CHANGE YOUR LIFE
TRAIN YOUR BRAIN
If you are interested in Neurofeedback, we offer it as a service in combination with Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy sessions include approaches and tools that are client-centred to help you make the changes necessary to improve your daily life and future. Combining these services is important because you can improve self-awareness and self-regulation when you understand how and why your brain is firing in the way that it is. When you unpack the details and meaning of your brain activity from your Neurofeedback sessions with a Psychotherapist, you can achieve your best outcomes.
NEUROFEEDBACK
How Neurofeedback Works
Neurofeedback is also known as brain-training, EEG-Neurofeedback and biofeedback for the brain. It is a tool for re-training the brain to function in healthier, more effective patterns. With feedback from your brain’s current electrical activity, you can learn to shape it for success in calming, stabilizing and changing life-long patterns. You can turn negative and disruptive thoughts into positive, life-enhancing thoughts.
Neurofeedback benefits people of all ages and is a non-invasive alternative to medications. Mood disorders, addictions, eating disorders, depressive episodes, anxiety, developmental child trauma, adult PTSD, and a wide range of conditions can be helped by Neurofeedback. Treatment can lead to long-lasting change and balance in your life.
Getting Started
We begin with a thorough assessment and history to understand your life circumstances and the coping strategies that you have developed over time. We look at what is causing difficulty in your life and set goals to overcome the issues that are holding you back. A full demonstration of how Neurofeedback works will take place to ensure you understand the entire process. Next, we do a mini-map of your brain patterns at rest. This map shows us the areas where improved regulation of brain activity can reduce symptoms and optimize brain functioning. Assessment also includes a medical history, a symptoms checklist and goal setting.
A Typical Session
After the mini-map is completed, the brain-training exercises begin. Through feedback your brain will learn how to effectively make adjustments. As your brain learns how to become more focused and alert, we will make appropriate adjustments to enhance the frequency, duration and intensity of your Neurofeedback training. Mini-maps will be repeated at intervals to quantify your improvements, and results are discussed following each training session. Sessions gradually increase in duration and difficulty to further learning and ensure lasting results. The one-hour sessions are approximately half brain-training and half psychotherapy to raise awareness of how your training relates to your thoughts, feelings and behaviours between sessions and how to enhance progress using additional tools and perspectives.
FAQs
Is Neurofeedback safe?
Yes, there are no side effects like those that occur with medication and it is non-invasive with no electricity going into your brain. The computer is simply reading your brainwaves and showing them back to you while providing visual and auditory feedback to help you learn to guide your brain towards optimal patterns for you.
How many sessions will I need?
At the beginning of your treatment, we recommend two sessions per week, however weekly sessions are also effective. Just like learning to play a musical instrument or a new language, learning needs to be regular with increasing duration and challenge level.
What problems can Neurofeedback help?
Many challenging symptoms can be treated with Neurofeedback: anxiety, panic attacks, sleep issues, fears and phobias, depression, attention issues, mood swings, low energy/motivation, hypersensitivities, anger, depletion/burnout, brain-fog and fatigue, stress, developmental childhood trauma, adult PTSD, head injuries, migraines, eating disorders, self-regulation, substance abuse, and more.
Is Neurofeedback right for me?
By measuring your brainwave activity and assessing the quality of your daily functioning, we can see which parts of your brain and frequency bandwidths are either over- or under-functioning. These areas become your Neurofeedback target zones where we can begin to train your brain.
How will I know that Neurofeedback is helping me?
As your Neurofeedback training progresses you will begin to see changes in your day-to-day functioning such as improved clarity, energy, and sleep as well as positive changes in your mood.
How will I know when treatment is done?
Once your goals have been achieved, and you have seen changes occurring in your life patterns, you can comfortably begin to reduce, or complete your training.
PSYCHOTHERAPY
The Benefits of Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a collaborative process using various approaches and tools to help you make positive changes in your life. Your therapist will help you to “connect the dots” around events that have happened in your upbringing or adult life, such as emotional challenges, dysregulation or mental health issues. Over time, we can help you give up old coping strategies and develop new, more effective tools. The goal: to be more present and happier in your relationships and daily life.
How Psychotherapy Works
The first session is all about you getting to know the therapist and the therapist getting to know you. Is the fit right? Do you feel comfortable? The therapist will ask you questions about your family background, work, education, relationships, health etc. as a way to get to know you and why you are choosing psychotherapy. Next, the therapist will discuss what your goals are and recommend approaches and tools that would be most beneficial to you.
Ongoing Sessions
As you and your therapist get to know each other better, patterns of relating, levels of interpersonal comfort and trust will start to emerge. Psychotherapy can be likened to learning how to tolerate difficult emotions, take interpersonal risks, identify needs and goals while still being respected and understood by another.
We will work with you to help you feel empowered to make changes that will improve the overall quality of your life. You have the right as the client to ask questions about anything that happens in therapy. We can discuss therapeutic approaches and look at alternatives that may work better. Together we will collaborate on all aspects of the decision-making process and the progress of your therapy.
FAQs
How often should I see my therapist?
Weekly sessions are ideal in order to build a connection of trust, warmth and knowing between you and your therapist. Once therapy is underway and issues begin to be resolved, then some clients may shift to biweekly.
When/Why should I seek psychotherapy?
Most people consider therapy when they are facing major changes in relationships, careers or mental health. When symptoms like anxiety, panic attacks, sleep issues, depression, low energy or mood swings start to negatively impact your effectiveness, health and happiness, that is generally an indication that you should seek out the help of an objective, professionally-trained therapist.
I have tried therapy/counselling before and it didn’t really work or I couldn’t connect with the clinician. What would be different this time?
Perhaps the therapist was a wrong fit for you. Or the approach simply didn’t work. It’s helpful to share your previous experiences, especially in the consultation, so that we can understand your needs and work together effectively to pair you with the right therapist and the right course of action.
OUR RATES
Many treatments are covered by insurance plans. Contact your provider to find out what services you are covered for. We offer affordable rates for students and those without benefits.