✓ Fact checked by: Dr. Glen M Doniger, PhD
A neurofeedback therapist understands your goals and creates a personalized brain training plan to help you get the most out of neurofeedback training.
Your neurofeedback therapist can use a special screen to watch how you're doing and see how you're improving as it happens.
Neurofeedback therapists can make changes aimed at improving your brain training, thereby ensuring that you're making progress
Neurofeedback therapists have been helping people to improve brain performance for over 50 years. This form of brain training is not exactly new, but it has been improved and modernized over the years. Today, you can even train from home, have remote sessions with a neurofeedback therapist, and maximize your brain's potential!
But, before you start your at home neurofeedback journey, it’s important to learn more about the role of your neurofeedback therapist and how they’re going to help you achieve optimal brain training results.
What Does a Neurofeedback Therapist Do?
A neurofeedback therapist specializes in helping you enhance your brain function through a process that involves tracking your brain activity closely and guiding you to perform exercises aimed at improving it.
They use specialized equipment to monitor your brain's activity in real time. This equipment enables them to "listen" to your brainwaves and understand how your brain is working.
Based on this information, the therapist creates personalized exercises that are like mental workouts to strengthen specific brain patterns. As you engage in these exercises, the therapist continues to monitor your brain's responses, providing feedback when necessary.
Over time, your brain learns to adjust and optimize its activity, leading to better overall brain function and mental wellbeing. So, it's like having a coach for your brain, helping it perform at its best!
Why is Working With a Neurofeedback Therapist Important?
A neurofeedback therapist understands what you want to achieve and develops an individualized neurofeedback training program to give you maximum benefit.
Various neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback) protocols differ in crucial ways (e.g., frequency band, electrode location). Your neurofeedback therapist has the expertise to select the best training protocol for you and monitor change over time.
EEG-Neurofeedback as a Tool to Modulate Cognition and Behavior
EEG-neurofeedback is a method for recording and monitoring electrical activity in your brain. In addition to tracking your brain waves, EEG-neurofeedback can be used to help train your brain to shift into a healthier (e.g., more relaxed) state via neurofeedback sessions.
The goal of neurofeedback is to train the brain to regulate itself and help you understand when your brain is in the desired state. Eventually, your brain may be able to maintain a more balanced state even when it’s not receiving feedback.
For example, people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may not be aware of when their brains are in a focused state or recognize when their minds are wandering. During neurofeedback training, they can see exactly when their mind is wandering in real time and learn how to return their focus to the activity at hand.
Getting Ready for Your First Neurofeedback Consultation
Before your first consultation, you'll need to answer the symptom questionnaire and complete a 20-30 minute brain health EEG assessment via the Myndlift app. Myndlift records the EEG waves from the sensors embedded in the Muse headset and the additional external wet electrode.
The EEG assessment provides a snapshot of your brain health. It measures your symptoms, your brainwaves, and how you respond during a cognitive task. You are required to have the first consultation right after completing the assessment to review the results and have a personalized neurofeedback protocol deployed for your training.
What to Expect During a Consultation With a Neurofeedback Expert?
A neurofeedback therapist consultation is an online video call or a phone call you book directly via the Myndlift app.
During the first consultation, the neurofeedback therapist will review your goals and deploy a neurofeedback training protocol accordingly. On the next monthly call, you'll review your training progress.
After three months of training, you can choose to switch to a plan that does not include neuro-coach consultations, but you can also schedule additional calls.
Making the Most of Your Neurofeedback Training
After you’ve had your first neurofeedback consultation, you’ll begin training. Before you start each training session on the Myndlift app, you need to complete a “calibration” process.
During calibration, the system senses your brainwaves and sets the training difficulty. With time and diligence, the better you get, the more complex the training will be.
A Neurofeedback Therapist is Looking After You
Your neurofeedback expert has access to a dashboard that allows them to monitor progress in real time and keep track of your progress.
They can see when you did each session, which protocol you used, and how you did during the session. A neurofeedback specialist can even view the raw EEG data in real time and make changes aimed at improving your training, thereby ensuring that you’re getting the most out of your session!
What if You Want to Change the Neurofeedback Training Protocol Yourself?
If you wish to change your training protocol, you can request the change in a message to your neurofeedback therapist via the app.
They may make some changes in session duration or the number of sessions right away; however, more complex changes (e.g., frequency bands trained, and location of the auxiliary electrode) may require a consultation so that the neurofeedback therapist can discuss the requested change with you.
Achieving the Best Results
Once your training program is set, you can start doing your neurofeedback sessions from home while your neurofeedback therapist follows your progress remotely.
All the Myndlift neurofeedback therapists are certified professionals who are licensed mental health practitioners with years of experience in providing in-clinic and remote neurofeedback therapy.
Their involvement in your Myndlift journey is essential to helping you achieve the best results. Happy Myndlifting!
Myndlift provides a personalized expert-guided brain training program that can help you elevate your wellbeing by improving your sleep quality, focus, calm, and self-control over mood. Take this 10-second quiz to check if you’re eligible to kick-start your journey for better brain health.
Dr. Doniger is a cognitive neuroscientist with two decades of experience in the neurotech industry. He holds a PhD from New York University and has been involved in studies of visual perception, cognitive training, neurofeedback, and neurostimulation using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques in a variety of research and clinical settings.