Personalised Brain training for mind and soul
Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training
Alpha Theta neurofeedback training guides the brain through gentle oscillations between alpha and theta dominant states. The idea is that memories are accessed during theta dominance that can then be safely processed during alpha modulation.
Theta and alpha refer to different frequency bands of prevalent brain activity. When the slower, theta, is dominant, our brain is typically closer to sleep and our cortical activity is lower, in favour of more basic, sub-cortical structures. Alpha is a state of disconnected relaxation, and represents the core organisational frequency of our cortex. Each state activates a different part of the salience network, and reflects a mental transition between awake and pre-sleep, or shifting from extra- to intrapersonal based processing.
A session is usually thirty minutes, or multiples thereof, as the brain takes a few minutes to settle before commencing its alpha – theta modulation. The transitions between alpha and theta dominance are often visible on the EEG monitor, as they appear as ‘cross-overs’ every few minutes. Should a participant transition into actual sleep, delta activity will increase visibly. Sufficient mental calming before starting alpha theta training helps maximise training effects.
Alpha Theta training is done in a quiet room with minimal sensory input. The feedback is auditory, as two different but related soundscapes (e.g. waves vs. waterfall) smoothly transition, indicating to the brain which state is prevalent (alpha or theta). Participants describe the experience as intensely relaxing, sometimes emotional, and compare it to a power nap, feeling mentally and emotionally refreshed.
Neurofeedback Alpha-Theta training can be combined with guided imagery to address and process more complex, specific issues. It can also serve as a complement to cognitive psychotherapeutic approaches. Additionally, alpha-theta training has been shown to improve creativity and musical performance.
In preparation of Alpha Theta training, we recommend Personalised Brain Training based on a qEEG brain map.
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Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training
Trauma and anxiety cloud our perception and curtail a positive outlook. We discuss the various manifestations of each lower down this page.
Left untreated, a negative feedback loop can ensue: We lose synchrony with our environment, resulting in reduced drive, motivation, activity, interaction, recuperation (sleep) and functionality. What’s more, this traps us in a cycle that makes effective social contact more difficult, and thus deprives us of further options.
Trauma and Anxiety are a result of inefficient sensory processing. The understanding of our environment which we obtain from our senses does not relate to that experienced by others. We become unable to synchronise and share a reality, a core requirement for human interaction. It is a road to isolation, in particular perceived solitude.
Perception and emotional response start in the head, though their manifestations can quickly become physical. Pain perception has clear neural correlates. With a Kaiser Neuromap we can identify dysrhythmia of relevant brain areas, both emotional and physical, and then train these with neurofeedback.
We are restoring the brain’s ability to digest past events, look positively into the future and engage effectively in the present. It is a forward-looking approach that is also holistic – as well as training brain areas responsible for arousal, mood and vigilance, we restore focus, drive and motivation, thus restoring self-confidence in a multi-faceted way.
With a Kaiser Neuromap, we can assess vulnerabilities and treat these with neurofeedback in a non-invasive, enjoyable and medication-free way.
Case Study: Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Depression
Camilla had been diagnosed with anxiety, panic attacks, associated insomnia and mild depression. She was prescribed two anti-depressants – Mirtazapine and and SSRI – which she was able to reduce to a minimum dose over time. During the last three years however, she had six relapses, each following a similar pattern: Stress (emotional and work-related) and fatigue precipitated intrusive thoughts and worries, setting off a familiar path of insomnia; consequently higher anxiety, increased stress levels leading to panic attacks and depressive symptoms. The first few episodes were stabilised by resuming Mirtazapine, which helped restore sleep. The subsequent ones however failed to respond, taking months to stabilise sleep and reduce anxiety, which involved having to take time off work. In addition, she began to have somatisations, beginning in the spine and ultimately reaching her face. Migraines began to reappear when she became excessively tired.
Guided by a brain map, we began doing neurofeedback training twice a week. Camilla’s sleep became sound after the second session – “I feel pleasantly knocked out” – and she decided to reduce her Mirtazapine dose gradually in accordance with her prescribing GP. After eight sessions (four weeks) she was on the lowest dose, and even this left her feeling very groggy in the morning. Camilla had regained confidence in her ability to fall asleep, and stopped using Mirtazapine completely. Her anxiety levels were at their lowest, and she had began to work again, leaving a corporate environment to work with children in a mental health setting – a stressful yet engaging and meaningful activity. Her motivation had reached new levels, and she felt stable and confident, which showed in her stance and demeanour.
Ten sessions of neurofeedback training (each two hours) were sufficient to stabilise Camilla, restore her ability to sleep, and the confidence therein, as well as improving sense of self-worth, focus and motivation. She has not felt the need to use Mirtazapine again since.
Three months later, Camilla reports a major improvement in how she is able to set boundaries, both at work and in her personal life, and not neglecting her own well-being.
Case Study: Intensive Neurofeedback Training
An example of a one-week intensive neurofeedback training course in London produced the pictured result. We were able to stabilise brain function by eliminating crucial psychosis and trauma markers.
Cognitively, this manifested in a new sense of calm, groundedness and self-confidence. Sensory overload, auditory sensitivity and thought confusion were substantially reduced.
Note results may vary.
Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is essentially when we’re not expanding – when we are restrained in our ability to unfold our personality, ambitions and realise our dreams.
This can be precipitated by specific events, or an aggregation of contributing factors to our inability to self-nurture.
Our ability to find emotional security becomes impaired, and we begin to worry about the future, ruminate about the past. We become subtly detached from the moment and its meaning. This is the beginning of mental health issues.
Alpha Theta training provides a way of gently returning the brain from certain patterns of dissociation and process these with appropriate detachment and rationale. Neurofeedback training then helps the brain to restore functionality and resolve these in a forward-looking manner. We recommend ongoing neurofeedback training with alpha theta training.
Typical Symptoms of Trauma and PTSD
– Ruminating about the past, worrying about the future
– feeling judged or hypersensitive to how people approach us
– not feeling safe in the world, hypervigilance
– isolation, not feeling part of a group or cause
– difficulty sleeping and concentrating
– depression; various forms of anxiety
– reduced compassion and empathy; emotional numbness
– various degrees of dissociation from one’s previous emotional and physical life
– physical numbness; pain, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia
- Trauma is fundamentally an inability to self-nurture – creating an emotional safe-space around us – and self-soothe – being able to talk ourselves down rationally from a situation. This can also manifest in dissociation and heightened pain perception, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. We ruminate about the past and worry about the future, instead of being able to enjoy the present.
- Our autonomic nervous system is primed to produce sympathetic nervous system responses, or fight-flight-freeze mode. This wears us down, as it is more energy intensive, our recuperation periods are shortened and we can even become used to the adrenalinergic buzz of being in hypervigilant overdrive. It becomes a safe space. Our pain perception is altered and fluctuates between numbness and hypersensitivity. Deprived of a ‘calm’ reference state, we become vulnerable to overattributing emotions to sensations.
Dissociation is another phenomenon that can ensue, and this can be subtle and paroxysmal. Engagement of defensive mechanisms is triggered pre-, or subconsciously. This can compromise our ability to rationally self-soothe – the role of our prefrontal cortex. Instead, our limbic system is primed. We also lose our emotional sense of safety. The integrity of our Default Mode Network is challenged, as is the natural transition between its activation and that of the Task Positive Network. We are less able to regulate engagement with our environment and the neurological basis for our sense of self is under threat.
There are distinct brain areas regulating pain, physical sensations and our self-awareness, and we can train these with neurofeedback. We can also train brain areas with strong connections to sub-cortical structures that regulate our autonomic nervous system, including the amygdala and our reticular activating (or limbic) system. Our brain is ultimately in charge of trauma response, and with neurofeedback we can assess vulnerability to its various submodalities, and address these with training. This is evidence-based and effective.
– Ruminating about the past, worrying about the future
The first indication that we are experiencing trauma / PTSD is when we find ourselves not living in the present. Enjoyment of the moment and social interaction is clouded by constant ruminations about the past, and worries about the future. We are unable to ‘let go’, relax, and grasp opportunities as they present themselves in the Now.
We are plagued by intrusive thoughts that bring us back to events in the past, which needn’t even be related to a traumatic event, but which remind us of some inadequacy and amplify our self-doubt. Feelings of shame and guilt come into the picture as well, further eroding our self-confidence. “How can I be happy and enjoy this after what has happened?”. Similarly, our perception of the future is shrouded in worry and fearful anticipation. Uncertainty is our greatest foe, our perception of safety is unhinged by any doubt as to what could happen next.
The absence of a plan becomes a concern, the lack of clarity as to what’s around the corner a burden. Negativity associated with the past deprives us of hope. We are thus unable to see uncharted territories ahead as an opportunity, and much rather dwell on impending threats.
Indeed, our system is primed to protect us, and we are in survival mode. This process becomes self-feeding as we become addicted to the hyper-arousal our sense of fear induces. Our sense of joy and looking forward to fun becomes clouded to the extent we forget and no longer yearn it. Detachment sets in, further isolating us from feelings that previously motivated us. This process can even start slow and subtly, yet the cycle is self-fulfilling and deprives us of the necessary perspective to break and get out.
– feeling judged or hypersensitive to how people approach us
In Personalised Brain Training, our definition of trauma is wider. We include for example perceived loss of social standing, which can be either the cause or the consequence of a traumatic event or development. The perceived loss of social position results in us feeling judged. We become hypersensitive to how people approach us, talk to us, deal with us.
This is a subjective concept, as it should be, given that trauma should be recognised as an issue of perception by the affected person, rather than a concept being ‘awarded’ by an unrelated party, though external affirmation can help and medical advice should be sought in any event. As humans, social recognition is a critical component of our biological drive to propagate. Attraction relies on this, which ultimately leads to bonding.
Consequently, there are numerous brain areas devoted to, or involved in, the assessment of our position with regard to others. When our self-perception is assailed, or even the viability of our self is questioned, we are naturally shaken. Various brain areas become dysrhythmic. These include areas responsible for our body control and awareness, and many therapies focus on engaging the body and somatosensory system with a view to inducing cerebral changes.
However, this is only a part of the picture – there are many, arguably more powerful neuronal centres in the brain that are affected by trauma, and with a Kaiser Neuromap and Default Network Training (together, Personalised Brain Training), we can assess the issues more accurately, completely and efficiently, as well as then successfully training the brain to overcome trauma and setting ourselves on course for a positive trajectory.
– not feeling safe in the world, hypervigilance
Another consequence of trauma is that we may feel unable to rationally assert a sense of safety. This is different to self-nurture, or an emotional sense of safety. When we are unable to talk ourselves down from a situation we lose the ability to effectively regulate our moods, to switch off when we need to, and ultimately can become excessively paranoid.
There are neural correlates for this behaviour, and we can asses this with a Kaiser Neuromap. Safety and assurance are core needs we are programmed to seek to fulfil. Authority and role models help us in this quest. When we become dysregulated in our ability to self-soothe, we are also compromised in our ability to find paternal guidance. As a result, we tend to over-idolise figures who seemingly exude strength and power, or disobey completely and become unnecessarily rebellious – both immature behaviour patterns. Resetting this balance is crucial to achieving calming, regulated emotions, reduced hypervigilance and controlling impulsiveness. Personalised Brain Training lets us achieve this.
When hypervigilance persists untreated, we face further problems.
Physically, our heart beats faster and harder, more of the time, which is a clear stress on our system.
Mentally, we become prone to developing intrusive thoughts, even when we are able to relax, and more so when we are stressed, where these can take on third-person character, a voice in our head. This can have a destabilising effect, not least because we are now spending energy ‘defeating’ other perspectives we are internally engaged with, and thus distracting us from the ‘now’. Being on hyper-alert can also make us more susceptible to feeling relational to sensory input, in that we feel that everything is directed at us, which can set us up for psychosis.
![ARAS Ascending Reticular Activating System and performance curve with different levels of physiological arousal; we can train our ability to find and be stable at the optimum level of physiological arousal with neurofeedback training]](https://neurofeedback.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ARAS-for-Website.png)
– isolation, not feeling part of a group or cause
As we lose our ability to enjoy the moment, our social interactions suffer. Exercising our social brain keeps us alive and forms the basis for sound mental health. Our brains are adaptive, and we need to provide stimulus to maintain connections and sustain flexibility. Isolation deprives us of many necessary exercises. For example, brain areas that deal with face recognition also respond to affective interactions and the ability to discriminate between emotional content of faces. We need to keep training these brain areas through social interaction in order to maintain emotional recognition – it is not a surprise that perpetual mask-wearing heightens our social anxiety (aside from adverse physical effects).
Social recognition, a key component of our biological need to attract and bond, is driven by sensory interpretations. Again, we need to exercise brain areas that contribute to this, including language and speech generation and comprehension, auditory sensitivity, and monitoring rewards for actions, both directly and vicariously. Our mirror neuron system contributes towards learning from others’ mistakes or examples, and consequently the storage of social rules necessary for constructive functioning in a society.
Inclusion is imperative to establishing a healthy self-image or sense of self. This in turn is crucial to forming stable relationships with friends, family and forming healthy alliances necessary for personal and professional progression. When we lose our sense of belonging to a group or cause, we may become unstable in our self-perception and our relationships with others. The effect may snowball into perceptions of abandonment, feelings of emptiness and dissociation; this in turn correlates with mood dysregulation, impulsive and often dangerous behaviours, intrusive thoughts and potential self-harm.
With Personalised Brain Training, we can assess vulnerability to these traits as they manifest in functional brain area dysrhythmia that shows in a Kaiser Neuromap; with Default Network Training, an advanced form of neurofeedback, we can train these brain areas and networks in a holistic manner to help re-establish balance. This enables us to reconnect with our environment and re-enter a positive feedback loop.
– difficulty sleeping and concentrating
Sleep is adversely affected by trauma. First, the mind needs to ‘let go’ in order to enter deeper sleep cycles, which is a challenge for many. Excessive rumination and intrusive thoughts can hinder this, as does the loss of our ability to rationally calm ourselves down. The depth of our sleep is governed by our ability to self-nurture and create an emotional ‘safe space’. Homeostasis during various sleep stages is governed by other parts of our brain, some still involving the cortex. With a Kaiser Neuromap we can detect dysrhythmia in the relevant brain areas and train these accordingly with Default Network Training (together, Personalised Brain Training).
Focus and organisation suffers as a consequence of sleep issues. This time, different brain areas are affected, which we can also train. When we are unable to concentrate and produce our best output, we become demotivated and our mood and sense of self suffer. Again, there are brain areas responsible for these aspects of being, for which we can again detect dysrhythmia and provide neurofeedback training. The process is holistic – many components have to work together effectively for us to function optimally.
– depression; various forms of anxiety
Mood regulation suffers when we lose social integration, sleep and focus. Neurofeedback training found to significantly help 80% of people with depression by aiming to restore motivation, improving sleep and focus, and reducing anxiety.
There are numerous potential cortical contributors to depression, and with a brain map we can see vulnerabilities.
Neurofeedback training lets us address these as well as establish a generally improved sense of well-being in a holistic manner. he positive effects of neurofeedback training have been shown to be lasting. Neurofeedback is non-invasive and medication-free.
There are multiple types of anxiety, each correlating with one or more brain areas being dysrhythmic:
- Social anxiety: When we’re in a situation with other people and our understanding of the social dynamics and complexities is overwhelmed.
- Sensory overload: our brain interprets all sensory stimulus as directed to ourselves. We lose the ability to discern what is directed at us, and which matters or interactions are of no concern to us. This sets us up for panic attacks and ultimately psychosis. It also means we become singular in our perspective, unable to take on other points of view
- Loss of narrative: Our episodic understanding of the situation, how we got there and what happens next, is impaired, and we are unsure of where we are and where we’re going. This hyperactivates our amygdala, and the sensation is highly emotional
- Auditory sensitivity: we become prone to overly interpreting the emotional content of words and sounds, creating an air of prickliness and pushing people away without knowing it
- Activation: Our ARAS is responsible for setting the right level of physiological arousal, or wakefulness, for the situation, and to remain stable there. When this is on overdrive, we are pushed further into fight-or-flight mode than necessary, thus heightening sensory sensitivity. Panic attacks are an extreme manifestation.
- Trauma: an inability to self-nurture – creating an emotional safe-space around us – and self-soothe – being able to talk ourselves down rationally from a situation, thus resulting in mood instability. This can also manifest in dissociation and heightened pain perception. We ruminate about the past and worry about the future, instead of being able to enjoy the present.
- Intrusive thoughts: Self-criticism overshadows motivation and confidence, and we become self-aware and distracted by negative thoughts and feelings. Some use acquired habits to distract from this. Our confidence, motivation and social interaction suffer as a result.
– reduced compassion and empathy; emotional numbness
The primary issue of trauma affects brain areas that are activated during empathy and forgiveness. With these two qualities impaired, our emotional life suffers, as do our social capacities. With neurofeedback training, we can restore functionality of these brain areas. Another reason this is important is because we do not want to become oppressors ourselves. As we lose our sense of emotional investment in our surroundings, we become careless with regard to others’ feelings and needs.
Implicitly, we are now capable of unintended yet real behaviour patterns that can harm others, as we become deaf to feedback. Not only has trauma affected us, it now makes us perpetrators that pass it on.
– various degrees of dissociation from one’s previous emotional and physical life
Besides reduced social interaction and a less meaningful emotional life that is now more self-centred – and with the wrong type of therapy, becomes self-indulgent and self-perpetuating – we can experience a physical withdrawal from our environment. Dissociation can be momentary and intense, or subtle and ongoing to the extent that we are not even cognisant of it. Either way, our bodies retreat from sensations, analogous to our emotional withdrawal.
Many therapies aim to revive our sense of ownership of our bodies, and thus ultimately our life and future, by training our body awareness in various ways. Realising that our bodies are steered by our mind, specifically our cortex, we can train the relevant brain areas that govern our body perception and movement execution.
Neurofeedback training effectively complements these approaches by directly treating the areas involved in perception and interaction with our surroundings.
– physical numbness; pain, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia
One of the first manifestations of trauma is in our bodies. Aside from heightened physiological arousal, a form of paralysis can override our natural motions and postures. Stress, and pain ensue, which can often be felt all around the body. Fibromyalgia is a variant of this phenomenon, as are headaches, chest pains, and chronic fatigue.
There are many techniques for combating this form of physical dissociation. Neurofeedback complements these by training the brain areas that instruct the body to behave in this undesirable way. It is a holistic approach, and we restore overall calming while providing the brain with rational and emotional capacity to overcome its challenges.
The diagnostic criteria for PTSD are somewhat more expansive. A Kaiser Neuromap, and Personalised Brain Training / Default Network Training, are not diagnostic tools. Rather, we gain an understanding of how a person’s brain networks are affected.
The essence of trauma is feeling that we are unable to move on. It is as simple as that. Trauma is a perception issue that can be overcome.
(For physical trauma and brain injury, see here).
We are interested in how a person perceives their environment and prospects, and are not bound by the presence of actual incidents, or ‘stressors’, which a diagnosis per the DSM-5 requires.
Having prepared the brain to be appropriately detached, and having sufficient capacity to rationally process events, we can also reduce excess auditory sensitivity and hypervigilance. A calmer mind can engage in complementary psychotherapy more productively.
Neurofeedback Personalised Brain Training takes a holistic approach to addressing trauma and its comorbidities.
From a pathological perspective, PTSD is an acute stress disorder – the anxiety is characterised by the individual’s inability or unwillingness to process a traumatic event, leading to a state of hyper-vigilance. This presents in many incapacitating symptoms.
With Personalised Brain Training, we can address these issues in a non-invasive, medication-free, effective and evidence-based manner.
Brain Maps and Personalised Brain Training
Brain Maps expose Individual Vulnerabilities
With a Kaiser Neuromap, we can identify character traits, vulnerabilities and strengths.
Different brain areas and networks govern our behaviour. For example, there are parts of our brain which control mood regulation; spatial distractibility; physiological arousal; our sense of self; self-critical thoughts; anger and emotional attachment; and there are various sources of anxiety.
A brain map shows us which brain areas are behaving immaturely, and thus expose us to vulnerabilities or mental health issues.
Rather than fitting people into categories – diagnosis – we can assess vulnerability to behaviour patterns. Every brain is different. A brain map provides a more granular approach to understanding our strengths and weaknesses.
Personalised Brain Training with Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback lets us train dysrythmic brain areas. With sensors comfortably fitted to the brain areas we want to train, we detect brainwave patterns real-time while watching a movie. When these patterns are inefficient, the volume drops momentarily. This is the feedback we are giving our brain, short and instantaneously.
The brain area we are training recognises this – while our conscious mind is focussed on the movie – and adjusts its behaviour to restore the normal volume. With repetition, throughout a session, learning occurs.
Meanwhile our conscious mind is solely focussed on the movie; the training process is passive in this sense.
The drop in volume is subtle, so we continue to understand the flow of the movie. No current or electrical stimulation is fed to the brain; sensors simply read brainwaves and the feedback is purely audio-visual.
Neurofeedback trains our Pre-Conscious Mind
Rather than engaging the conscious mind, which slows us down, we are training preconscious processes.
This equips us with the ability to live in the moment and attain our potential (if we have to resort to conscious control, we are not living in the moment).
We take a holistic approach to healthy brain self-regulation, rather than categorisation or diagnosis.
Personalised Brain Training is an advanced qEEG brain map-based approach to neurofeedback training developed by the founders of the field. Taking Othmer Method / ILF training methods further, it employs Default Network Training protocols as developed by David Kaiser.
Neurofeedback is Evidence-based
Neurofeedback training is an evidence-based complementary therapy. Its efficacy was first demonstrated some 50 years ago, and with advances in technology, training protocols have become more efficient and the feedback method – watching movies – thoroughly enjoyable.
Neurofeedback is evidence-based. It’s first application was discovered in 1971 when it was used to resolve intractable epilepsy.
There are over 2,000 peer-reviewed research reports on PubMed demonstrating efficacy across a number of pathologies.
In the US, it is an accepted complementary treatment for many challenges.
Alpha Theta Training with Neurofeedback and Binaural Beats to Resolve Trauma and Promote Emotional Calm
We all have unresolved emotional experiences at the end of a day. Normally, we are able to digest these during our sleep or in subsequent interactions with others, or even in our own rational mind. However, some events are simply too overwhelming to deal with. Other times, we don’t allow ourselves sufficient rest to be able to fully digest our experiences. Either way, unresolved issues are allowed to fester in our subconscious, and therefore end up compounding. As a result, we carry more emotional luggage than we need to, and this affects our ability to live our lives to the fullest.
Whether we are affected by a single, emotionally incapacitating event, or a combination of more subtle – possibly unacknowledged – fears and habits which cause uncomfortable feelings, trauma can hold us back in our ability to live an emotionally fulfilling life and maximise our creative potential. We are all susceptible to trauma and finding a way to deal with it is essential.
Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training has been shown to Improve Creativity
A study by Imperial College, London, and the Royal College of Music showed that students advanced effectively one or two years in musical maturity with a mere ten sessions of Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training. See more below.
Brainwaves – Overview | ||
Gamma · Highly concentrated state of mind · 40Hz is a prevalent rhythm occurring naturally across the entire brain | 31 – 100 Hz |
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Beta · Concentration, interaction, focus, higher cognitive tasks · Higher beta frequencies are also associated with fear and anxiety, fight or flight | 12 – 30 Hz |
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Alpha · Quiet mind, flowing thoughts, slight detachment, meditative state · 10Hz is a natural rhythm particularly at the back of the head with eyes closed · Serotonin release | 8 – 12 Hz |
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Theta · Dream-like state with vivid imagery; creative, gateway to the unconscious · Stage 1 sleep and also present in REM sleep · Deep state meditation | 3 – 8 Hz |
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Delta · Dreamless sleep stage 4 · Bodily recuperation · Growth hormones GHRH and PRL released | 0.5 – 3 Hz |
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Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training aims to Address Unresolved Traumatic Experiences
With Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training, we are putting the mind in a state where it can relax and start healing. Alpha Theta neurofeedback training holds the participant in a state of deep relaxation, where memories can safely surface and as a result be processed. The concept is that traumatic memories are put into long-term storage, where they can be recalled from, without the adverse emotional state attached to them.
Another key advantage of alpha theta training for trauma resolution is that most of the digestion happens at a subconscious level – we are not asking someone to relive their trauma, but rather enable the brain to order such experiences by itself.
In thirty minute sessions, eyes-closed, we feed the brain information about its own state – specifically, whether it is in alpha or theta state, and importantly, we allow the brain to choose its own path. The brain inevitably chooses to slowly oscillate between meditative alpha and more dream-like theta. It is during the transition between these mental states that the brain appears to digest trauma, mostly at at subconscious level.
Through headphones, binaural frequencies are used to show the brain which state is dominant, accompanied by relaxing music and other sounds that help it orient itself. Unlike in binaural meditation, e.g. binaural theta waves, we are not trying to stimulate the production of certain frequencies, but are more interested in showing the brain simply where it is operating. It is in fact important that we don’t resort to meditation while doing alpha theta training.
After half an hour of this deep yet relaxing experience, we slowly arise with the feeling of having had a power nap.
Music and Creativity
A study by Imperial College, London, and the Royal College of Music showed that students advanced effectively one or two years in musical maturity with a mere ten sessions of Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training.
In this 1999 study at Imperial College, London, Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training was compared to other standard supportive services and relaxation training techniques and exercises. Students of the Royal College of Music, London, were evaluated on their musical performance, having received ten sessions of Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training. Only the Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training subset demonstrated gains in musical performance, and these gains were substantial and systematic:
Overall Quality | 14% |
Musical Understanding | 16% |
Stylistic Accuracy | 14% |
Interpretive Imagination | 17% |
Total Average Musical Improvement | 15% |
These impressive gains as judged by blind evaluators represent a substantial improvement. All aspects of musicianship were positively, and greatly affected, including physical ability as well as creativity and insight.
Source: Othmer / Gruzelier
J Gruzelier also finds in a 2014 study that Alpha Theta training benefits both advanced instrumental and novice singing abilities, including improvisation – beyond the outcome of the previous study with elite conservatoire musicians.
Alpha Theta neurofeedback training reduced anxiety in competitive ballroom dancers, as well as increasing cognitive creativity.
Anxiety and PTSD
Alpha Theta neurofeedback is particularly useful for PTSD, though as adults we all have some unresolved issues or memories as a result of everyday stress and so this training can be useful for most people. First, we need to achieve sufficient mental calming for someone to be comfortable to engage in a half-hour, eyes-closed, session. Not everyone is ready for sensory deprivation, and being able to relax and let go of conscious control is essential to fully benefit from Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training. ILF training for physical and emotional calming is generally highly effective in reducing hyper-vigilance and anxiety. With Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training we can then go deeper – unresolved traumatic experiences as well as fears and habits that continue to trigger behaviours and uncomfortable feelings are addressed.
Depression
Feeling down, even chronically, is not the opposite of hyper-vigilance and anxiety. From a neurofeedback perspective, we treat depression as an emotional, and hence limbic problem. Physical and emotional calming through ILF neurofeedback training usually goes a long way towards overcoming core emotional misery, and issues of self-worth. ILF training is also useful for stabilising mood swings and dissociative episodes.
With Alpha Theta Neurofeedback Training, we can address unresolved traumas that contribute to depression, especially when this is a chronic condition. In combination with ILF neurofeedback training, we can address a lack of resilience and the lack of emotional comfort that underlies this condition.
Peak Performance
It is also useful for Peak Performance, where unresolved issues and experiences can be processed to improve our use of energy and emotions.
Addiction and Substance Abuse
Alpha Theta neurofeedback training has also been successfully used in treating addiction / substance abuse issues, with nearly half of participants having experienced the Peniston effect – a subsequent allergic reaction to alcohol or other psychoactive substances.
Brain Maps and Personalised Brain Training
Brain Maps expose Individual Vulnerabilities
With a Kaiser Neuromap, we can identify character traits, vulnerabilities and strengths.
Different brain areas and networks govern our behaviour. For example, there are parts of our brain which control mood regulation; spatial distractibility; physiological arousal; our sense of self; self-critical thoughts; anger and emotional attachment; and there are various sources of anxiety.
A brain map shows us which brain areas are behaving immaturely, and thus expose us to vulnerabilities or mental health issues.
Rather than fitting people into categories – diagnosis – we can assess vulnerability to behaviour patterns. Every brain is different. A brain map provides a more granular approach to understanding our strengths and weaknesses.
Personalised Brain Training with Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback lets us train dysrythmic brain areas. With sensors comfortably fitted to the brain areas we want to train, we detect brainwave patterns real-time while watching a movie. When these patterns are inefficient, the volume drops momentarily. This is the feedback we are giving our brain, short and instantaneously.
The brain area we are training recognises this – while our conscious mind is focussed on the movie – and adjusts its behaviour to restore the normal volume. With repetition, throughout a session, learning occurs.
Meanwhile our conscious mind is solely focussed on the movie; the training process is passive in this sense.
The drop in volume is subtle, so we continue to understand the flow of the movie. No current or electrical stimulation is fed to the brain; sensors simply read brainwaves and the feedback is purely audio-visual.
Neurofeedback trains our Pre-Conscious Mind
Rather than engaging the conscious mind, which slows us down, we are training preconscious processes.
This equips us with the ability to live in the moment and attain our potential (if we have to resort to conscious control, we are not living in the moment).
We take a holistic approach to healthy brain self-regulation, rather than categorisation or diagnosis.
Personalised Brain Training is an advanced qEEG brain map-based approach to neurofeedback training developed by the founders of the field. Taking Othmer Method / ILF training methods further, it employs Default Network Training protocols as developed by David Kaiser.
Neurofeedback is Evidence-based
Neurofeedback training is an evidence-based complementary therapy. Its efficacy was first demonstrated some 50 years ago, and with advances in technology, training protocols have become more efficient and the feedback method – watching movies – thoroughly enjoyable.
Neurofeedback is evidence-based. It’s first application was discovered in 1971 when it was used to resolve intractable epilepsy.
There are over 2,000 peer-reviewed research reports on PubMed demonstrating efficacy across a number of pathologies.
In the US, it is an accepted complementary treatment for many challenges.
The Process:
Step 1: Brain Map
A qEEG recording takes about 45minutes for a 20 minute recording.
A cap with 19 sensors is is fitted to our head and gels inserted to ensure connectivity. The sensors only read – there is a tiny voltage on the surface of our head that these pick up. The gels are easily washed out later. This is also the last time we wear the cap (until a remap after ten sessions); training is done with single sensors.
We analyse the data with Kaiser Neuromap software which gives us a unique view into character traits and vulnerabilities.
Findings are presented in a separate one-hour conversation where we discuss the key elements.
Step 2: Neurofeedback
We use a movie of choice as the feedback mechanism – our conscious mind engages with the film, and feedback is delivered by small changes in volume or picture size.
Our pre-conscious mind adapts its behaviour to preserve the more comfortable volume and picture size, and learning occurs.
Volume changes are slight, not stop-start, and the process is enjoyable.
Key is that we are interested in the movie – our conscious mind is engaged with the content, which forms the reward, and our preconscious mind – without our conscious effort – changes its behaviour in response to the feedback.
A two hour training session allows us to do 90-110 minutes of neurofeedback training during which we can work on various brain sites.
This captures an entire ultradian rhythm cycle and corresponds to the approximate duration of feature film movies.
We can start with shorter sessions as appropriate, mainly with children.
Ideally, we do two or more sessions per week to start with.
We would expect to see responsiveness within the first few sessions and remap after twenty hours or about ten sessions.
Generally, we would expect to doing twenty sessions over two months, though this can vary substantially.
We can also accommodate intensives, where we do two sessions per day over a number of days, and have had good results with these.
Neurofeedback: Uses and Applications
Personalised Brain Training is a non-invasive, medication-free way to address cortical imbalances. With a Kaiser Neuromap, we understand which brain areas are dysrhythmic, and train these with the most advanced neurofeedback methods.
This provides a more granular approach than categorisation into pathologies. In fact, many mental health issues present in combination with others, and the diagnostic approach can set rigorous hurdles that often result in distinct labels that don’t necessarily capture the entire picture.
The vulnerabilities exposed by a brain map may manifest in various combinations of behavioural and mental health issues. With Personalised Brain Training we look at the brain as a whole. Treatment is non-specific with respect to psychopathologies. For ease of navigation and understanding, the following applications are listed below, along with research evidence, in their separate domains.
