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What Happens During Neurofeedback for Children?

Are you curious about neurofeedback for your child? A doctor or therapist may have recommended it to your family, or you might have seen it mentioned somewhere and are wondering if it could help improve your child’s struggles.

This article will explain what neurofeedback therapy is, how it can help children, and what sessions are like. By the end, you’ll be able to decide if it’s something you’d like to explore.

What is neurofeedback therapy?

Neurofeedback therapy is a type of biofeedback, or an exercise that gives your brain rewards when it is functioning well. It is sometimes called brain wave training, because it teaches your brain to use the right kind of waves to support healthier thoughts, emotions, and behaviour. 

When someone’s brain waves are not healthy, they can have problems with:

  • Sleeping
  • Focusing
  • Learning
  • Being productive
  • Studying or working
  • Communicating
  • Getting along with others
  • Managing emotions

For some children, neurofeedback can help improve these problems. It can be especially helpful if they already have other types of support. This might include medication, environmental supports (like distraction-free zones, visual plans, or sensory tools), as well as counselling, physio, OT, or other types of therapy.

Neurofeedback works best when the child has good support around them because the exercises make their brain more receptive to learning, so they get a bigger benefit from the other therapies.

It is often recommended for children who have ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, brain injury, or a history of trauma.

What does a neurofeedback program look like?

At Rocky Mountain Psychological Services, our neurofeedback programs include five elements:

  1. Neurofeedback Consultation – a 1-hour session with our clinic director to discuss your child’s challenges and goals, review their existing supports, assess whether neurofeedback might be a good fit, and develop individualised recommendations for their overall care plan.
  1. Brain Map – a 1.5-hour session where we capture a QEEG or “Brain Map”, which records your child’s brain activity and helps us spot which areas are dysregulated.
  1. Feedback Session – a 1-hour session where we share the results of the Brain Map with you (along with any other assessments we performed). We’ll explain what the map shows about your child’s brain profile, what types of brain activity we’ll be training, and any other recommendations we have to help them get the most benefit from the program.
  1. Neurofeedback Training – a series of 1-hour sessions where your child “exercises” their brain using videos and music tracks to train the type of brain activity that will improve their symptoms.
  1. Progress Reporting – during each training session, we will have you complete questionnaires about your child’s behaviour and wellbeing at home. These will allow us to monitor together how well the neurofeedback program is meeting your family’s goals and make adjustments as needed. After the 20th training session, we will discuss the progress made towards these goals and, if deemed necessary, prompt you to book a follow up Brain Map and another round of neurofeedback training sessions for your child.

How does neurofeedback work?

Neurofeedback therapy has two parts: 

  1. Brain Maps
  2. Training Sessions

1. Brain Maps

Brain maps use special sensors to take a picture called a QEEG. The brain map shows us where the brain is using healthy brain waves, and where unusual waves might be causing problems.

The brain map helps us decide which training exercises to add to your child’s program.

How do brain maps work?

The brain map is made by taking a brain scan called a QEEG, which measures your child’s brain activity and creates a report. The report shows where the waves are moving too fast or too slow, if any areas are being used too much or too little, and if brain areas are communicating well with each other or not.

What is it like to get a brain map?

When your child has a brain mapping session, they put a cap on their head that looks like a swim cap with lots of sensors with cables coming out of it. The sensors sit on your child’s head and measure their brain waves, while the cables send that information to the computer, which records the electrical activity in the brain and produces the map image.

understanding neurofeedback

Does the brain map hurt?

The sensors don’t hurt at all. Some people worry that their child might feel zaps, but the sensors are not putting out energy. It’s just like using a thermometer–you’re not sending energy into their body, just reading the activity inside.

One thing that feels funny for some children is the sensor gel. The technician will put a clear gel on the sensors to help them read the electrical activity in your child’s brain. It feels a little bit cold and will get into your child’s hair. You can wash it off after the session.

We will also put little clips on your child’s earlobes, which help the cap to read signals all over the brain. They should not be wearing earrings for these sessions.

How long does a brain map take?

The brain map takes about 45 minutes to complete. Because children can be squirmy, it can take a few tries to get a good picture of their brain activity. That’s alright. The technicians are very patient and skilled at helping children relax.

Once your child is all ready, with the cap on and each sensor filled with gel, the brain map begins. Your child will sit very still. There will be two parts. For one, they will close your eyes and relax. For the other, they will keep their eyes open, look at something straight ahead, and stay nice and still. The technician will keep a close eye on them and offer comforts like a weighted blanket or a break to get the wiggles out if needed.

What if my child is anxious or restless?

We will gather lots of information about your child before the brain map session to make sure we understand how we can help them feel safe during the session.

This can include having you complete questionnaires and perhaps having your child do some measures of attention or other assessments that are appropriate based on your child’s individual needs and presenting issues.

Once the brain map is done, your child can take off the cap and clean up their hair. 

What happens after the brain map?

The rest of the 1.5-hour session will include completing any other assessments that need to be done, or the technician reviewing and writing up your child’s assessments results.

We will share the data with you at the feedback meeting. We’ll show you the brain map and explain what it and the other data we have gathered shows about your child’s unique brain activity patterns. Based on the problems that are most important to you, we will explain which brain patterns we will focus on changing for their neurofeedback training.

2. Neurofeedback Training

Neurofeedback training is the exercise part of the therapy. Based on the symptoms we want to improve for your child, we will set up the neurofeedback system to work on the areas and types of brain wave patterns that are known to help.

How does neurofeedback training work?

Neurofeedback training changes the way a person’s brain works by rewarding it whenever it does the desired type of brain activity.

What are neurofeedback training sessions like?

Neurofeedback training is an excellent modality for children because it’s easy and doesn’t require them to implement strategies. 

Instead of being asked to follow a lot of hard instructions, the child simply wears sensors on their head and ears and engages in an activity such as watching a video of their choice. 

While watching the video or listening to music, the child’s brain receives feedback in the form of subtle changes in the video or sound. When the child’s brain is making the desired type of brain waves, they might hear special beeps or see the video become more clear and focused.

When the child’s brain is not making the targeted pattern of brainwaves, the audio and visual feedback fade. Our brains love clear sensory input, so those subtle changes in the video and sound are quite rewarding.

Just like learning to ride a bike, the brain figures out what it needs to do to get the rewarding feedback (i.e., hearing the audio, seeing the video clearly).

This is a very direct and gentle way to teach the brain to do the new activity. This type of teaching is different than applying a strategy. Strategies are good and useful, but they sometimes can’t help if the brain is dysregulated.

Neurofeedback helps the brain get better at regulating, so the child can finally make use of their strategies and supports. It helps make their thoughts, emotions, and behaviour more manageable and productive.

Neurofeedback FAQs

What if my child fails at the training task?

The cool thing is that the training is set for success. The technician will set a threshold so that your child’s brain is rewarded when it does something even closely resembling what it is being asked to do.

If you’ve ever played the game “hotter” and “colder” with one person closing their eyes and the other person telling them whether they are getting closer (hotter) or farther away (colder), neurofeedback is set up the same way. 

When the child’s brain is getting “closer” to what it is being asked to do, it is rewarded with audio and/or visual feedback. The more the brain practises working in this way, the easier it gets, and the brain can operate in this healthier way more often.

How long does it take to notice improvements from neurofeedback?

Most experts say that you can expect to start seeing changes in roughly 5-10 sessions. Some people notice changes after the first session. If we’re seeing your child twice a week, that would mean roughly 2.5 to 5 weeks.

If we’re not seeing changes after the first 5 sessions, we will talk with you about whether neurofeedback is a good fit for your child’s treatment plan.

A full course of neurofeedback is usually around 20 sessions, but depending on the complexity of the issues, it can take longer.

At our clinic, we check progress every week by checking in on goals we have set with you. This, in addition to what we’re seeing in session, helps us track progress towards the goals and any other benefits you’re noticing.

It’s important to us to monitor your child’s progress so we can quickly identify if there is anything we need to change in their program. We don’t want to waste precious time or resources on an approach that isn’t working.

What if my child has sensory, behavioural, or emotional issues that interfere with neurofeedback sessions?

For some children, certain aspects of neurofeedback can be challenging. They may struggle with the feeling of the cap, the skin prep gel, having the electrodes on their head, or the ear clips. Some children have trouble sitting still, and others may feel anxious about doing something new.

Our team members have many years of experience working with children, including those with autism, ADHD, anxiety, brain injury, and a history of trauma. We specialise in connecting at their level and adapting our plans to meet the child where they’re at.

Some of the ways we can help your child feel at ease include:

  • Creating a program to help make them gradually comfortable enough to get a full brain map
  • Explaining what’s going to happen in language they can understand
  • Reassuring them the equipment won’t hurt
  • Showing them their brain map
  • Using a social story with lots of pictures for children with autism
  • Shortening the session for children who are restless
  • Pausing the session for a break to get the wiggles out
  • Letting small children sit on their parents’ lap
  • Using kid-friendly videos and music
  • Offering a weighted blanket
  • Making sure that children with anxiety or trauma have counselling in place in addition to the neurofeedback
  • Monitoring the child during sessions for signs of discomfort and getting updates from parents about any unwanted effects they notice at home
  • Skipping the brain map if it’s too uncomfortable and just working on training based on their symptoms and needs

Can my child with autism participate in neurofeedback?

Our team has worked with many children and adults with autism. One of the great things about neurofeedback is that it doesn’t rely heavily on verbal communication or implementing strategies. 

We watch the client carefully for their reactions and communicate with them nonverbally as needed. We also get input from the caregivers about the type of things they like and don’t like so we can make the session more comfortable for them.

Are there any children who should not try neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is generally considered safe, but there are a couple of situations where parents should have caution:

  • When a child has a head injury or a history of seizures or stroke, it’s important to consult with the neurologist and make sure they approve of the child trying neurofeedback.
  • There are certain medications that can inhibit the brain’s ability to learn from neurofeedback training. Talk to your psychologist/neurofeedback technician about medications your child is taking.

Does neurofeedback have any side effects?

For most people, the side effects of neurofeedback are generally mild and look like signs that your child’s brain has been working very hard. This can include things like:

  • Headache
  • Feeling very tired or a bit wired
  • Feeling cranky or extra emotional

It can be a good idea to plan a calm, easy evening after each neurofeedback session.

These sensations usually pass within a few hours, or rarely may last a day or two. It’s important to let us know what you notice after sessions so we can recognize whether we should continue with the same program or alter it a bit next time.

Does it matter if neurofeedback is done in a Psychology clinic?

Although neurofeedback equipment is available to anyone, there are a few reasons why it’s a good idea to get neurotherapy from a qualified mental health professional:

  • Registered mental health professionals are held to high ethical standards by our professional associations. We are required to give you accurate, trustworthy information so you can make informed decisions about your child’s care. 

    This means we need to explain our treatment plans, tell you about any risks they may have, and be realistic about the potential benefits.

  • Experienced mental health professionals are also skilled at noticing when a client is having a psychological reaction during a session (e.g., trauma response). 

    Sometimes neurofeedback can trigger traumatic memories. Our team is comprised of a Registered Psychologist, Registered Provisional Psychologists and Psychological Assistants who have training and protocols in place to support your child and help them cope with any intense emotions and feel safe again.

  • At Rocky Mountain Psychological Services, one of the things that makes us special is that we don’t take it for granted that your child’s treatment plan is working. 

    We regularly check in with you about the goals that are most important to you, capture your child’s progress in training sessions and parent questionnaires, and share the results with you so we can evaluate the program together.

    This high level of accountability sets us apart from many other neurofeedback providers.

Is Neurofeedback Right for Your Child?

Now that you’ve learned what neurofeedback is, how brain maps and training sessions work, and what the experience would be like for your child, you probably have a sense about whether you’d like to explore it further.

Neurofeedback can be a very helpful tool to add to your child’s toolbox for issues like ADHD, autism, brain injury, anxiety, and depression.

To book neurofeedback therapy, please reach out!

We would love to talk with you and answer your questions about your child’s unique needs, your family’s goals, and how we can help design a program to make your child’s life easier.

intake@rmpsychservices.com

(403) 245-5981

rmpsychservices.com

MacKenzie Ebel

MacKenzie is a Psychometrist/Psychological Assistant at RMPS. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Princeton University, where she also played 4 years for the women’s ice hockey team. She recently completed her Masters in Counselling Psychology through City University of Seattle.MacKenzie has worked with children, youth, and their families in a number of settings, through coaching, as a behavioural aid, and counselling through her internship placement. She is excited to continue learning about assessment administration, neurofeedback, and play therapy practices at RMPS! Currently, she is part of the assessment and neurotherapy team, as she completes her final capstone assignment and intends to join our counselling team as a Registered Provisional Psychologist.

Tammy Thomson

Tammy is a graduate of the Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP) program at Yorkville University and is trained at the master’s level in art therapy as a professional art psychotherapist and member of the Canadian Art Therapy Association. She brings more than 20 years of experience working with children, teens, and families in child development settings, children’s hospitals, and schools as an early childhood educator and elementary teacher.She completed a Bachelor of Applied Science specializing in Child Development Studies at the University of Guelph, Ontario and holds a Graduate Diploma of Teaching and Learning from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Tammy is a member of the Canadian Counsellor and Psychotherapy Association and College of Alberta Psychologists while pursuing her next goal of registration as a provisional psychologist. Tammy values a client-centered approach using play therapy and the expressive arts to support those who may find it difficult to articulate their thoughts and feelings with words. Children and families do not need any skill or prior art experience and the art studio is a safe place where children can gain a sense of independence, greater emotional regulation, and confidence through self-exploration. Expressive interventions in art therapy can treat behavioural issues, anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, physical and developmental disabilities, and attachment difficulties. As a parent of three young children herself, Tammy understands the complexities of family life using compassion to help parents feel more confident in their role of raising a successful family.

Raquel Freitas

Raquel is an Office Administrator at RMPS. Back in Brazil, her home country, she graduated as a Psychologist and worked as a clinician for the past 5 years. Although she loved working with children and adults, she discovered a new passion: manage the administrative tasks that keep the business running. 

As someone who is passionate about learning new things and developing new skills, with the career transition also came the decision to live abroad and explore a new culture. To serve empathetically and connect with people is Raquel’s main personal and professional goal.

Emma Donnelly

Emma is a Registered Psychologist with the College of Alberta Psychologists. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in her hometown at Brandon University, after which she moved to Calgary to earn her Master’s of Science in School and Applied Child Psychology at the University of Calgary.Emma has a passion for working with children and families and has experience doing so in a number of settings, including schools, homes, early intervention programs, and within the community. She specializes in assessment, including psychoeduational, social-emotional-behavioural, and autism assessment. Emma uses a client centred approach to counselling, supported by cognitive behavioural therapy, as well as play-based and attachment-based techniques. She believes in meeting clients where they are at and prides herself in working together with her clients to achieve their goals, improve their functioning, and enjoy their daily life.

Amanda Stoner

Amanda is a Registered Psychologist with the College of Alberta Psychologists. Amanda earned her doctoral degree in Psychology at Brock University in Ontario in 2017, with a specialization in developmental psychology. Amanda provides formal assessment services at RMPS. 

Since 2009, Amanda has received formal training and work experience in private practice settings in conducting psycho-educational assessments for students ranging from preschool through university. Amanda is skilled at test administration, interpretation of data, and report writing for various referral questions including ADHD, Learning Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Anxiety, Giftedness, and Intellectual Disabilities. Amanda enjoys working with people of all ages from diverse backgrounds, and she tries to make the testing environment feel relaxed and comfortable while maintaining integrity in testing protocol.

Denise Riewe

Denise has completed a Bachelor of Health Sciences through the University of Lethbridge and a Master of Counselling with Athabasca University. She is a Registered Provisional Psychologist with the College of Alberta Psychologists and a member of the Psychological Association of Alberta.Denise has over 9 years of experience supporting children, youth and their families in both residential and community-based practices. Denise is experienced in working with high and at-risk youth, supporting children and their families with strength-based approaches. She practices from a client-center approach supported by Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Theraplay, and other play and art-based modalities.

John Pynn

John is a Registered Provisional Psychologist with the College of Alberta Psychologists. He completed his Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University. He brings more than 20 years of experience working with children, teens, and families in a variety of settings. He brings a relaxed and collaborative atmosphere to sessions.John uses an integrated counselling approach including client-centred, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Solution-Focussed therapy (SFT) to find the best-fit for clients. He has experience with a variety of mental health concerns including anxiety, depression, anger, self-
esteem, relationships, parenting, ADHD, grief/loss, addictions, and trauma. This broad experience comes from working in schools, social service agencies, group-care, and clinical settings. He also draws from the practical experience of being a parent to two teenagers as well as a husband. Supporting and empowering clients with mental health concerns is something John genuinely enjoys. John also provides counselling for adults and holds a Gottman level 1 certification for couples therapy.

Zara Crasto

Zara is a Psychometrist/Psychological Assistant at RMPS. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Calgary and her Graduate Diploma in Psychological Assessment at Concordia University of Edmonton. 

Zara has spent over five years working alongside children, adolescents, and their families in a variety of settings. These include public and private schools, in-home support, residential programs, early-intervention programs, and non-profit organizations. Currently, Zara is part of the assessment and neurotherapy team. As a lifelong learner, Zara plans to go back to graduate school and eventually become a psychologist one day.

Kellie Lanktree

Kellie is a Registered Psychologist with the College of Alberta Psychologists. She completed a Bachelor of Child and Youth Care with the University of Victoria and a Master of Education in Counselling Psychology through the University of Lethbridge.Kellie has over 10 years experience supporting children and youth with developmental disorders/delays and their families. Kellie has experience working in schools, clinical settings, and within homes to provide support and therapeutic interventions. Through her time at RMPS, Kellie has also gained experience in helping individuals affected by trauma, grief/loss, separations, emotional dysregulation, depression, and anxiety. Kellie practices through developmental, attachment-based and trauma-informed lenses, and draws from a variety of play-based approaches such as Synergetic Play Therapy, Child-centered play therapy, DIR/Floortime, art-based mediums, and mindfulness-based practices. Kellie also provides Neurofeedback therapy, and is working on receiving her certification through BCIA. Kellie believes in meeting children and their families where they are at and that there is no “one size fits all” for therapy.