Learn How Neurofeedback Retrains Patterns For Focus, Calm, And Sleep

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Welcome to Brainstorm, the Brain Topia Podcast, hosted by Sandra Hooper Murcott, founder of BrainTopia Neurofeedback Centers.
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With locations across the Dallas Fort Worth area, BrainTopia helps children, teens, and adults improve brain function through advanced neurofeedback brain training.
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On this podcast, we explore the science of brain health and real-world solutions for symptoms linked to anxiety, ADHD, sleep challenges, emotional regulation, and cognitive performance.
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This is Brainstorm, where understanding your brain is the first step toward lasting change.
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Neurofeedback teaches it how to send better ones.
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Welcome everyone.
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I'm Chelsea Earlywine, co-host and producer here in the studio with Sandra Hooper Murcott, founder of Braintopia Neurofeedback Center.
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Sandra, how's it going today?
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Great.
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We're happy to be here.
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Good, good.
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Well, Sandra, let's get started.
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Can you walk us through today's question?
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What is neurofeedback and how does it work?
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Absolutely.
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So what is neurofeedback?
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It's a modality that ultimately works to get brain waves into organized patterns.
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So there's different reasons environmental, psychological, uh physical, and metabolic that get our brain waves potentially out of organized patterns.
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And neurofeedback at its very simplest form gets those back into working the way that they're meant to.
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So what types of brain wave patterns are you typically looking for during a session?
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Great question.
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So we are actually we we first start with mapping five different brain waves across 14 different areas of the brain.
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And then we're when we go into neurofeedback therapy, we're monitoring those five brain waves.
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They're called delta, theta, alpha, beta, and high beta.
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And so throughout a neurofeedback session, there's certain thresholds that we want to see those in.
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Depending on where the client is coming to us, depending on what their symptoms are and what they're experiencing, those will be out of range, in range.
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We where everything is very specific to the client.
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So ultimately, we are watching how those brain waves respond to audio and visual stimuli as they're going through their neurofeedback session.
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So, how does that real-time feedback help the brain learn new healthier patterns?
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Great question.
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So the brain is constantly taking in stimuli and having to respond.
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That's what our central nervous system does.
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And so what happens is as the brain is the brain likes to be in patterns, everything just like most other parts of our body and our our lives.
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And so it gets in certain patterns.
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Unless we do something to disrupt those patterns, whether positive or negative, because there can be positive or negative disruptions, the brain is going to stay in those patterns.
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So what neurofeedback is doing is basically being a disruptor in the most positive way possible to cause change.
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And what it's doing, we'll we'll go into more of like the details of what neurofeedback looks like when you're doing a session, but what it's doing is putting the brain into a position where it has to respond and teaching the brain to respond effectively instead of in a state of dysregulation.
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Oh, that's so interesting.
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So, what type of symptoms or challenges tend to improve with that neurofeedback training?
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Well, in another video, we're going to talk about our how we start our process, which is the QEG brain map.
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But that is the the the tool that we use to help to know where the client is starting.
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And so as when we know where the starting point is, as they're as they're doing their neurofeedback, we can gauge things that are happening.
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And so different symptoms arise for different people depending on where they are.
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So it's it's hard to answer that question because it literally changes for everybody.
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And it's very specific and very symptomatic based on what the person is experiencing.
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Okay, I see.
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So how long does it typically take for clients to notice some level of meaningful change?
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So our protocol, so what we once we get the brain map, we put them into what we call a protocol.
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And a protocol is 30 sessions.
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So this is not, it's important to note that neurofeedback is not something, it's not shock therapy.
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It's not something that you come in once or twice to do because we're literally retraining the brain into a different pattern of behavior.
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So it takes time.
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And so typically we like to say we want to underpromise and over-deliver.
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So we say between session eight and 12 is where we start to see change happen.
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And in our protocol, if we have a 30-session protocol, it's really separated into three different steps.
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The first step is just priming the brain, getting the brain realizing that a change is coming.
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The second step is going to be starting to create those new patterns of behavior.
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And that third step will be uh locking in that pattern of behavior.
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So really we'd like to say within the first month, people see pretty significant changes depending on what their symptoms are.
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Each session is 30 minutes of active training time.
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And what this, what the client is actually doing, it's it's quite lovely.
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I mean, I'm biased, but I love, I love a session.
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You're sitting in a comfortable recliner and you're watching a TV show.
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And a lot of parents, especially that have kids coming in, are saying, Well, screens, isn't that something that causes dysregulation?
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Potentially, but it's how we uh we we meet the client and the where they are, and that is oftentimes on a screen.
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And so we use that screen and um make sure that we are using that for good.
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So what they're getting is audio and visual stimulation from the screen.
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What they're watching is not the the important part, but it's that we keep their focus on the screen so they're getting that feedback.
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Oh, that's so interesting.
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So to close out today's session, what makes Braintopia's approach unique compared to other neurofeedback programs?
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That people ask us that a lot.
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And I would say the number one thing is relationship and individuality.
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So the technology that we have is amazing, but there's a lot of there's a lot of companies that have amazing technology.
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And I think what what sets us apart is the ability to truly make relationships with families, meet them where they're at, and and explain in a way that helps them understand.
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It takes this scientific, you know, kind of abstract concept that that few would understand.
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And we have a way to explain it to them so that they know what's happening and that they really are confident in it.
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And building that relationship is the first step.
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Oh, I love that.
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Well, Sandra, thank you so much for breaking this down.
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This is such a foundational part of what you do at Braintopia, and we appreciate your input, and we'll see everyone next time.
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You've been listening to Brainstorm, the Braintopia podcast.
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If you or someone you love is struggling with symptoms associated with anxiety, ADHD, sleep issues, or focus challenges, neurofeedback may offer a safe, non-invasive path forward.
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To learn more about Braintopia Neurofeedback Centers and our locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, visit BraintopiaCenters.com or call 972-640-7022.
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That's BraintopiaCenters.com or 972-640-7022.
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Thank you for listening.
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We'll see you next time.