of the most effective ways in the history of learning to enhance this “Profound Attention” and improve the quality of thought is slow wave, relatively synchronous Neurofeedback training.

This hypothesis further asserts that as cartographers of consciousness, we are now being forced to define much more carefully terms that have hitherto been taken far too much for granted. We must now come to much more precise definitions of intelligence, thinking, imagery which transcends thinking, attention, etc in order to clarify what we really want to reach for.

If the ancients (and many of the modern masters) are correct and the problem is that psychothenia, over thinking, “unconscious” or unobserved thinking is the fundamental barrier to the natural intelligence and creativity latent in humans and if it is true that in most “normals” slow wave (ALPHA/THETA) but mostly mid-range ALPHA training can enhance the ability to profoundly attend to internal (thought, archetypical imagery, etc) and external phenomena simultaneously, in real time, then indeed ALPHA/THETA Neurofeedback, skillfully managed is one of the most valuable educational tools ever developed.

More info :  Slow Waves, Profound Attention, a Compass for the Gifted Thinker

The Hidden Challenge in Alcohol and Drug Abuse

 

Alcohol and drugs are essential to my creative process” is a thought, sometimes a confession made, usually privately, by millions of creative people, many of them at the pinnacle of success in their fields. Yet, I have heard very little serious discussion by substance abuse professionals about the profound implications of this phenomenon.

Some say that psychoactive drugs will be with us forever and maybe they will. However, my life improved immensely and was probably saved by my liberating myself from the pleasures, enthusiastic bursts of creativity and agonies of alcohol and smoke.

In fact, our society has declared a “war” on drugs and a sort of “police action” on alcohol. Humorous, isn’t it since far more damage is done in the aggregate by alcohol than by all other drugs combined? As a society we believe that we must solve this catastrophic problem; or at least understand it enough so that we reduce the destructive pressure on our culture. Having come from a family of beautiful people who have been tragically impacted by alcohol and other drugs, I have had an intense interest in how and why this disaster happened to my dearest loves and beyond that to our civilization as a whole. What is the most effective way to heal the damage already done and reduce the problem in the future?

This led me into one of the most fascinating investigations of my life. I delved deeply into all of the conventional wisdom I could find… and I did most of my investigation while continuing to drink and smoke. I was what you call a highly functional substance abuser. In fact, my problem was never diagnosed by a professional or even a friend. I had to come to the realization that I had a substance abuse problem through self study.

Self study which involved a lot of EEG biofeedback and meditation.

In the course of these studies I had what I think is at least a relatively original insight. This insight enabled me to walk away from the substances that had become so integrated with my own intellectual, creative, even spiritual life. This personal discovery made by many millions of others before me was that I must quit all by myself. Another critical aspect of the discovery provided the burning sense of mission required to be successful as well as the realization that I must discover how to do this as though it was being done for the first time ever. The path to success came to me in a number of progressive meditative reveries.

The kind of energy needed to go deeply within the mind (meditation-contemplation) is constantly dissipated by psychoactive drugs. This means that the very energy needed to “make one’s life work”, to get work done, to be innovative and to have the sensitivity to make one’s relationships better is absent. For me, the concept of meditation, profound attention learning…entering deeply into the creative process, became so incredibly alluring that I realized I had to quit because that is the only way to get the energy and sensitivity needed for the next stages of this immense journey.

Although I have discussed this concept with a number of substance abuse colleagues, the response is (with a few exceptions) usually cool and even uneasy as though admitting that alcohol and other drugs can actually stimulate the creative process will unleash the forces of hell.

Yet, I believe that until we recognize the power that alcohol and other drugs has to influence creativity in the normal human being and offer another, superior way to stimulate and lubricate the creative mind we are fighting our war on drugs with water pistols.

More info :  The Hidden Challenge in Alcohol and Drug Abuse

The History of Muscle Dysfunction and SEMG

 Jeffrey R. Cram, PhD and Maya Durie, MEd, CMT

Abstract

The history of muscle pain and dysfunction is viewed through the lens of a four factor theory of histologic (tissue related) issues, psychologic (emotional) issues, sensory motor (movement) issues and biomechanical (postural) issues. The historical antecedents of both bodywork and surface electromyography are reviewed.

Key words: Surface EMG, SEMG, bodywork, trigger points, posture, emotions, movement.

Note: Parts of this article have appeared in The History of SEMG, Jour App Psychophys and Biof, In Press.

Humans have had to deal with sore muscles since the beginning of time. Initially, muscle assessments and treatments were conducted by hand and during the last century, the use of electronic instruments came into play.

To put muscle function and the clinical use of Surface electromyography (SEMG) into a perspective of history, is seems prudent to utilize a broad nomothetic net or conceptual framework. In Clinical Applications for Surface Electromyography, Kasman, Cram and Wolf (1998) consider chronic muscle dysfunction from a four fold perspective: Histologic (Tissue related issues); Psychologic (Psychophysiology and Emotions), Sensorimotor (Movement) and Mechanical Dysfunction (Cumulative Trauma, Posture etc). In this article we will provide a brief historical overview related to each of these four areas. This will provide a deep background for the emergence of the clinical use of SEMG, including information on the history of body work, psychophysiology, rehabilitation and the emergence of electricity and SEMG instrumentation.

Tissue Related Issues

We will begin with issues pertaining to the tissues of the body. The muscle, as an organ system, contains many sensory mechanisms. The muscle spindles tell the nervous system about the instantaneous length and force of contraction of segments of muscle tissue. The golgi tendon organ measures the actual force which the muscle is exerting and the rufini nucleus of the joints informs the nervous system of the relationship of angles of the bones. However, it is the free nerve ending within the muscle that senses local pain. And it is metabolic disturbances such as too much (lactic) acid or too much internal pressure due to swelling, congestion or edema, which activate the free nerve ending.

From a clinical point of view, up until the last two centuries, palpation and observations about movement and posture were the only tools available for assessing muscle oriented pain. Through the manual sense of touch, the practitioner can learn to feel many things. Is the muscle tissue hard to the touch? Does it feel stiff? Does it have lumps, tough fibers, etc. or is it soft, supple and relaxed? What does the fascia feel like? Is there a normal cranial-sacral rhythm? As you move the body passively through its range of motion, does it seem restricted suggesting a shortened muscle resting length? During active movement, does it appear that the body is using the correct muscles for the movement or is there a substitution pattern? Is the patient afraid of movement due to pain? Has a trauma become lodged in the nervous system or even the muscle tissue itself? Can one see or feel problems with ligament laxities or joint fixations? These are just some of the examples of questions we want to address, both by hand and by instrument. . Thus, one could think of body work as a means to help normalize the disturbance of tissue that might foster and create muscle pain and SEMG as an instrumented way of assessing some of these conditions.

More Info :  The History of Muscle Dysfunction and SEMG

The Marriage of Technology and Consciousness

R. Adam Crane BCIA, ACN, NRNP

The following chapter is excerpted by permission from Mr. Crane’s forthcoming book.

What is “R – Tech” (Relationship Technology) and Consciousness Processing Technology? What are the implications for Neurofeedback, Biofeedback, Applied Psychophysiology, the evolution of science, our individual and collective mental health?

August 10, 1994 I had the opportunity to present at the Forum co sponsored by the Wisdom Society and the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center. The Forum was conceived as an opportunity to exchange ideas on “The Place of Science and Technology in our Culture”.

Since I feel that the material that emerged in that presentation may be useful to others and (all things being relative) I feel the evening went well, I would like to offer this edited version of that talk.

We intend to communicate with each other at the highest level we can and to create an atmosphere that is as conducive as possible to individual and group creative thinking. Together we make up a kind of mind field (not mine field I hope). If it is true that the learning is the doing and multi sensory, multi dimensional awareness is part of the technology of consciousness, perhaps we can practice these principles as we work together. Then possibly something altogether unexpected, creative may emerge.

May I suggest that as you read this you experiment with me? You will probably be more comfortable and get more out of this short time together if you scan your body, notice if you are holding your shoulders up, look for unnecessary muscle tension, breathe normally, deeply and comfortably. Be aware of all that you can in the room. Loose your belt if it is too tight. Breathing should be relaxed and deep and your stomach should be free to move in and out. If you have eaten or you are tired and feel like taking a nap or even meditating and you close your eyes, be as aware as you can of what is going on around you and within you.

As you are able, please watch the thoughts and feelings that arise inside you (and outside too) as we work together in a spirit of play. To paraphrase Marshal McLuhan, “Those who think education and entertainment are two different things probably do not understand either one very well”. Parts of this discussion may be difficult, controversial, even fun. What is most important is to watch your feelings arise and change.

I would like to examine one of the greatest (depending on how you define technology) perhaps the greatest challenge humanity faces.

In October of 1970 one of my best friends died of cancer. Tom was only 41. Afterwards I took a long weekend at our little country house in Rhinebeck, New York. I had spent a rather dreamy day sitting by the lake contemplating The Big Picture. Dagne, my wife, suggested that I read a magazine article entitled “Alpha, The Wave of the Future”. I promptly read it because I had learned that she had an uncanny way of planting very good ideas in my mind at just the right time.

During the next twenty four-hours I had a kind of classic creative experience. Decades of contemplation and thought seemed to converge with a euphoric, laser like intensity. It seemed as though one of the greatest scientific and spiritual stories of our time was creating itself before my eyes. And I was being invited to immerse myself in an almost unimaginably great work.

The next day I entered full time into what has turned out to be an astonishing, scientific art form, a business and a series of adventures leading me to this discussion here with you. I sold my old business and plunged headlong into the strange, paradoxical, controversial field soon to be called by inadequate terms like Biofeedback, Applied Psychophysiology and Instrument Assisted Transactional Psychophysiology. I like to think of it as.

More Info :  The Marriage of Technology and Consciousness