Jennifer Kogan's Published Articles
Adjuncts to Therapy
This column highlights approaches that can be helpful when used as a compliment to psychotherapy practice.
Neurofeedback: An interview with Glennon Gordon, LICSW
Jen Kogan
Researchers have known that the brain is malleable and not fixed for a number of years now. "This knowledge is very hopeful," says clinical social worker, Glennon Gordon. Glennon works at The Learning Space, a group practice in northwest DC where she and her colleagues administer neurofeedback to their clients.
"Let's say you have a road that has been travelled on over and over again. Divots in the road will develop similar to neural pathways in the brain and we become accustomed to responding in certain ways, almost like operating on autopilot. Neurofeedback adds different avenues for the brain to travel in a calmer, effortless fashion. This gives people choices in how they respond and react to things," explains Glennon.
These choices can help people to pause as they consider their options and can be a tremendous boost for people as they navigate through life and in their important relationships.
Glennon typically works with individuals who struggle with anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, insomnia, and migraine headaches. Others come to see her to improve memory acuity or performance level in sports such as tennis or golf. Neurofeedback in all of these cases works to increase flexibility in the brain.
Bowen and Neurofeedback
Glennon first discovered neurofeedback while she interned and participated in the training program at the Bowen Center in northwest DC. Bowen's psychotherapy approach with the adjunct of neurofeedback "helped to move people from a reactive place to a more thoughtful 'self' place," says Glennon.
Priscilla Friesen (one of Glennon’s colleagues at The Learning Space), who was on staff at the Bowen Center at the time, had been doing neurofeedback for about twenty years by then. Glennon says it was she who sold her on its benefits as she witnessed drastic improvement in people’s symptoms.
Glennon began to train with Priscilla and was amazed at her own "neurofeedback moments." Once she had been hooked up to the machine, public speaking became effortless, as she felt no anxiety at all. Packing for a trip, which was normally, a bit of a fraught experience was done succinctly without the push of anxiety that was normally behind her.
How it works
Neurofeedback gives the brain a chance to look at itself. The brain is rewarded for changing its own activity to more appropriate patterns in different ways. Electrodes are applied to the client's scalp to listen in on brainwave activity. The signal is processed through a computer screen that the facilitator monitors.
The brain receives audio and visual feedback in the form of music and a moving abstract image on a screen. If there is too much variability or reactivity in part of the brain, the music stops. Over time the brain learns more efficient ways to operate through this feedback. Sometimes clinicians also use video games to produce this same feedback loop.
"Clients do deep breathing to relax while they are watching the images and listening to music. They can also choose to talk with the clinician and their brain will still be learning the whole time," says Glennon.
Case examples run the gamut from a teenager with OCD who lost the urge to perform certain rituals after a few months of treatment to drastic reduction in phobia symptoms for some clients. Glennon recalls working with one middle-aged man who was feeling stuck. After neurofeedback, he experienced a resurgence of energy and began making many changes in his life after years of inertia. People with addictions can also respond well to this treatment.
A Useful Adjunct to Therapy
Glennon and others in her practice often work with therapists who have a client who seems stuck in their symptoms but does not want medication. Glennon says she likes to "keep in good touch with the referring therapist." She invites therapists to come in and get hooked up for a complimentary session to see how it works for themselves.
After having my own personal neurofeedback session, I am pleased to report that I felt a wonderful sense of well being that stayed with me for more than 24 hours. Glennon comments, "Neurofeedback is a noninvasive way to decrease anxiety with no side effects." For more information about neurofeedback and Glennon’s practice email her at glennontg@verizon.net.
Links
Jen Kogan, LICSW specializes in support for parents in her northwest, DC practice.
back
|
