Anyone, of any age or background, can experience trauma. It can stem from a specific incident (e.g. assault or accident) or from exposure to traumatic material over a longer period of time (e.g. experience in a war zone, chronic abuse, repeated exposure to accident or emergency scenes). How people respond to trauma can vary substantially from one person to another, but any changes in thoughts, emotions, and behaviours should be addressed as soon as possible in order to avoid chronic illness.

The good news is that both psychotherapy (i.e. “talk therapy”) and Neurotherapy are often effective treatments for helping people improve their health and quality of life following trauma. A rich body of research points to the brain and nervous system as the foundation for PTSD and other trauma-related illness. In these cases, fundamentally, the brain finds it difficult to shut off and to be flexible with its “fight-or-flight” stress response, often leading to feelings of lack of control. Other symptoms of PTSD and trauma-related illness can include: nightmares and poor sleep, feelings of detachment, agitation and irritability, difficulty concentrating, flashbacks, changes in mood and energy, unwanted upsetting memories, and memory difficulties. All of these symptoms are the brain and nervous systems’ ways of trying to cope with the experienced trauma.

Psychotherapy for PTSD and trauma-related illness typically involves relaxing the mind and body while slowly working through and processing the traumatic events. Techniques such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, exposure therapy, and desensitization strategies are often used. Neurotherapy for PTSD and trauma-related illness allows the examination of the dysregulated brain waves themselves. Through neurostimulation (introducing energy into the brain) and/or neurofeedback (providing a person with feedback about specific brain areas that have become dysregulated as a result of the trauma), the root of the problem is addressed. In combination with psychotherapy, Neurotherapy can be a powerful tool in recovery.

Depression is a mood disorder affecting millions of people in North America. Its symptoms can include feelings of sadness, irritability, anxiety, lack of energy, sleep disturbances, loss of interest/pleasure in activities of daily life, changes in appetite leading to weight loss or weight gain, cognitive disturbances, physical discomfort, and thoughts of death and suicide. These symptoms must be longer-lasting; depression should not be mistaken for simply “feeling sad.” Depression can occur along with other psychological and health conditions, and it can affect anyone of any age or background.  It has been estimated that nearly 1 in 8 adults will meet the criteria for depression at some point over the course of their lives.1

For most people, there is no single cure for depression. However, with a combination of techniques, most people experience dramatic improvements in the quality of their life. These techniques include psychotherapy and neurotherapy, medication, exercise, and diet.

With depression, EEG studies have shown an under active left frontal area of the brain, and differences between left and right frontal alpha waves in particular. When a person with depression starts neurotherapy, they often quickly notice increased energy and motivation. As the number of neurotherapy sessions increases, emotions tend to feel more stable and sleep begins to improve.

Anxiety is a general term encompassing a variety of symptoms, such as difficulty controlling worry, irritability, restlessness, becoming easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating or mind going “blank,” muscle tension, sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and more. While everyone experiences these and related symptoms from time to time, anxiety disorders are characterized by their persistence and their ability to affect one or more areas of a person’s life (e.g. school, work, relationships).

Different names given to anxiety disorders include: generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, separation anxiety disorders, selective mutism, agoraphobia, and specific phobias. While some anxiety disorders are more prevalent in certain age groups, anxiety can affect anyone, and the effects of anxiety in a person’s life can be equally debilitating for very different causes.

Medications and psychotherapy (e.g. cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, and exposure therapy) have been frequently used in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Neurotherapy has shown to be a very effective strategy for the treatment of anxiety. The process trains the brain to regulate a person’s stress response at the root, rather than only treating the resulting symptoms. Patterns of under-arousal in the brain can lead to rumination and worry, and patterns of overarousal can lead to feelings of stress and of being overwhelmed, and to physiological hyperarousal (e.g. heart racing, shortness of breath, dizziness). A quantitative EEG at the beginning of your neurotherapy will yield the optimum protocol, individualized for you. Guided breathing exercises and heart-rate variability training are often integrated into neurotherapy sessions where anxiety is a primary concern.