Progress Reports
A major portion of this blog will be reports of client progress. These are not intended to qualify as a scientific study; at the same time these ‘anecdotal’ observations have a great deal of value in telling us what works and what doesn’t. Inevitably, I will also occasionally report my observations and thoughts on what I see people experiencing at the hands of the medical system.
Following are progress reports on current clients. This is not a selection of just the success stories; with a few deletions due to privacy considerations, it represents all cases. In most cases, when neurofeedback (NF) isn’t effective, this can be attributed to the present of recent use of psychoactive medications, or birth trauma. In both cases, the problem can be remedied, with patience. I’ll discuss this in more detail soon.
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Middle aged woman with problems sleeping and concentrating at work. After a few sessions, sleep greatly improved and beginning to see fewer problems feeling overwhelmed at work.
Middle aged woman with long history of crying and over-emotionality. Recommended she discuss with her Dr. removal of IUD, which is known to produce these symptoms. After that and several sessions of NF, is crying less, feeling more stable in general.
Middle aged man with anxiety, sleep problems, distractibility. Taking anti-depressant. After 8 sessions has tapered off the medication, is sleeping better, feeling less anxious and beginning to experience less distractibility.
Middle aged woman struggling to reduce dependency on sleep medication (benzodiazapine). After 10 sessions has cut dose in ½.
Middle aged woman with long history of crying, associated with PMS, for almost ½ of every month. Also daily drinking. After 10 sessions has lost interest in alcohol (this is somewhat unusual; I would never claim this as a result of NF), is crying far less and feeling more stable than ever.
Older man with long history of intestinal distress associated in some way with emotions, consistently experiencing less distress, more stability.
Pre-teen boy with ADHD, impulse control, focus problems, hyper-focusing, emotional reactivity, demonstrating improvement in all these areas, as of 6 sessions.
Middle aged man experiencing distress due to sensitivity to certain sounds, following a head trauma. Some reduction in overall anxiety, but not in sensitivity to the sounds after several sessions. Referred for craniosacral therapy since the problem developed following head trauma.
Older man with Parkinson’s. Experienced significant improvement in sleep, other evidence of stabilization following series of treatments. Tremors have reduced, balance has improved, but not clear how much is due to NF. Also getting CST and Anat Baniel Method (Feldenkrais) treatment, as well as detox treatment due to exposure to environmental toxins.
Pre-teen girl with problems falling asleep, focusing at school has been sleeping better and doing better at school after 10 sessions. Mother reports she is more herself, more stable emotionally, happier.
Older woman with long history of sleep problems and obsessive negative thoughts, experiencing relief in both areas although not perfection.
Pre-teen boy with history of head trauma, pitocin at birth, experiencing difficulties with focus, distractibility. Significant improvement in 8 sessions.
Note on pitocin. Commonly used to induce labor. Increase in ADHD found to be between 35 and 50% with pitocin babies. Seems to stress the nervous system and the craniosacral system in ways that are on-going.
Middle aged man recently developed problems with sleep, panic attacks, anxiety. Significant relief and stabilization after 8 sessions.
Woman with long history of sleep difficulties, anxiety, dependency on medications, experiencing new levels of stability, emotional wellbeing. Need for medications greatly reduced, almost eliminated.
Pre-teen girl, problems waking up in the morning and getting herself going (this seems to be more common among girls), focusing at school, emotional reactivity. After 8 sessions, waking up and functioning at home and school greatly improved, emotion reactivity reduced, some improvement with focus at school, but still a problem. Referred for craniosacral therapy because she is a pitocin baby. Pitocin can cause tensions in the cerebro-spinal and nervous system that linger for years. When I see less responsiveness to NF than I’d expect, pitocin is often the culprit.