Biofeedback is a non-drug mind-body therapy that can be used to treat a wide range of mental and physical health conditions. It is a form of treatment in which patients learn to control bodily processes that are normally involuntary, such as muscle tension, blood pressure, or heart rate.
Together with your therapist, you will identify a range of mental activities and relaxation techniques that can help regulate these processes to reduce unwanted symptoms.
With practice, you will be able to make adjustments without the need for monitoring.
Biofeedback is the right choice for you if you are interested in:
- Taking charge of your body and your own treatment
- Improving your self-regulation and resilience
- Improving your ability to respond to challenging situations
- Reducing unpleasant symptoms
- Potentially reducing your need for medication
- Alleviating conditions that have not responded to medication
Biofeedback training starts with an initial Intake and assessment visit, which includes history taking, answering any of your questions, and establishing your goals for treatment. During this session the biofeedback device is used to measure your heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing, muscle tension, finger temperature, and skin conductance to better understand how your body functions at baseline, how it responds to stress, and how quickly it recovers
Your next visit is a Feedback and Treatment Planning Session. During this visit you will review the information from your initial visit and a treatment plan will be formulated.
During Follow-Up sessions you will continue to use the biofeedback device to improve your skills and help you recognize and manage symptoms until you are able to do this on your own.
Research has shown biofeedback to be a safe and effective treatment for a wide variety of conditions including:
- Anxiety disorders
- Chronic pain
- Depression
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Migraine and tension headaches
- Fibromyalgia
- Insomnia,
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI),
- Tinnitus
- Other conditions