With NeurOptimal neurofeedback, our focus is upon restoring brain resilience and flexibility.
NeurOptimal is easy to use, safe and gentle. It does not require first having any kind of assessment, or complicated and expensive brain mapping as, with NeurOptimal, the brain is in charge.
NeurOptimal is designed to be completely safe. Unlike some forms of neurofeedback that require extensive training and run the risk of user error, with NeurOptimal no frequencies are sent to the brain. The system is on a tablet, and five sensors are attached to the scalp and ears.
The sensors monitor brain functioning. During sessions, music - or children's TV shows or movies, if desired - are playing through the tablet. When the sensors detect that the brain is about to shift from one state to another, there will be a little crackle or gap in the audio - kind of like a record "skip".
Because this pattern keeps happening over and over again, the brain begins to recognize it is being given feedback about itself.
It's kind of like if we had been doing yoga our whole life but we had never had a mirror in front us. Then one day a mirror appears and all at once we can see that our downward dog has been a bit "off".
By increasing the brain's awareness of what it has been doing, it gives the brain a chance to course correct. The brain itself decides what it does with that information and how it wants to proceed.
Because the brain is in charge with this system, there does not tend to be any risk of side effects as the brain does not tend to push itself faster than it is ready to go.
Neurofeedback is not considered either a treatment or a therapy but rather a form of brain training - basically it is like "going to the gym" for the brain. However, when we optimize brain functioning an extremely wide range of areas have the potential for improvement as the brain helps to mediate every other system of the body. Areas such as mood, sleep, nervous system, memory, cognition, immune system, energy levels, digestion, allergies, focus, emotional regulation, headaches including migraines, and more are all areas where improvements may occur.
During sessions, you can simply relax. Taking naps, reading, answering emails, playing games on a phone or tablet are all completely fine during NeurOptimal sessions. This system has been used on patients in comas with positive results. Sometimes parents of small children on the spectrum may run sessions on their children during sleep. Kids who struggle with homework, often find their homework much easier when they do it while having a NeurOptimal session.