Biofeedback- a New Age MindBody Healing Tool
By Vivienne Aronowitz M.P.H., R.D.,BCIAC. Vivienne is a certified Biofeedback and Neurofeedback therapist with over 12 years of experience.

What is Biofeedback? How does it work? What conditions can it improve?

Biofeedback provides a high tech mirror of our physiology. A computerized system with sensors attached to the body allows you to get information on your muscles, heart rate, hand temperature, brain waves, breath rate and more so that you can learn to make changes in these systems. The goal is to develop or improve relaxation skills and reduce stress-related symptoms that might be getting in the way of optimal performance and a feeling of wellbeing.

Biofeedback is a well documented and empirically validated therapy for a variety of disorders including chronic pain and muscle conditions, migraines, anxiety or panic attacks, arrhythmias, insomnia, addictions and hypertension. It can also be used to enhance meditation skills, powers of concentration and creativity. The number of sessions needed varies depending on the experience of the patient in relaxation-type training, the ability to learn, and how much the patient practices between sessions. The role of the biofeedback therapist is as coach, and the computerized system is the device used to facilitate the learning. The goal is for the patient to have the skills to be able to achieve symptom reduction anywhere, anytime and to carry these with them for the rest of their lives. Biofeedback can be a useful adjunct to psychotherapy as it helps to connect the Mind-Body and allow patients to see how their emotions affect their physiology in real time. For those not ready to talk about their emotions, it is a good first step.

Neurofeedback or EEG biofeedback, which focuses exclusively on brain waves, can be helpful for a variety of cognitive conditions, including attention deficit disorder. This is called "up training", where patients might learn to activiate their brain waves to a higher frequency and achieve a balance in the spectrum of brain wave frequencies. This type of training usually takes a number of sessions and will depend on the severity of the problem as well as the persons learning skills.

The most wonderful feature of biofeedback and neurofeedback is the way in which it empowers one to make profound and enduring changes in one’s mind-body. It is the proverbial teaching someone how to fish rather giving them a fish.