After a brief check-in with your practitioner who will help you to track any changes you have noticed since the previous session, sensors are applied to your scalp and ears using conductive paste. This is painless and takes only a couple of minutes.  

During the 33 minute session, you are sitting or lying back on a comfortable reclining couch while you listen to beautiful music. The sensors will be reading your brain activity and sending the information through an amplifier to the neurofeedback software which is analyzing the information, micro-second by micro-second. Nothing is going through the sensors into your brain at all – no electrical signal or vibration – they are simply tracking the brain’s activity.

You’ll hear brief pauses or skips in the music – this is the feedback signal alerting your brain of the inconsistencies in its brain wave patterns in real time. These moments of inconsistencies, or “turbulence”, occur when groups of neurons are about to change states. Some of these changes are efficient, while others may be less than efficient. The brain will automatically recognize the pause in the music as information about itself, initiating a micro-second opportunity for the brain to determine if changing in that moment is the most beneficial action. Because the brain is always trying to work the best it can with the information it has,  if it recognizes that it is acting inefficiently in that moment then it will automatically make a new choice to build a more optimal neural pathway. In short, the feedback works much like a mirror and triggers the self-correcting mechanism of the central nervous system.   

During the session there is no need for you to do anything; no need to focus on the pauses in the music, no need to try to consciously push your brain one way or another. The feedback is informing the nervous system at an entirely unconscious level, and harnessing the brain’s innate intelligence to reset itself and function more optimally. While the music plays, you can watch a visual display, read a book or just close your eyes and relax. Children may do tabletop activities, like play with lego or read a book, or they can even watch a movie.

Yes, it truly is as amazing as it sounds!

Brain training restores the inherent resiliency and flexibility of the central nervous system and provides many benefits, including:

• Relief from stress
• Improved sleep quality
• Heightened mental clarity and focus
• Enhanced cognitive performance and creativity
• More responsiveness and less reactivity
• Relief from anxiety and depression
• Anti-aging and brain fitness
• Improved physical performance
• Overall more calm, ease and joy!

There are many more possible benefits unlisted here; it very much depends on the person and their unique nervous system. 

What would an optimally functioning nervous system mean for YOU? Relief from post-concussive symptoms? More confidence? Less symptoms of IBS? Less anxiety and depression and more happiness? 

There are many possibilities and we’ve had the great privilege of seeing countless people find relief from symptoms holding them back.

While every brain is different and every training is unique, our experience working with many hundreds of clients validates the research in this field, that 20 sessions offered at regular intervals represents a complete training protocol. In some cases, 10 sessions will be sufficient, particularly with children. The vast majority of our clients will begin to notice significant change between one to eight sessions. Still, it’s important to complete an initial series of 10, 20 or more sessions for deep lasting results. We therefore only offer packages of 10 and 20 sessions to our new clients, and then individual ‘tune-up’ sessions thereafter to maintain the results long term. We also offer rental systems for more intensive at-home training for the whole family.

Before your first session, you will be asked to complete a checklist of concerns so that we can have a self-reported baseline of your symptoms as well as goals.  You then have the option to complete this assessment again after every 10 sessions and compare pre and post data. We do not perform any kind of brain scan assessment such as a QEEG brain map, which is typical in the conventional linear approach to neurofeedback to get a visual snapshot of the activity in the brain. Such assessments, or any diagnosis you may have, are not at all required or useful with NeurOptimal® and do not change the way the training is performed. The NeurOptimal® system always meets your brain exactly where it is, moment by moment, and simply gives the nervous system information about what it is doing, allowing the brain to self-correct at its own pace.  There is no attempt to push your brain into a ‘normal’ range and so looking at the changes in the brain will have little consequence.  The only kind of assessment that is useful to notice are the real life changes in your well-being – cognitively, emotionally, physically, socially, behaviourally or spiritually. For that, we use progress tracking tools such as the pre and post checklist as well as a brief check in at each session to talk about your shifts.

Neurofeedback offers deep and lasting benefits that build upon one another during an initial series of 10-20 or more sessions.  Once you’ve reached the goals you wished to achieve then the results will be fairly permanent and you will have created a new base-line for your nervous system.  That being said, it can be knocked off balance by trauma or various life stressors. If this occurs, it’ll only take 1-3 sessions for your brain to get back on track. 

Many of our clients come in for maintenance sessions after an initial series.  Some people will simply come on an as needed basis, which may be every several months.  Others choose to maintain a weekly or monthly schedule.  It very much depends on the person and their personal instinct about what is best.  We always tell our clients, ‘If it worked once, it can work again’. Don’t forget that it’s a tool that can bring you back to balance when life gets tough.

Anyone can benefit from neurofeedback training and we happily work with children and adults of all ages 4+. Neurofeedback helps people train their brains to function optimally, improving concentration, performance, and overall well-being.

Neurofeedback can help alleviate symptoms related to various conditions, including:

• ADHD and ADD
• Addiction
• Anxiety and depression
• Brain trauma
• Migraines
• Post-traumatic stress
• Stress and burnout
• Insomnia and sleep issues

Some people seek out neurofeedback training to maximize their peak performance, such as:

• Athletes
• Executives
• Students

Learn more about who it’s for >>>

NeurOptimal® neurofeedback is generally regarded as safe and non-invasive, with few reported side effects. However, as with any form of therapy or intervention, individual experiences may vary. Some potential side effects that have been reported by a minority of users include:

1. Fatigue: Some individuals may feel tired after a session, especially initially as the brain adjusts to the neurofeedback training.

2. Temporary increase in symptoms: Occasionally, individuals may experience a temporary exacerbation of symptoms such as anxiety or restlessness, particularly in the initial sessions. This is often seen as part of the brain’s adjustment process and typically subsides with continued use.

3. Emotional sensitivity: Some users report increased emotional sensitivity during or after sessions, which may manifest as heightened emotional responses or increased awareness of emotions.

4. Headache or discomfort: Rarely, individuals may experience mild headaches or discomfort during or after a session.

5. Sleep disturbances: In some cases, individuals may experience changes in sleep patterns, such as difficulty falling asleep or increased dreaming. These effects are usually temporary and tend to diminish as the brain adjusts to the neurofeedback training.

It’s important to note that these side effects are typically mild and transient, and the majority of users do not experience any adverse effects.  Still, those that do, usually experience benefit if they are able to tolerate the discomfort in the early stages enough to carry on with training. Moreover, NeurOptimal® itself is non-invasive, meaning nothing is going into the brain or pushing the brain in any way. The brain is merely receiving information and using the information-like it does with all information-in order to work the very best it can. 

If you have extended health benefits, your neurofeedback sessions can be covered as a session with a Registered Clinical Counsellor. You have the option of receiving an email or print out of your invoice for reimbursement by your insurance company. We aim to make your payment process as smooth as possible, just let us know how we can help.

ICBC

Neurofeedback is excellent for post-concussive or post-traumatic symptoms often associated with recovering from an accident. We do not direct bill ICBC, but we have many clients who regularly submit their receipts for reimbursement.

Book a Consultation

Neurofeedback has been in development and practice for over 60 years. For the first several decades, neurofeedback was used primarily by NASA to train astronauts for outer-space travel, and for specialized research and applications in private hospitals and clinics. The equipment was valued at many hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more, and was therefore prohibitively expensive for the general public.

During recent decades, neurofeedback technology has advanced to the point that the equipment is much more streamlined, effective, and less costly – making this powerful technology accessible to the general public for the first time.

Neurofeedback has a large body of research supporting its efficacy by many renowned institutions including MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and McGill. According to Frank Duffy, MD, Harvard Medical School Professor, the “literature, which lacks any negative study of substance, suggests that EEG biofeedback therapy should play a major therapeutic role in many difficult areas. In my opinion, if any medication had demonstrated such a wide spectrum of efficacy, it would be widely accepted and universally used.”

We are so excited to be part of a movement to educate the public about this powerful, research-based intervention, supportive for ALL brains and personal goals.