I’m new to neurofeedback… What happens in a session?

During a NeuroEdge® Coaching Session, which lasts about 50 minutes, you sit comfortably and we put a couple of sensor clips on each ear that have slender wires connected to them.  We also put two sensors the size of a pencil eraser on the top sides of your head which read your brain waves into the neurofeedback software. You feel nothing and need not work hard or "do" anything to facilitate the neurofeedback training. You and your coach are free to talk comfortably and work towards your goals; your brain knows exactly what to do, and the brain training happens naturally. With young children, the child and coach are free to "play"* and chat while the neurofeedback is running in the background. 

During the session, software is analyzing your brainwaves and providing feedback through music that is playing softly through a speaker near you. That music is responding to your brainwaves throughout the session; brainwaves that go "off-course" create slight interruptions in the audio, and these interruptions signal your brain to self-correct into a more natural, relaxed, and effective pattern. 

From your perspective, what happens during the feedback is that as the program picks up a variability in your brain signal, it triggers a brief pause, almost like a skip or static in the movie or music. The unexpected break in the rhythm then triggers your brain to scan itself to see what's going on and what needs to be done. It makes whatever correction is necessary to smooth things out again, and the movie or music starts again. This all happens in a second or two.

Unproductive patterns – repetitive thoughts, anxiety/worry, stress, distractibility, difficulty processing information – all have the opportunity to reorganize themselves into patterns that are more efficient, peaceful, clear, and centered. More efficient brain wave patterns increase your mind’s ability to be more flexible, creative, and resilient, allowing you to perform at your best, more consistently and more easily.

After a NeuroEdge® Coaching session, clients report feeling refreshed, relaxed, and in a higher state of mental alertness and flow. The effects are enhanced through regular NeuroEdge® Coaching sessions, with modest improvements after the first few sessions and significant benefits after 15 or more sessions. 

*Coaching with young children looks more like play - we chat while drawing together, playing with figurines, safari animals, or dolls, reading books, doing puzzles, etc. For very young children who may have difficulty sitting long enough for the neurofeedback training to happen, we can also play a movie of their choice in order to keep their attention.