Neurofeedback Part 2: What it Looks Like

After my last blog post, I had several people ask me what neurofeedback actually looks like, so when I went for my regular appointment, Kristyn Dunn was kind enough to take some photos for me so that you can see for yourself.

One of the many things that has made Carolinas Biofeedback such a good fit for me is their calm, homey environment and attention to personal care. I love having privacy because I am the only client in the room for a session at any given time. Every neurofeedback practice is different, so in my next post I plan to detail the things I love about this particular neurofeedback practice so you know what to look for if you are hoping to find trauma healing through this modality, too.

In the meantime, enjoy looking at these photos!

In this first photo, you can see me doing some ILF (Infra-low frequency) neurofeedback in an awake state. I have some little electrodes stuck on my head with some conducting putty. I do wait to wash my hair until after my appointments because it is a tad sticky. I am holding a bear and it actually vibrates as part of the neurofeedback. In addition, the picture on the screen gets bigger or smaller, lighter or darker, in order to help my brain create healthy patterns.

This photo shows something very similar to what happens when I am doing brain-map based neurofeedback, except I would not be holding the bear and in that type of session, the sound gets louder or softer and I am wearing headphones.

During ILF neurofeedback, I feel very relaxed and calm and notice the results of the session while in the session. During brain-map based neurofeedback, I notice the results the following two mornings, after a good night’s sleep.  I feel like having a solid foundation in the brain-map based neurofeedback makes ILF more effective because it is being done on a brain that is stable and healthy.

The next photo shows me enjoying some ILF deep state alpha theta work. You can see that they have me reclined in a nice comfy chair, with a blanket, an eye mask over my eyes, electrodes on my head, headphones and that wonderful vibrating teddy bear that feels like a purring cat. I look forward to my deep state sessions because I go into a dreamlike state, except I am awake and extremely relaxed. Trauma is resolved in these sessions with zero re-experiencing or trauma response in my body. Again, a solid foundation in brain-map based neurofeedback makes this possible for me.

Much of the imagery that comes up during my deep state work is metaphorical. I like to listen to some guided imagery at the beginning of the session where I’m standing on top of a cliff at the ocean and notice some stone stairs. My mind takes off from there. Lately, I notice myself getting younger and younger as I go down the stone steps and then I run into the arms of Jesus, who is waiting for me on the beach. Most of the time, He takes me to a beautiful tropical island where He creates a waterfall and writes important messages of Truth to me, messages that get right to the root of my traumas and bring great healing. With every session, the work gets a little deeper and I have come to look forward to it. Following deep state, I get to do a few minutes of awake state ILF for stabilization and then I drive to my trauma informed therapist at Agape Christian Counsling, where we process imagery and meaning together. It is so empowering and much less work than trying to talk through memories and issues one by one, which can be impractical if there is a substantial trauma history.

As you enjoy these photos, I hope you notice welcoming touches in the neurofeedback space, like calming colors, the himalayan salt lamp and the “relax” sign. Those things and the incredible people of Carolinas Biofeedback are part of what has made this experience so meaningful and transformational for me and for my family.

Want to know more? Stay tuned for the next post in this series to find out what I really love about the particular neurofeedback practitioners I see so that you have some idea what to look for if you think this modality is something you might want to try.