What Is Neurotherapy?

Neurotherapy is a therapeutic method that utilizes a client’s brain activity in combination with cognitive and psychological therapeutic techniques to produce behavior change. For example, a client with cognitive dysfunction and anxiety may have performance choking when performing cognitive exercises. By showing a client their brain activity and guiding them to relax, the therapist can help their client visualize and understand their anxiety while assisting them to see the results of implementing therapeutic techniques on their brain activity. This in turn may help the client learn and implement effective strategies to help them perform better on cognitive tasks and not become anxious when they are being challenged.

People with neurological or psychological disorders may seek Neurotherapy treatment. For example, people living with brain injury may struggle to regulate their emotions when performing everyday tasks. A clinical provider may provide Neurotherapy for this client to help them see their brain activity change in response to task performance. By doing this, the therapist provides a way for the client to visualize and better understand their emotions and help them better regulate their emotions while performing everyday tasks. This kind of therapy is also used for people with stroke, depression, anxiety, and other conditions that interfere with emotional regulation or cognitive performance.

Neurotherapy is done using EEG electrodes or sensors, which are then connected to a computer that displays the client’s brain activity. First, a client undergoes quantitative EEG (qEEG) to identify which areas of the brain to focus on. Once a client undergoes qEEG, the neuro therapist will then tailor Neurotherapy sessions according to which brain areas are acting abnormally.

Interested in learning about how you can combine neurofeedback and cognitive training? Listen and watch these audio and video clips below to learn more about cognitive training with neurofeedback.