NeurOptimal® Neurofeedback
NeurOptimal® Neurofeedback
Have you trained your brain today?
NeurOptimal® is an innovative form of Neurofeedback that is not a treatment but rather a training tool for your brain. NeurOptimal was developed by clinical psychologists Drs. Valdine® Brown and Susan Brown.
Your brain has the ability to self-correct and adjust itself if it has the right information in that moment. NeurOptimal® provides that information. We understand what is possible when you train your body. It can become stronger, and healthier. You can have better reaction time and balance. You can achieve this by walking, running, or doing calisthenics, Yoga or Tai Chi. NeurOptimal® is how you can train your brain so it can become healthier, more flexible and resilient.
NeurOptimal® is currently used to:
Help release stress
Enhance learning capacity
Increase focus
Promote healthy sleep habits
Manage Performance anxiety
Summarized from the NeurOptimal®Website.
Below is a link to research on Neurofeedback and NeurOptimal® on the following topics:
• Attention/Focus
• Auditory
• Brain Fog
• Business
• Cognition/ Learning
• Dynamical Neurofeedback
• Family Relationships
• Inflammation/ Immune
• Memory
• Peak Performance
• Quality of Life
• Sleep
• Stress
https://neuroptimal.com/research/
Will this work for me?
Brain training can have a positive impact on nearly every area of your life. Results are unique to the individual. It doesn’t matter what the starting point is, every brain can benefit by tapping into its optimal state.
Dr. Rampil Discusses Neurofeedback and Chronic Pain:
Dr. Rampil understands patients in chronic pain experience a large burden of stress. Whether the trauma is from a physical trauma, childhood trauma or having a chronic illness or condition, trauma can affect the body, mind and spirit. Living in a body that is under constant stress from being in constant pain takes its toll. Pain can create anxiety, depression, difficulty thinking or performing, and can create an inability to release stress. This can compromise relationships and how patients relate to the world and those around them. Additionally, chronic pain impedes sleep and even can negatively impact our relationship with food.
Dr. Rampil looks at Neurofeedback training as a powerful tool that can help people regain the capacity to self-regulate and become more resilient and flexible. Other tools may include Osteopathic treatment, anti-inflammatory diet, medication, supplements, exercise or gentle movements, physical therapy, or counseling that incorporates various forms of energy psychology and others.
Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD who wrote “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma” talks about Neurofeedback as a tool to help neuro-regulation. “This is one way to help a person with a hyperactive alarm system and a body that gets stuck in fight/flight, and freeze. Trauma interferes with the brain circuits that involve focusing, flexibility, and being able to stay in emotional control. A constant sense of danger and helplessness promotes the continuous secretion of stress hormones, which wreaks havoc with the immune system and the functioning of the body’s organs. Only making it safe for trauma victims to inhabit their bodies, and tolerate feeling what they feel, and knowing what they know, can lead to lasting healing. This may involve a range of therapeutic interventions (one size never fits all), including various forms of trauma processing, neurofeedback, theater, meditation, play, and yoga.” -Dr. Van Der Kolk’s website
https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score
What to expect:
Before you start Neurofeedback, you will fill out an assessment form to get a baseline of how you are feeling. You will redo this after a series of sessions as this helps you be aware of the effects of training.
You will sit in a comfortable adjustable chair. Small sensors are placed on your ears and head with water-soluble paste. This easily wipes off at the end of each session. You will be given earphones that are sanitized just for you. You will listen to pleasant music that has small pauses and breaks. There is also a related visual component you can watch. Some people read a book, meditate, or take a nap. It works as long as you are listening to the music. This is a wonderful time to take a break from your hectic day and we will encourage you to shut off your phone and fully disconnect. The actual training takes about 33 minutes, however we will schedule you for an hour to give you plenty of time. After the initial session, it will take about 45 minutes. You can have the lights on or off and we place a bell by your side if you need anything.
What is happening:
NeurOptimal® is non-invasive dynamical Neurofeedback Technology. It does not tell the brain what to do. Instead, it works by harnessing the natural power of your own brain. It trains your brain to work toward more flexibility. Moving more freely from state to state. It improves resilience by helping the brain return to a more efficient state when its’ current pattern is less than desirable.
The sensors read the activity of your brain like an EKG reads your heart. The software receives this information and detects any changes in electrical activity in the brain and then presents this information back to the brain in real time. The music’s pauses and gaps are how NeurOptimal® tells your brain what it is doing. These pauses talk directly to your central nervous system giving the information to your brain to train it to self-optimize.
You can think of NeurOptimal® training as holding up a mirror to your brain. Imagine you have not seen yourself in a mirror in a long time. Once you see your reflection you naturally start adjusting yourself, maybe standing a little taller, straightening up your head and so on. The mirror provides the information you need to correct and adjust yourself. So, it is with the brain.
The brain has an inherent ability to self-correct when given the right information and NeurOptimal® is designed to provide the brain with the information it needs to make its own adjustments. Inconsistency, or abrupt changes in electrical activity in the brain, undermines optimal functioning of the brain. NeurOptimal® detects these abrupt changes and informs the brain of these sudden shifts through interruptions in the sound you are listening to. These almost imperceptible pauses invite your central nervous system to pull away from this less-than-ideal path it was on. This repeats until the natural self-correction becomes your new normal and your brain functions more efficiently, effectively and comfortably. When this happens, you sleep better, are less stressed, can focus more easily and feel the joy of an easier life, despite the
challenges you may face from the outside.
Reference: (https://neuroptimal.com/discover-neuroptimal/#how_does_neuroptimal_work)
Please call our office or speak with Dr. Rampil during an appointment about arranging training. Training is suggested in packages of 8 or 16 to be most effective. We are happy to have you purchase individual sessions of NeurOptimal® experience it prior to purchasing a package. Depending on a person’s individual situation, more than one package may be most beneficial. Many people request additional NeurOptimal® sessions once they have experienced its effects.