Alcoholism

According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, nearly 14 million people in the United States--1 in every 13 adults--abuse alcohol or are alcoholic. The prevailing treatment model in this country is Alcoholics Anonymous.  While this works for many, there are a substantial number of people for whom AA is not necessarily the treatment of choice.  Neurofeedback represents an alternative approach to treating this serious problem.    

In 1989 Dr. Peniston and Dr. Kulkosky published the results of a highly innovative treatment method using neurofeedback. This therapy combined systematic desensitization, temperature biofeedback, guided imagery, constructed visualizations, rhythmic breathing, autogenic training, and alpha-theta EEG Neurofeedback to treat chronic alcoholism in male inpatients. Eighty percent of chronic alcoholics who had an average of more than ten years of daily inebriation were sober after their intensive three week Peniston Protocol training. They quit taking psychotropic drugs and showed significant changes on personality inventory tests. They maintained their sobriety for the full three years of the study. Ten years later, those men are still sober.  This study has been replicated.

In general, most of my clients start with several sessions of neurofeedback training to stabilize brain functioning before using the alpha-theta protocol.  Each person is different and I tailor the  program to meet the individual needs of the person.  Sometimes I recommend reading the book, Rational Recovery by Jack Trimpey, as his ideas are closer to mine for recovery.

The original Peniston Protocol training is designed for treating alcoholism in an inpatient hospital unit.  All my sessions are done in an office and not in a hospital and a modified Peniston Protocol is used.  

References:

Peniston, E.G. & Kulkosky, P.J. (1989). Alpha-theta brainwave training and beta endorphin levels in alcoholics. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Results, 13(2), 271-279.

Peniston, E.G. & Kulkosky, P.J. (1989, 1995). The Peniston/Kulkosky Brainwave Neurofeedback Therapy for Alcoholism and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders: Medical Psychotherapist Manual. Certificate of Copyright Office. The Library of Congress, 1-25.