Brain Improvement Center
The Brain Improvement Center helps clients with psychological problems such as attention deficit disorders, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and concussions. Clients are both self-referred and referred to the Brain Improvement Center by primary care physicians and other health professionals. Many clients come to us after trying counseling and psychotropic medications did not help them.
Our healing work begins with an assessment interview that includes identifying what the client wants to improve. We diagnose the client’s brain health. We then provide education on our cognitive behavior counseling and EEG brain wave biofeedback treatment methods.
The EEG (electroencephalogram) has been used in medicine for over 80 years to measure brain wave activity. EEG machines today are the size of a deck of playing cards. In the late 1960s, biofeedback methods like hand temperature warming and neck muscle tension feedback were effective for improving relaxation. Dr Barry Sterman made the leap of combing EEG brain wave measurements with biofeedback procedures to effectively reduce epileptic seizures in 1986. Since then other scientists found that brain wave biofeedback can eliminate the symptoms related to ADD, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders.
As part of every client’s assessment we do EEG brain wave measurements of five separate sensor placements on the right side of the head and five placements on the left side of the head. We discovered that many psychological problems are the result of past head injuries, even minor ones. Traumatic life events and certain physical illnesses like mono and strep throat can harm the brain waves similar to a head injury.
For almost all psychological problems the EEG brain wave assessment will reveal imbalances in brain waves. For example, clients with anxiety and stress have extra high levels of ultra-fast beta brain waves. Normally the ultra-fast beta brain waves assist a person in handling emergencies. They are high when needed. In people with anxiety these brain waves are high all the time and they are always on edge and have trouble sleeping at night.
In attention deficit disorders (ADHD), the slow brain waves are too high and the individual has trouble concentrating and focusing, especially on difficult tasks.
As the brain wave assessments are completed we use the EEG equipment to measure and show the client their brain wave imbalances on a computer screen. Using cognitive behavior therapy methods we coach the client to lower either the ultra-fast brain waves (to reduce stress and anxiety) or the ultra-slow brain waves (to eliminate depression and attention problems). The brain is so amazing and flexible as clients lower their out-of-balance high and/or low brain waves; they experience more energy in their thinking and learning abilities. They remark, “It is like someone opened the curtains of my mind.”
The initial assessment and treatment appointment is two hours long. On-going appointments are usually one hour, once a week. Most clients report improvement in their problems within 4-6 of their weekly sessions. Clients with a need for faster results receive treatments twice a week. Out-of -state clients are seen every day for a week at a time.