Northwest Texas Healthcare System Behavioral Health® offers comprehensive behavioral health services, including biofeedback and neurofeedback. By controlling the power of your mind and becoming aware of what is going on inside your body, you can help better manage your mental health and well-being.
What Is Biofeedback Therapy?
Biofeedback therapy is a non-drug treatment provided by licensed therapists through which you learn to control the way your body functions, particularly those processes that are normally involuntary, such as breathing rate, temperature, muscle tension or heart rate. Controlling these involuntary functions can help you manage certain mental health conditions such as:
- Addiction
- Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Anxiety/Depression
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
How Biofeedback Works
Electronic sensors monitor bodily functions such as breathing rate, temperature, muscle tension and heart rate. This information is fed back via cues on a screen such as waves, sounds or video, teaching you how to change or control your body’s reactions by changing thoughts, emotions or behaviors. This feedback helps you make subtle changes in your body to better manage stress and anxiety and ultimately achieve your desired level of well-being.
Benefits of Biofeedback
- Noninvasive
- Medication-free (low risk of negative side effects)
- Effective used alone, in place of medications or with other behavioral health therapies
What is Neurofeedback?
The brain is always self-monitoring its electrochemical activities and adjusting them based on feedback from certain cues, but various stressors can disrupt this process and lead to mental health issues. Neurofeedback entails the use of a computer electroencephalograph (EEG) program, which processes brain signals and provides information about various brainwave frequencies.
How Neurofeedback Works
During a neurofeedback session, you may sit in a chair to watch a movie or play a video game with the program’s sensors on your head. The sensors monitor your brainwaves and eventually an understanding of them is developed. When positive or desired patterns in the brainwaves are found, the sensors relay cues to the program, which then modifies what appears on screen, directing your brainwave activity toward more desirable and controlled patterns. After a certain number of sessions, your brain connects certain brainwaves with positive outcomes and gradually is trained to function at its most effective level, resulting in better management of stress, anxiety and depression, impulsivity, sleep patterns and/or mental clarity.
Benefits of Neurofeedback
- Non-invasive and pain free
- Immediate feedback when brainwaves improve and automatic adjustment by the brain
- Increased engagement with treatment plan
- Fewer medications often needed when incorporated with overall treatment plan
