New Client Guidelines

The following information will help you maximize the beneficial results from neurofeedback training sessions.

1.  The first session lasts 60 minutes and includes a history taking, detailed description of the problem, initial hook up, and EEG assessment 

2.. Each subsequent appointment is 45-50 minutes. This involves a progress review since the last session, hook up, 30-minutes of neurofeedback training, and rescheduling.  Please be on time.  If you are more than 15 minutes late, there may not be enough time to treat you for the entire 30 minutes.

3.  The importance of a high-protein diet.  The training sessions are like weight lifting for your brain.  A high-protein diet provides the essential building blocks to help the brain make the internal changes necessary for permanent results.  Therefore, some protein intake at every meal is recommended during the weeks you are seeing me.  Be sure to eat protein in your meal a few hours before each training session.  Try to not have a session on an empty stomach as it may slow your progress.

4. The importance of relaxation.   Sessions are most effective when you are relaxed in the chair with minimal tension in your jaw and face.  The ability to be relatively motionless, focused and calm during the 30 minute session is essential to help your brain to train at its maximum capacity.  Wearing comfortable clothing also helps.  Sessions are not recommended when you are having an excess of stress in your life.  If you are emotionally agitated, angry, grieving, or excessively irritated, it is not advised to participate in the training session.

5. Avoid the hot sun and strenuous exercise before a session.  A hot head and the agitation of recent strenuous exercise produce artifacts in the EEG that mask the real data.  Some people have naturally hot heads, and cooling the feet helps to reduce the EEG artifact.  If you have a fever, it's best to reschedule your session until after the fever is gone.

6. No drug or alcohol use 24 hours before a session.  Drugs and alcohol adversely affect brain function and drain valuable energy.  Also, it can produce EEG artifacts.  Therefore, the use of alcohol, marijuana, barbiturates, sedatives or such drugs are to be avoided a full day in advance of training.

7.  No magnetic products.  Any magnetic product may adversely affect the function of the computer operation during a session.  Please remove any magnetic insoles, jewelry, or ankle, back, elbow, knee, or wrist braces.

8.  Scalp cleanliness. Please wash your hair and use no hairspray or other hair treatments on the day of your session.  Hair spray, moose, oily hair, sprays, and sand from the beach can impair electrode connectivity and distort the data. 

9.  Data collection  I am active in conducting on-going research.  I will be using the data I collect from your EEG readings for the advancement of science and expanding the knowledge base of this innovative treatment.  With your signed agreement, I may publish the results of your single case or merge the data with others for a group study.  Either way, you will remain anonymous.  Before I submit any paper for publication, if your single case is being used, I will show you what I have written so that you agree on its anonymity. 

10. Commitment and communications.  Brain research shows that permanent learning occurs during each training session.  Permanent results appear with consistent repeated training sessions.  There are often ups and downs during the series of trainings.  Progress is more like the stock market going up. There are peaks and valleys, but overall there are gains. 

It is important that you remain committed to the process.  You don’t have to believe in it.  This is not a placebo.  I ask that you attend at least 10 sessions, then we can re-evaluate your progress and determine the best course for you to take.  Some feel better after the very first session.  Others need as many as 10 sessions before they can tell any difference.  More often, family members and close friends will notice a change before you will.  Ask them if they see any improvements as the weeks progress.  You may be changing in ways you didn’t expect.

Try to have realistic expectations.  Every brain is different and every dysfunction is different.  Some achieve remarkable success with this approach while others, only modest success.  A few have no success.  One cannot predict this.   We can only hope for the best, however, its important to understand that EEG neurofeedback cannot alleviate all problems for 100% of the population.

I encourage you to communicate about your feelings and results to me every visit.  This helps me to individualize and modify your training sessions to best meet your needs.  I appreciate and want your feedback.  It enhances your experience and results.  I look forward to the successful completion of your sessions.