Understanding Neurofeedback and LENS
Exploring the Brain’s Capacity for Change
A resource from the Gentle Currents Therapy Clinical Team | Langley, British Columbia
Introduction
Perhaps you’ve heard about neurofeedback and have begun wondering what it might mean for you or someone you care about.
Someone may have suggested it for anxiety, difficulty concentrating, or problems with sleep. Perhaps you’re exploring additional ways to support a child with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or someone close to you is recovering from a neurological injury.
You may have tried other approaches and are wondering whether neurofeedback could help.
You may have questions about what neurofeedback actually does, what a session feels like, whether research supports its effectiveness, or how it might fit with other approaches to care. You may also be wondering how many sessions you would need, what they cost, or whether neurofeedback would be appropriate for your particular circumstances.
These are the questions we want to explore with you!
Explore Your Questions
- How neurofeedback works
- What makes LENS different
- What a LENS appointment is like
- EMDR and neurofeedback
- Why people consider neurofeedback
- What the research tells us
- Costs and access to care
Our practitioners at Gentle Currents Therapy in Langley bring professional knowledge, clinical experience, and compassionate attention to these conversations. We want you to have information that helps you understand your options and make thoughtful decisions about your care.
Whenever you’d like to contact us, we’d be glad to answer your questions, help you understand neurofeedback, and explore with you whether it might be right for you.
Where Curiosity About the Brain Meets Care for People
Can neurofeedback really influence how the brain functions? And if it can, might that make a difference in how we feel, think, or respond to life?
Researchers and clinicians have been exploring these questions for more than six decades. Modern neurofeedback research began taking shape in the 1960s, particularly through the pioneering work of Joe Kamiya and Barry Sterman, who investigated whether patterns of electrical brain activity could be influenced through feedback and learning.
Neurofeedback uses information about brain activity in a feedback process intended to influence how that activity is regulated. Different methods offer that feedback in different ways.
For Jeanette Dadson, curiosity about the brain grew from her experiences working with children with disabilities.
She had seen how complex children’s needs could be and became interested in whether approaches beyond medication might offer additional possibilities for care.
A family member’s experience of stroke deepened that interest.
What happens when the brain is injured? How does recovery take place? Why do some abilities return while others remain difficult? And what can we learn about the brain’s capacity to adapt?
These questions helped lead Jeanette toward LENS Neurofeedback.
Over the years, she has observed people describe changes that have mattered deeply to them: feeling calmer, rediscovering motivation, finding their voice, or experiencing relief from distressing symptoms.
These individual experiences help explain why Jeanette remains interested in neurofeedback and the possibilities it may offer.
Understanding the Whole Person
Our interest in these questions also reflects a broader understanding of care at Gentle Currents.
Our Clinical Director, Dr. Michael “Mike” Dadson, developed the Sequential Trauma Narrative (STN), a trauma-informed framework for understanding how difficult experiences can affect nervous-system regulation, emotions, relationships, identity, and the ways people make sense of their lives.
This framework informs our commitment to understanding the whole person rather than focusing on symptoms alone.
That matters when considering neurofeedback. We want to understand not only what may be happening in your brain, but also what you’ve been experiencing, what concerns you, and what you hope might change.
Exploring Your Questions Together
Perhaps Jeanette’s curiosity about the brain connects with something you’ve been wondering yourself.
Could neurofeedback make a meaningful difference in my life, or in the life of someone I care about?
It’s a question worth exploring with care, curiosity, and an appreciation of what research and clinical experience can tell us.
In the sections that follow, we’ll look at how neurofeedback works, what makes LENS different, what you might experience during an appointment, what the research tells us, and how this approach might fit your individual circumstances.
Our hope is that by the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll feel better informed, more confident in understanding your options, and more comfortable deciding what your next step might be.
Let’s begin with the brain itself, its remarkable capacity to adapt, and what neurofeedback actually does.
What Is Neurofeedback, and How Does It Work?
Neurofeedback uses information about your brain’s electrical activity to provide feedback intended to help influence how that activity is regulated.
But how can you receive feedback from something happening inside your brain?
Learning From Your Brain’s Activity
Your brain is constantly active, even when you’re resting.
As you think, concentrate, sleep, experience emotions, or respond to the world around you, groups of nerve cells produce patterns of electrical activity.
Some of these patterns can be measured using electroencephalography, or EEG. Small sensors placed on your scalp detect this activity, and specialized computer technology processes the information.
In conventional EEG neurofeedback, you might watch images or listen to sounds that change in response to your measured brain activity. Over time, the intention is to help you learn to influence particular patterns.
If your brain can learn to change aspects of its activity, could those changes influence how you feel or function?
Your Brain’s Capacity for Change
Researchers call the brain’s ability to adapt through learning and experience neuroplasticity.
You may recognize this in your own life. Perhaps you’ve learned a new skill, gradually become more comfortable with something difficult, or discovered that you can respond differently to situations that once felt overwhelming.
These experiences involve learning and adaptation, processes in which the brain plays an important role.
Neurofeedback draws on the brain’s remarkable capacity for learning and adaptation. Research has shown that certain patterns of brain activity can be influenced through feedback, opening possibilities for understanding how these changes might relate to attention, emotional regulation, and everyday life.
Bringing Neuroscience and Counselling Together
Our practitioner Ishani Chakravorty brings advanced academic preparation in counselling psychology and neuroscience, including two master’s degrees. She is also a Registered Clinical Counsellor and certified LENS Neurofeedback Technician.
Her background helps her bring an understanding of brain functioning, emotional experience, and psychological wellbeing into clinical work.
That scientific knowledge is complemented by her person-centred perspective, which recognizes the importance of understanding your experiences, relationships, circumstances, and hopes for change.
Understanding brain activity is not the same as understanding everything about you.
And because neurofeedback can be delivered through different methods, the particular approach matters.
So how does LENS, the form of neurofeedback our practitioners provide at Gentle Currents Therapy in Langley, work differently?
What Is LENS Neurofeedback, and How Is It Different?
LENS stands for Low Energy Neurofeedback System. It is a form of neurofeedback that measures your brain’s electrical activity and uses that information to deliver brief, very low-energy feedback.
One important difference is that you don’t have to consciously train your brain.
In conventional neurofeedback, you might watch a screen or listen to sounds that respond to your brainwave activity. Through repeated feedback and practice, you attempt to learn to influence particular patterns.
LENS takes a different approach.
You can sit comfortably while small sensors placed against your scalp measure electrical activity. The system then delivers a very low-intensity electromagnetic signal related to those measurements.
There is no game to play, no screen to concentrate on, and no need to deliberately change your thoughts.
But if you aren’t actively doing anything, how might LENS make a difference?
Exploring a Different Kind of Feedback
LENS is based on the idea that brief, low-energy feedback may influence how the brain responds to and regulates its own activity.
Perhaps you’ve been finding it difficult to concentrate, feeling mentally exhausted, or struggling with emotional overwhelm.
If so, you may appreciate that LENS offers a different experience of neurofeedback. You don’t need to sustain your attention on a task or deliberately work to change your brainwave patterns during the procedure.
Our interest is in understanding what you’ve been experiencing and exploring whether this approach might have a useful place in your care.
Jeanette’s longstanding experience with LENS contributes to our understanding of how important individual differences and attentive care are when exploring neurofeedback.
Understanding how the technology works is one thing. But what would receiving LENS actually be like for you?
What Is It Like to Receive LENS Neurofeedback at Gentle Currents?
If you’re considering LENS for the first time, you may be wondering what will actually happen when you come for an appointment.
Will I feel anything? Will I need to concentrate? What will the practitioner be doing?
Knowing what to expect can make it easier to consider something new.
Beginning With a Conversation
Your experience begins with getting to know you and understanding what brings you to neurofeedback.
Perhaps you’ve been having difficulty sleeping, concentrating, or managing stress. You may be recovering from an injury or exploring another approach to your care.
Your practitioner will want to understand what you’ve been experiencing, what approaches you’ve already tried, and what you hope might become different.
This is also your opportunity to ask questions, share any concerns, and become comfortable with the process.
What Happens During Your Session?
You can sit comfortably while small sensors are placed against your scalp to measure electrical brain activity.
The LENS system uses that information to deliver brief, very low-energy feedback. You don’t need to watch a screen, perform exercises, or consciously change your brainwaves.
The feedback itself is generally not felt as a physical sensation.
Your practitioner will explain what’s happening and remain attentive to your experience throughout the procedure. You’re welcome to ask questions at any point during your appointment. We want you to feel informed, comfortable, and involved in decisions about your care.
Although the feedback exposure is brief, your appointment also provides time to talk about what you’re noticing and how you’re responding.
For a more detailed look at how a LENS appointment unfolds—including the sensors and the feedback process—you can explore our What to Expect During Neurofeedback guide.
You’re also welcome to bring your questions directly to us. Understanding what you’re considering is an important part of making a decision about your care.
What If I Have Questions About How I’m Responding?
You may be wondering whether you’ll notice anything after a session, or what to do if something doesn’t feel quite as you expected.
People’s experiences vary. Whether you notice a change, feel uncertain, or have a concern, we want to hear about it. Your practitioner can help you consider what you’re experiencing and discuss whether anything about your care needs to change.
How Will You Know Whether It’s Helping?
What would meaningful change look like for you?
Perhaps it would mean sleeping more comfortably, finding it easier to concentrate, feeling less overwhelmed, or having more energy for the people and activities that matter in your life.
Your practitioner can help you identify those hopes, notice changes over time, and consider together how your care is progressing.
LENS Neurofeedback sessions at Gentle Currents Therapy are provided by Jeanette Dadson, Carlie Dinwoodie, Ishani Chakravorty, and Nicole Valor.
Each brings specialized neurofeedback training, professional knowledge, and a different clinical perspective to understanding your concerns and helping you explore appropriate care.
Receiving neurofeedback is about more than the equipment. It’s about working with someone who listens carefully, understands your concerns, notices how you’re responding, and brings professional knowledge, compassion, and clinical experience into decisions about your care.
What Is Better, EMDR or Neurofeedback? Can They Work Together?
Perhaps you’ve been exploring different ways to address trauma, anxiety, or emotional difficulties and have come across both EMDR and neurofeedback.
You may be wondering: Which approach might help me? What makes them different? And could they work together?
Perhaps you’ve heard that EMDR is one of the recommended treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
That is encouraging news. Decades of research have demonstrated that EMDR can help people process traumatic experiences and reduce the distress that continues to affect their lives.
Neurofeedback offers another interesting possibility. Researchers have been exploring how feedback related to brain activity may influence attention, emotional regulation, and aspects of psychological functioning.
Both approaches invite us to consider how meaningful change can become possible.
How Are EMDR and Neurofeedback Different?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a structured psychotherapy that helps people process distressing memories and the emotional, physical, and psychological responses connected with them.
Perhaps you’ve experienced something difficult that you know is in the past, yet certain situations still bring back feelings of fear, tension, or helplessness.
You may understand intellectually that the experience is over, while your body and emotions continue to respond strongly.
EMDR provides a therapeutic process for working with these experiences, helping reduce their continuing emotional impact.
LENS Neurofeedback approaches change differently. It uses brief, low-energy feedback related to your measured brain activity, without requiring you to recall or describe distressing memories during the procedure.
Can EMDR and LENS Work Together?
You may already be receiving counselling or EMDR and wondering whether neurofeedback could have a place alongside that work.
These approaches work differently, and each brings different possibilities into treatment planning.
Our clinicians understand how important it is to consider your experiences, the difficulties you’re navigating, and what you’re hoping might change. With appropriate professional training and clinical judgment, they can help you explore how EMDR, LENS, or both might fit within your care.
Exploring EMDR and LENS With Carlie
Our clinician Carlie Dinwoodie brings specialized training in both EMDR and LENS Neurofeedback, together with more than two decades of experience supporting children, adults, couples, and families.
Her clinical background includes trauma, attachment, grief, and somatic approaches. This breadth of experience helps her bring different forms of therapeutic knowledge into a thoughtful understanding of your circumstances, relationships, and hopes for change.
Carlie’s work reflects a commitment at the heart of our Statement of Care: clinical expertise and genuine human connection belong together.
When you’re working through difficult experiences, having a clinician who understands both the science and the human experience of healing can make the process feel more approachable.
How Does the Sequential Trauma Narrative Inform Our Approach?
Our understanding of trauma recovery is also informed by the Sequential Trauma Narrative (STN), developed by our Clinical Director, Dr. Michael “Mike” Dadson.
STN considers how recovery may involve several connected processes: developing greater capacity for regulation, experiencing safety in relationships, making sense of difficult experiences, and reconnecting with a meaningful life.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that even when one difficulty improves, other parts of life still need attention. You may feel calmer but continue to struggle with trust, relationships, or confidence. Or you may understand a difficult experience intellectually while still feeling its effects physically.
The STN framework helps us appreciate these connections and consider where different approaches might fit within a person’s broader recovery.
Dr. Dadson is also trained and certified to provide neurofeedback. Although he does not personally deliver neurofeedback sessions at Gentle Currents, his experience and clinical leadership contribute to the broader approach to care shared by our practitioners.
If you’re interested in exploring STN more deeply, you can access the Sequential Trauma Narrative White Paper through Gentle Currents.
Which Approach Might Be Right for You?
There isn’t one answer that fits everyone.
For PTSD, EMDR has a well-established research base and is recommended in major clinical guidelines.
Neurofeedback research has also produced encouraging findings, although different approaches have been studied in different ways. Understanding those differences helps our practitioners draw thoughtfully on the available research when considering whether LENS might have a place in your individual care.
You don’t need to resolve these questions on your own. Our clinicians bring their education, specialized training, and clinical experience to helping you explore which approaches may be appropriate for your circumstances.
Perhaps the most helpful question is not simply Which treatment is better?
It may be: What approach, or combination of approaches, best responds to my experiences, needs, and hopes for change?
Together with your clinician, you can explore that question with care, professional knowledge, and realistic hope.
Why Might I Consider Neurofeedback?
Perhaps you’re exploring neurofeedback because you’ve been finding it difficult to concentrate, manage anxiety, or get a restful night’s sleep. You may be looking for additional support for a child with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder, or wondering whether neurofeedback could have a place in your own recovery from trauma, depression, or an injury.
You are not alone. These are among the concerns people bring to our practitioners at Gentle Currents Therapy in Langley. Neurofeedback and EMDR are research-informed approaches worth exploring, each offering different possibilities for addressing difficulties that can affect your wellbeing and everyday life.
Whatever has brought you here, there are good reasons to remain curious about what may be possible. Our understanding of the brain’s capacity to learn and adapt continues to grow, giving us meaningful possibilities to explore together.
But what can neurofeedback offer when the difficulties people experience are so different?
Similar difficulties can arise in very different circumstances. Problems with concentration, for example, may be connected to ADHD, anxiety, disrupted sleep, or the effects of a concussion. Understanding what you’re experiencing and how it affects your life helps us consider which approaches may be most useful.
What If You’re Recovering From an Accident?
Perhaps you’ve experienced a concussion or traumatic brain injury following a motor vehicle accident. You may already be receiving medical care or rehabilitation through an ICBC-related pathway, yet still find yourself struggling with fatigue, memory, concentration, headaches, or emotional changes.
An accident can affect more than the part of the body that was injured. It can change how you experience ordinary responsibilities, relationships, work, and even your sense of confidence.
Our practitioners understand the importance of considering these experiences together. Research into neurofeedback and brain regulation, together with our clinical experience, gives us reason to explore how neurofeedback might contribute to an individualized approach to recovery.
Jeanette Dadson brings more than 12 years of experience providing neurofeedback, together with three decades of specialized caregiving that preceded and informed her interest in neurofeedback. Her LENS practice is also listed in StuntList’s concussion-services resources for the stunt-performing community.
What If You’re Looking to Perform at Your Best?
Not everyone exploring neurofeedback is seeking help with an illness or injury.
Perhaps you’re preparing for an important presentation, a dissertation defence, or another demanding professional or academic event. You may be wondering whether neurofeedback could help you approach the experience with greater focus, readiness, or confidence.
People have come to our practice with these hopes as well.
Our interest in these conversations is not simply in how the brain performs, but in understanding what you’re preparing for, what makes the experience demanding, and what you would like to feel more capable of doing.
How Does Your Individual Experience Shape the Care?
You may recognize something of your own experience in these examples. Or perhaps your reasons for considering neurofeedback are quite different.
Our practitioners bring substantial clinical experience and complementary areas of expertise to understanding those experiences. We know that understanding your concerns involves more than identifying symptoms. It means listening carefully, appreciating the different ways difficulties can affect your life, and drawing on professional knowledge to consider approaches that may help.
Carlie Dinwoodie’s training in EMDR and trauma-informed counselling helps her consider how difficult experiences may influence emotional regulation, relationships, and a person’s sense of safety.
Ishani Chakravorty’s advanced training in neuroscience and counselling psychology helps connect brain functioning with the emotional and psychological experiences you may be navigating.
Nicole Valor’s integrative counselling experience includes ADHD-related concerns, emotional regulation, trauma, and family relationships. Her approach recognizes that difficulties with attention or emotions can affect work, relationships, and everyday life.
Together, these perspectives help us understand the wider circumstances of your life rather than focusing on one symptom or difficulty in isolation.
The Sequential Trauma Narrative also informs this whole-person perspective. It reminds us that regulation, relationships, identity, and our ability to participate meaningfully in life are interconnected. Understanding these connections helps us consider what matters to you beyond any single symptom or diagnosis.
Could LENS Have a Place in Your Care?
Perhaps the most important question is what you would hope might become different.
Would you like to concentrate more comfortably, feel more settled, sleep better, or return with greater confidence to activities that have become difficult?
You may not yet know what changes are possible. That’s something we can explore together, bringing our clinical experience and your understanding of your own life into the conversation.
Together, we can consider how LENS Neurofeedback, counselling, or other approaches might contribute to the changes that matter to you.
Our interest is not simply in changing brain activity. It is in understanding how care might help you experience greater freedom, confidence, and possibility in your everyday life.
Does Neurofeedback Therapy Actually Work?
Perhaps this is one of the most important questions you have.
You’ve heard about neurofeedback, learned something about what it does, and may be wondering whether it could make a meaningful difference in your life.
Research has demonstrated that certain forms of neurofeedback can influence brain activity, and clinical studies have reported encouraging improvements in attention, emotional regulation, and trauma-related symptoms.
These discoveries give researchers and experienced clinicians reasons to continue exploring how neurofeedback might contribute to psychological wellbeing and everyday functioning.
What Have Researchers Discovered?
One of the interesting discoveries in neuroscience is that people can learn to influence certain patterns of brain activity through feedback.
But what might that mean for you?
Perhaps you’re interested in concentrating more comfortably, feeling less overwhelmed, or recovering from experiences that continue to affect your life.
Researchers, including Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Ruth Lanius and her colleagues, have explored these questions with people experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Their research has reported changes in brainwave activity, neural connectivity, and trauma-related symptoms following particular forms of EEG neurofeedback.
These findings offer encouraging insights into the relationship between brain regulation and psychological wellbeing. But neurofeedback includes a variety of approaches, each with different methods, clinical applications, and developing bodies of research.
Understanding these differences helps us appreciate both what researchers have discovered and the possibilities they continue to explore.
What Does the Research Mean for Your Care?
You don’t need to become an expert in neuroscience to explore whether neurofeedback might be helpful for you.
That’s where the advanced education, specialized training, and clinical experience of our practitioners become especially important.
Our clinicians at Gentle Currents Therapy bring expert-level professional preparation and experience working with people whose needs, circumstances, and hopes for change can be quite different.
Their work goes beyond understanding the research. It involves bringing that knowledge into a caring therapeutic relationship—listening carefully, recognizing how different difficulties may be connected, and thoughtfully considering how LENS might fit within your care.
What may be helpful for one person may not be appropriate for another. Our practitioners bring the clinical judgment to recognize these differences and work with you to consider what makes sense for your circumstances.
This is what research-informed practice means to us. Scientific knowledge helps us understand possibilities worth exploring. Clinical expertise guides how we apply that knowledge, while your experiences, preferences, and responses remain central to decisions about your care.
What Might Meaningful Change Look Like for You?
You may be less interested in what appears on an EEG recording than in what could become different in your life.
Would you like to wake feeling more rested? Find it easier to concentrate? Feel calmer during a demanding day? Or return to activities that have become difficult?
Jeanette Dadson has described observing people receiving LENS who reported greater calm, renewed motivation, relief from distressing symptoms, and a greater ability to engage with their lives.
These experiences help explain why she remains committed to exploring neurofeedback’s possibilities.
You may notice changes in ways that are meaningful to you. Perhaps a familiar activity begins to require less effort, your sleep feels different, or you find yourself responding to stressful situations in a new way.
Your practitioner can help you identify what you hope might change, pay attention to your experiences, and consider together how your care is progressing.
Research helps us understand what may be possible. Clinical knowledge helps us consider how to apply that understanding. Your experience helps us recognize what matters.
You bring the knowledge of your own life. Our practitioners bring their professional knowledge, training, and experience.
Together, we can explore what might help you move toward the changes that matter most.
How Much Does Neurofeedback Cost?
If you’re considering neurofeedback, you may be wondering what it will cost and how many appointments you might need.
Perhaps you’ve already compared prices online and noticed that different clinics charge different amounts. You might also be wondering whether your extended-health benefits, ICBC coverage, or another funding arrangement could help.
These are important questions. We want you to feel comfortable asking them before making decisions about care.
What Does a Neurofeedback Session Cost?
LENS Neurofeedback sessions at Gentle Currents Therapy in Langley are currently $140–$150 per session.
The cost of neurofeedback in Canada varies depending on the type of neurofeedback offered, the practitioner providing it, and what is included in an appointment.
Our practitioners can explain what your appointments would involve and help you understand the options available.
What If Cost Is a Barrier?
We understand that financial circumstances can make accessing care difficult.
Perhaps you’re managing family expenses, recovering from an injury, experiencing changes in employment, or balancing other responsibilities.
We know that seeking help is not always easy, especially when finances are uncertain.
Before deciding that the cost of neurofeedback places care beyond your reach, please give yourself the opportunity to talk with us.
We understand that financial circumstances are different for everyone. We want to hear about yours, understand what you need, and explore together what might be possible.
Your wellbeing matters, and we would not want financial uncertainty alone to prevent you from exploring care that could be meaningful in your life.
How Many Sessions Will I Need?
You may also be wondering whether neurofeedback means committing to a long course of treatment.
Our practitioners begin by getting to know you and understanding what you’re hoping to accomplish.
Your practitioner can also discuss what an initial plan might look like, when you would review your experience together, and how you would decide whether further appointments make sense for you.
As your care progresses, you and your practitioner can consider what you’re noticing, what is changing, and what makes sense for your next step.
Can Insurance or ICBC Help With the Cost?
If you’re receiving care following a motor vehicle accident, you may already be familiar with ICBC-related treatment arrangements. Or perhaps you have extended-health benefits through your workplace or another plan.
You are welcome to ask us about these possibilities.
Coverage and reimbursement depend on your particular plan or funding arrangement, the service provided, and the practitioner’s professional designation. Our team can help clarify the information you may need when checking your benefits or authorization requirements.
Beginning the Conversation
Whether your questions concern fees, appointment arrangements, practitioner availability, or how neurofeedback might fit your circumstances, we welcome the opportunity to talk with you.
Your circumstances matter to us. We want to understand what you need and help you explore a pathway toward care that is both clinically appropriate and financially realistic.
You can also explore our Neurofeedback Prices & Forms page for practical information about appointments and preparation.
Exploring Your Next Step
Perhaps you’ve found answers to some of your questions, or perhaps reading this has raised new ones.
You can learn more about Neurofeedback Therapy at Gentle Currents and the practitioners who provide LENS in Langley.
And whenever you’d like to explore whether this approach might fit your circumstances, you’re welcome to contact us.
We would be glad to hear what brings you here and help you consider what might be appropriate for you.
Research and Further Reading
Perhaps you’d like to explore some of the research behind neurofeedback for yourself.
We’ve gathered several publications that have contributed to our understanding of brain activity, neurofeedback, trauma recovery, and clinical care. They examine different approaches and questions, and they offer opportunities to learn more about what researchers have discovered and what they continue to investigate.
Neurofeedback, Brain Regulation, and Trauma
Nicholson, A. A., Ros, T., Densmore, M., and colleagues (2020). A randomized, controlled trial of alpha-rhythm EEG neurofeedback in posttraumatic stress disorder: A preliminary investigation showing evidence of decreased PTSD symptoms and restored default mode and salience network connectivity using fMRI. NeuroImage: Clinical, 28, 102490.
This study investigated a particular EEG neurofeedback protocol in people experiencing PTSD, examining changes in symptoms and brain-network connectivity.
Nicholson and colleagues (2023). Homeostatic normalization of alpha brain rhythms within the default-mode network and reduced symptoms in post-traumatic stress disorder following a randomized controlled trial of electroencephalogram neurofeedback. Brain Communications, 5(2), fcad068.
This publication further examines neurophysiological findings related to the earlier controlled investigation.
Askovic, M., Soh, N., Elhindi, J., and Harris, A. W. F. (2023). Neurofeedback for post-traumatic stress disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical and neurophysiological outcomes. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 14(2), 2257435.
This review examines findings across neurofeedback studies involving PTSD, including methodological differences and research limitations.
Research Involving LENS Neurofeedback
Larsen, S., Harrington, K., and Hicks, S. (2006). The LENS (Low Energy Neurofeedback System): A clinical outcomes study on one hundred patients at Stone Mountain Center, New York. Journal of Neurotherapy, 10(2–3), 69–78.
An observational study describing clinical changes reported among people receiving LENS.
Nelson, D. V., Bennett, R. M., Barkhuizen, A., and colleagues (2010). Neurotherapy of fibromyalgia? Pain Medicine, 11(6), 912–919.
A randomized, sham-controlled investigation involving people with fibromyalgia. Participants in both groups reported improvement, while the principal comparisons did not establish superiority of active LENS over sham treatment.
EMDR and Trauma Treatment
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense (2023). Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder.
The guideline recommends EMDR among established trauma-focused psychotherapies for PTSD.
Sequential Trauma Narrative and Whole-Person Care
Dr. Michael “Mike” Dadson — Sequential Trauma Narrative (STN).
Explore the STN framework and request the professional White Paper
Explore the STN Recovery Blueprint
These resources provide a deeper understanding of the trauma-informed clinical framework developed by Dr. Dadson, including its attention to regulation, relationships, narrative, identity, and meaningful participation in life.
Mending Minds. Healing Hearts.
Gentle Currents Therapy — Every person is welcomed with dignity, compassion, and hope.
