Spring 2015 - Western Association of Biofeedback and Neuroscience

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BIOFEEDBACK SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA | Spring 2015 ~ VOL. 31, No. 1
Save the Date!
BSC’s Northern California
Regional Conference
San Rafael, California
Saturday, April 18th, 2015
9:00am - 5:30pm
Details Inside!
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From the President
GARY SCHUMMER, PHD, BCB, BCN
President-Elect, Biofeedback Society of California
Education Committee Chair
JAY GUNKELMAN, QEEGD
Past President
BOARD MEMBERS
JULIE MADSEN, PSYD
Continuing Education Chair
JOHN C. LEMAY, MA, MFT, BCB
STEVE KASSEL, MA, MFT, BCN, BCB
RICHARD HARVEY, PHD
NICHOLAS DOGRIS, PHD, BCN
JOY LUNT, RN, BCN
Legal and Ethics Committee Chair
SIEGFRIED OTHMER, PhD
ROBERT N. GROVE, PHD
ROBERT GUILES, MA
Student Committee Chair
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
TIFF THOMPSON, MA, BCN, QEEG
DIPLOMATE
Direct all correspondence and inquiries, including
commercial advertising information and classified
ads, to:
Biofeedback Society of California
1108 De La Vina St., Santa Barbara CA 93101
Phone: (805) 453-6190
Fax: (949) 544-0439
biofeedbackcalifornia@gmail.com
www.biofeedbackcalifornia.org
CALIFORNIA BIOFEEDBACK
EDITOR:
Tiff Thompson, MA, BCN, QEEGD
PUBLISHER: Biofeedback Society of California
California Biofeedback is the official publication of
The Biofeedback Society of California. Opinions
expressed herein are those of the respective
authors and do not necessarily reflect the official
view of the BSC. The BSC is not responsible for
the products or programs of private companies
advertised herein.
California Biofeedback is published three times a
year and will consider all materials pertaining to
the practice and/or promotion of biofeedback in
healthcare in California. Send all correspondence to:
Biofeedback Society of California
1108 De La Vina St., Santa Barbara CA 93101
biofeedbackcalifornia@gmail.com
A yearly subscription to California Biofeedback is
available for $35.00. Please send your check to the
Executive Office listed above.
D
ear Friends and colleagues: It’s hard to believe we are
already mid-way through March of 2015. This year
is shaping up to be an exciting one for our field and our
association. We have embarked on the expansion of our
group to include not only the traditional biofeedback
and neurofeedback,but all modalities of brain and body
regulation and the underlying science of self regulation.
We are also in the process of expanding our association to
extend beyond California’s borders. We believe this will
give us a greater momentum and expand our influence
and reach.
As biofeedback and neurofeedback efficacy becomes better known, as we have seen
with recently published research, so does the turf war regarding who should be able to
practice biofeedback and neurofeedback. Several states have already initiated “cease and
desist” orders to stop certain practitioners. Others have or are attempting to mandate practitioners hold health care licenses, which may impact the work of our unlicensed members. Our Board of Directors has been active in both reconsidering some of these issues
and in engaging in dialog with other associations, such as ASET (The Neurodiagnostic
Association), about using licensing language which will either exclude us completely from
their efforts or include us.
Our goals are to expand the awareness of our field, increase our membership, and
increase attendance at our annual conference. The conference will be held this year on
November 7th and 8th, at the Wyndham Ave of Arts Hotel located in Costa Mesa. The
location and is just minutes away from John Wayne airport (free shuttle is available and
or just $5 a day parking!). Please plan to attend as it promises to be an exciting and lively
exchange and a great opportunity to network and to learn from each other, plus lunch is
included both days! I look forward to seeing you all soon. u
Ali Hashemian, PhD
From the President-Elect
F
or the past year or so, I have been fairly active on the
Board of Directors chairing the education committee
and have enjoyed working with others creating a mentorship program that we plan to launch at this year’s annual
convention as a joint venture along with AAPB.
When a call for nominations went out last year for
candidates to fill the president elect position, and no one
stepped forward, I became concerned. Obviously, the Society needs someone who will follow our current president, Ali Hashemian and it would
be best if the incoming president was a member of the Board in the year prior to beginning
his or her term in order to insure continuity. The Bylaws for the Society state that an open
seat on the Board of Directors may be filled by the Board, so I was honored and pleased
to be appointed by the Board of Directors to be president elect and the president in 2016.
I hope the next president elect comes to the Board through the nominating process so
that all the members can have a say in selecting someone for this important position. It
also invites people with fresh energy and innovative ideas which help to keep the Society
relevant and responsive to the needs of the membership.
Within the last year, individuals from outside California expressed an interest in joining the Society. This began a discussion among the Board members to consider expanding
the geographical area we service and, at the same time, choose a name that is more encompassing and contemporary. After a year of polling the membership and discussing various
names, the Board decided to recommend the membership ratify the name Western Association for Biofeedback and Neuroscience. The “Western” part of the name is consistent
Continued on Page 3
California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
EXECUTIVE BOARD
ALI HASHEMIAN, PHD
President, Biofeedback Society of California
2
Letter From the President-Elect
Continued from page 2
with other regional divisions and should allow solo practitioners
in states with few biofeedback clinicians to feel welcome at our
events. Adding “Neuroscience” extends membership in the Society to a wider range of applied methods for treatment.
This year I plan on supporting the goals that past President
Jay Gunkelman and Ali Hashemian have established. I will also
continue to work on developing and implementing the mentorship program which is designed to enhance the life of our
members by connecting more seasoned professionals with those
v
v
Table of Contents
From the President��������������������������������������2
Letter From the Executive
Director
appy Spring, BSC Members!
Letter From the Editor��������������������������������3
“The Next Big Thing”
Siegfried Othmer, PhD������������������������������4
Neurotherapy’s Turf War
Jay Gunkelman������������������������������������������5
My Preditictions for the Future of
Biofeedback
Joe Kamiya������������������������������������������������5
40th Annual Conference Reviews����������������6
We hope you consider joining us in San Rafael this April
18th for the One-Day Regional
Conference. We have a great
line-up of the field’s experts. A
newcomer to the scene, Mikey
Siegel, will be discussing Transformative Technologies, which he
and the lab at Sophia University
in Palo Alto have been pioneering
via a new wave in intrapersonal
psychophysiological training. Jay Gunkelman will be discussing
cross frequency coupling as it naturally exists in the realms of
consciousness and healing. Saybrook faculty Cynthia Kerson and
San Francisco State University Professor Eric Peper will be sharing
their respective insights from their efforts in the field of biofeedback and neurofeeback over the past few decardes. Lastly, Professor and AAPB President-Elect, Rick Harvey will be discussing the
fascinating field of placebo effect and its implications in healing.
As always, this conference promises not only to be a great
learning experience, but also an opportunity to network and hobnob with the brightest minds in our field. It ought to be a day
well-spent, leaving you with good knowledge and insights shared
by your mentors and colleagues. Flip forward to pages 7 and 8
for full description and registration information; you may register
online or via snail mail. I hope to see you there! u
Tiff Thompson, MA, BCN, QEEG Diplomate
v
v
California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
Gary Schummer, PhD, BCB, BCN,
GSchummer@ADDTreatmentCenters.org
H
From the President-Elect����������������������������2
3
needing a bit of help and to assist those new to the field to have an
easier transition. In the next newsletter, I will share more details
about this program and explain how every member could benefit
from being a part of it. As of now, it is a bit early for me to discuss
goals for next year, but I am open to and invite ideas and suggestions from the membership; feel free to email me. u
We have been informed that an unfortunate incident occurred during the recent BSC conference. One of the students received
an unwanted sexual solicitation from someone at the meeting. It is troubling to think that our young students should have to worry
about being approached in this manner. This is truly inappropriate, unprofessional, and an embarrassment to our society. The student
wishes for all parties involved to remain anonymous, including the person who reported this incident. However, it is appropriate that
the membership be informed of its occurrence, and to be assured that the Board, speaking on behalf of our community of professionals,
regards such behavior as categorically unacceptable. u
- Joy Lunt, Legal and Ethics Committee Chair
“The Next Big Thing”
A
common concern among those paid to worry about the society in general, and the economy in particular, is what we
may expect to see as the main driving force for change in the near
future. The emerging sharing economy may
be one of the best candidates for transformative change. And within the sharing economy,
the ride-sharing outfit Uber may be the most
visible example. Uber has been in the news
lately because it received an infusion of investor funds that placed the implicit value of the
company at some $40B. This is doubly startling when it is viewed against the company’s
sales last year of a mere $1B.
One billion in sales? The case can be made
that neurofeedback “sales” last year were bigger
than that! With some twenty-thousand practitioners toiling around the world, taking in an
average of $50,000 over the year with neurofeedback training, pencils out to $1B. These
numbers may well be conservative.
The specifics don’t need to be argued over.
The point is that neurofeedback has a direct
commercial impact that is comparable to that
of Uber, when it is seen in the perspective of
an economist. But that is also where the direct comparisons end.
If we look at the value of the service delivered, the Uber service
is presumably priced close to its actual market value. One cannot
say the same for neurofeedback. Here the value typically exceeds
the cost by multiples. More than once has a mother said to us
something like “I would have given my house for what you have
done for my child.” How does one put a price on health and functionality?
A brain-centered perspective will finally allow
us to make peace within our warring selves,
and in consequence we will relate more
compassionately to each other.
The true value of what we do is simply incalculable. We confront an incommensurability of benefits and costs, but however
matters are judged, the benefits vastly outweigh the costs. Seen in
that light, the candidacy of neurofeedback as the ‘next big thing’
has a lot more going for it than mere ride-sharing. But neurofeedback has this feature of benefits exceeding costs in common with
other health care services. So perhaps it would be more meaningful to frame the question slightly differently:
“What is the next big thing in the healthcare field?”
If that question had been asked ten years ago, the answer
would likely have been “stem cells.” As it happens, 2004 was the
year California passed an initiative to commit $3B to a stem cell
research program. We are now ten years into that program, some
two-thirds of the moneys have been committed, and according to
Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times the director of the program is still looking “for a clear sense of mission.” Still?
Funding has gone largely to basic research, and appropriately so. But that means that there is as yet very
little tangible payoff in terms of the promised
cures for Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Parkinson’s,
etc. It is therefore not yet possible to render a
clear judgment on whether stem cells will fulfill their early promise and on what timescale.
Meanwhile, over that same ten-year period we
have established and matured infra-low frequency training with Cygnet, and have found
a way to help significantly with Alzheimer’s,
diabetes, and Parkinson’s. We calculate conservatively that a third of a million people have
already benefited from training on Cygnet.
The comparison of stem cell research
with neurofeedback is instructive. The former
skated entirely on speculation that therapeutic
benefit would be available on a short timescale. There was at the time no evidentiary support for such optimism. At the same time, all
of the findings in neurofeedback over the years
already had good evidentiary support behind
them when publications appeared, and yet the funding agencies
have lacked enthusiasm, to say the least. Wasn’t their skepticism
just slightly misplaced?
As always at the scientific frontier, ‘it is the theory that tells
us what we may believe.’ Stem cell research benefited from the
fact that the underlying theory was already established within the
belief system. The same is not true of neurofeedback, so it has
languished with the funding agencies. On the flipside, this also
means that stem cell-based therapies are unlikely to surprise us on
the upside because we have already been counting our chickens.
By contrast, both the scientific community and the society at
large are not even aware that neurofeedback even exists. It is considered a fringe discipline that still has to make its case. The true
revolutionary potential therefore lies with neurofeedback. Just as
the value of neurofeedback for an individual is an intangible, the
value for the society is even more so. Acceptance of neurofeedback
with all of its implications must necessarily lead to a conceptual reframing that will cut across many disciplines besides health care—
child care, education and criminal justice principally among them.
More importantly, a brain-centered perspective will finally allow
us to make peace within our warring selves, and in consequence
we will relate more compassionately to each other.
Wherever the quality of brain function matters, neurofeedback matters. This is the next big thing not only for health care,
but for our whole society. u
California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
Siegfried Othmer, PhD
4
Neurotherapy’s Turf War
Jay Gunkelman
T
he current buzz in the field of neurotherapy is the “cease
and desist” order issued by the Iowa board of medicine,
mandating an individual doing qEEGs for neurofeedback stop
“practicing medicine” without a license. This case is hardly the
only licensure issue that has arisen lately, as the field’s visibility has
risen. At the same time, pediatricians are considering the evidential strength of neurofeedback, finding it to be a powerful intervention for ADHD. The “turf,” which we professionally occupy is
starting to receive renewed regulatory interest and attention. The
logic purported by the medical profession is: “if the treatment is
effective for ‘medical applications,’ then medical professionals
should be the ones doing it!”.
More locally, in Nevada, the Nevada Psychology Board issued
a similar cease and desist filing to stop a licensed counselor from
doing biofeedback and neurofeedback. The Nevada Psychology
Board’s initial position was that any biofeedback or neurofeedback application was the practice of psychology. Luckily the professional was not cowed by the filing and contested the action.
After meeting with Nevada’s Attorney General, our own BSC
Past-President, John LeMay, got a favorable ruling that the application of biofeedback and neurofeedback was not the sole turf of
any profession. This position was helped along by letters supporting the trans-discipline nature of the field sent by the BSC, as well
as from both AAPB and Saybrook University.
Currently, there is a national
campaign by ASET (The Neurodiagnostic Society) to get states
to license EEG Technologists,
Intra-Operative Technologists,
Polysomnography technologists
and other technologists doing
various forms of autonomic testing. There is a push in California
by ASET at this time. Though it
is not to our advantage to deny
licensure to these professionals,
their current draft legislation would inadvertently deny the ability
to do EEGs for a qEEG or neurofeedback. Additionally, the restrictions placed on and the autonomic monitoring could prevent
biofeedback practitioners from performing applications such as
HRV, pelvic floor applications, and other monitoring and feedback of autonomic system measures.
The BSC is expanding to a Western Regional society: Western
Association for Biofeedback and Neuroscience. In this expanded
role the Board has issued a letter to the ASET Board requesting a
discussion and reconsideration of their draft legislation, to protect
those now doing biofeedback and Neurofeedback in California,
as well as the rest of the Western region we now represent, including Nevada. We invite you to get involved in the newly expanded
regional society as we represent your interests for these critical
issues across the Western states. u
My Predictions for the Future of Biofeedback
Joe Kamiya
California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
I
5
believe the greatest future global contribution of biofeedback
technology will be the scientific development of mind-brain
relationships, regardless of whether the knowledge gained leads to
1) improving the efficacy of biofeedback applications or 2) solving
problems for which clients currently seek help.
I foresee a society of scientific explorers who study human
subjective experience, as it relates to online monitored brain-body
functions, by sharing their own self observations of the two domains. With monitoring devices designed with increased sophistication and enabled by technological improvements for 100 or
more body and brain
channels, tomorrow’s
scientists within our
field will sit for hours,
each day, monitoring
themselves. This could
mean recording continuously running verbal accounts of mental
flow, or, analyzing and
preparing reports for
relative comparisons,
or discussing hunches
about possible new
regularities. These subjective researchers will do what scientists do
in all fields, including presenting the new variety of selfies here
envisioned.
One might think of [the future of
biofeedback] as technologically-aided
introspection, continuing where Wundt,
Titchener, and William James stopped in
defining the field of psychology.
They will measure what the changes are in physiological
measures that occur as one becomes annoyed by some snide remarks by a new acquaintance, or is thrilled by meeting a long lost
friend, or is hungry, sexually aroused, mentally engaged, sleepy,
frightened, worried about one’s mate’s fidelity, etc. This research
will not be standard psychophysiology, where the scientist studies
someone else’s physiological responses to various stimulus conditions. Here the scientist studies himself. One might think of this
as technologically-aided introspection, continuing where Wundt,
Titchener, and William James stopped in defining the field of
Continued on Page 11
40th Annual Conference Reviews
Review by: Katie Steck
Wine glasses in hand, broken piñata in tow, electrodes stuck
to a cat poster, and genuinely happy smiles of camaraderie all
contributed to my favorite moment at the 2014 BSC conference.
It was a celebration of the fortitude, of the resilience, and of the
friendships that have formed over the BSC’s past 40 years. Most
striking for me personally, however, was that it was a celebration
of curiosity and caring.
This is my third year attending the BSC conference as a student, and though I’ve heard bits and pieces of how the past presidents first got involved in the field, it was both fascinating and
delightful to hear all of the stories all at once during the founder’s
panel. During the panel, I began to notice many of the narratives
told by past presidents began in much the same way: an insatiable
curiosity for psychophysiology and a happenstance upon biofeedback. From trying to self-replicate EEG patterns of participants
to predicting when a juggler would drop a ball, experiments were
carried out with the excitement of discovering something new,
something that would eventually be applied to improving client
outcomes in a clinical setting.
I was also fortunate to proctor for Stephen Sideroff’s lecture
Neurofeedback & Autism
Presented by: Michael Linden, Ph.D
Review by: Matthew S. Goodman, B.S., BCB
Individual differences are important in the
field health care. In medicine, we have different
types of diabetes (e.g., Type I, Type II), heart disease, and cancer. In psychology, there are different
types of schizophrenia, anxiety, and mood disorders. The same is true for autism. Individualizing
treatment protocols based on different subtypes
of autism is key in moving forward in the field of
applied psychophysiology. Dr. Michael Linden is
attempting to do this with neurofeedback protocols
geared towards normalizing individual differences
in brainwave activity.
Based off of the unique EEG pattern that a
child with autism exhibits, Dr. Linden suggests tailoring one’s
neurofeedback protocol towards these dysfunctional patterns.
on his nine pillars of resilience.
One activity that was particularly impactful was a role play in
which Dr. Sideroff demonstrated how he would have a client
visualize either themselves or
someone else sitting in a chair
opposite the client, then proceed
to have an open and honest conversation with themselves or that
other person. Not more than Barry Sterman & Katie Steck
a week later, I found myself in
school role playing with one of
the other students that had also attended this lecture, and who
was then able to skillfully apply this technique in an effective way
to our role play situation.
In sum, it was my privilege and honor to once again attend
this conference with its applicable principles and supportive
role models. The sessions I attended reignited my respect for
the human body and I am grateful for the opportunities to rub
shoulders with the humble giants of the field whose curiosity and
caring inspire me to become something better. u
This approach increases the likelihood that future neurofeedback
researchers will find efficacious and specific treatment protocols
in the field of autism. The different types of autism presented
during Dr. Linden’s session (e.g., “high delta,” “seizure pattern,”
or “mu abnormalities”) also help clinicians tailor
their protocols to the unique neurophysiological
presentation of the client. This differs from more
standardized protocols, which, despite demonstrating possible efficacy, might not be helpful for a
particular patient.
Expanding on this type of individualized approach, Dr. Linden suggested the importance of
coherence training. By first analyzing what brain
rhythms need to be incorporated into treatment,
one can then train multiple sites (e.g., T3 and T4)
to establish longer-range coherence. This is not only
important for future work with autism, but also the
application to neurofeedback to various psychological and medical disorders. u
Continued on Page 9
California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
Forty Years Seen from Three
6
The Biofeedback Society of California’s Northern
California Regional Conference
Saturday, April 18th, 9:00am - 5:15pm  1925 Francisco Blvd East, San Rafael, CA 94901
Mikey Siegel: Transformative Technology
Transformative Technologies are hardware/software interventions, grounded in
scientific research that can reliably increase psychological wellbeing. These
types of tools have been explored for decades, but there has never been a formal
research or consumer space defined to sufficiently support their development. In
this talk, Mikey will discuss the work of a new initiative called the Transformative
Technology Lab based at Sofia University in Palo Alto designed to support the
widespread development and dissemination of new technologies designed to
radically transform human experience.
Rick Harvey,
Mikey
Siegel PhD : Placebo Concepts in Psychophysiology
This session will present examples of placebo utilization in health research;
Transformative
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grounded
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expectancy, are
priming
and conditioning;
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incorporate positive attribution and expectancy into practice.
this talk, Mikey will discuss the work of a new initiative called the Transformative
Technology Lab based at Sofia University in Palo Alto designed to support the
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Erik Peper, development
PhD: 'Old Wine
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Effective
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EEG, EMG,
temperature,
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of biofeedback research and applications while presently heart rate variability and
neurofeedback are preeminent and have energized the field. A similar progression
is seen among the many other techniques that have been integrated with
biofeedback: Autogenic training, progressive relaxation training, Quieting Reflex
and transcendental meditation all have been overtaken by different versions of
Mindfulness meditation. Many of these older approaches all demonstrated
significant clinical success. Explored are the common themes underlying these
different approaches and factors that promoted clinical success such as
generalization of skills, learning awareness and changing behavior..
California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
Cynthia Kerson, PhD, BCN, BCB: Neurofeedback Tips and Tricks
Because the field of applied neuroscience develops daily, new and experienced
neurotherapists will continue to learn from each other. This 1.25-hour presentation
will focus on ways in which the practitioner can better provide shaping and
learning based upon operant conditioning so the client can gain the most from the
time in training. In this presentation the clinician will be informed how to increase
positive outcome of neurotherapy by training biofeedback modalities to augment
client success.
Jay Gunkelman, QEEGD: The Neurophysiological Basis of Consciousness & Healing
A Transformative
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7
with at-home modalities and collaborating with your colleagues.
Applied Psychophysiology
Advances
www.biofeedbackcalifornia.org
Date: Saturday April 18th, 2015 Time: 9:00 a.m. Registration 9:30 am. -­‐5:15 p.m. CEs: 5.5 hrs credit R MFTs, LCSWs and RNs Schedule 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. 10:15 to 10:30 a.m. 10:30 to 12:00 p.m. 12:00 to 12:45 p.m. 12:45 to 2:00 p.m. 2:00 to 2:15 p.m. 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. 3:30 to 3:45 p.m. 3:45 to 5:00 p.m. 5:00 to 5: 30 p.m. Registration Location: Marin Biofeedback 1925 Francisco Blvd. E. #12 San Rafael, CA 94901 (415) 485-­‐1342 www.marinbiofeedback.org Directions below
Placebo Concepts in Psychophysiology: Richard Harvey BREAK The Physiological Basis of Consciousness; and, Healers: a Physical Mechanism for Distant Connections: Jay Gunkelman LUNCH: on your own Transformative Technology: Mikey Siegel BREAK ‘Old Wine in New Bottles’ Revisiting Effective Biofeedback: Erik Peper BREAK Neurofeedback Tips and Tricks: Cynthia Kerson All Group Discussion Panel & Evaluation Name: __________________________________________Phone:_________________________________ Email: __________________________________________________________________ (print clearly!) Address ______________________________________________________________ Zip__________ Method of Payment: Cash____ Check ____ Credit Card____ Total $: ________________ Make checks payable to: BSC. Mail to 1108 De la Vina St., Santa Barbara 93101 Phone: 805.453.6190
Credit card # ___________________________________________________Exp Date: _____ / ________ (mm/yyyy) cvv: ________ Zip______________
◊ BSC Member: . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 65.00 preregistration or $75 at the door
$ ___________ ◊ Students (ID required):…$ 25.00
$ ___________ ◊ Non Members: . . . . . . . . . . .$ 85.00 preregistration or $95.00 at the door
$ ___________ ◊ CEs: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 35.00 (you will be given CE application onsite) $ ___________
Total: $ ___________ California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
I authorize BSC to charge my card in the amount of $_________ Signed: ________________________________________________ 8
Biofeedback and
Common Sense
Presented by: Dr. Erik Peper
Review by: Jasmine Mitose
Dr. Erik Peper’s short conference course, “Biofeedback and
Common Sense in the Treatment of Challenging Disorders,”
was thematically different than
the other presentations. While
many of the other short courses
presented were focused on the
“new” in the field of applied psychophysiology and biofeedback, Dr. Peper’s course brought back
the basics of biofeedback that may be forgotten entirely in clinical practice that illness and health is multidimensional. Namely,
many factors such as diet, sleep, posture affect physiology and
clinical outcome.
Shortly after his course introduction, Peper asked the audience members who have a clinical practice whether or not
they ask their patients about their eating habits—specifically on
whether or not their patients normally partake in breakfast. When
only three hands went up, he then proceeded to emphasize how
the basics of body regulation are often glossed over in terms of inquiring about regularity of lifestyle. As he proceeded to profile the
treatment plans of the featured challenging disorders (including
epileptic seizures that were unresponsive to intensive pharmaceutical regiments) Peper’s underlying message became quite clear.
Straying too far from biologically appropriate behaviors has the
potential to wreak havoc on the human system.
All of the scanning, measuring, and medication available
can be useless in the face of unresponsive “mystery” disorders. In
the featured case of a young man who suffered from psychogenic
non-epileptic seizures that were unresponsive to medications, a
focus on changing life style and shifting from thoracic to abdominal slow breathing resulted in a reduction of seizures from about
8 per week to none. Cutting out caffeine and recreational alcohol/
substance use, eating whole foods as opposed to processed food
products, and adhering to a regular schedule in addition to stress
reduction and diaphragmatic breathing practices not only reduced the number of seizures, but eventually brought the number
down to zero.
The common emphasis on technological advancements and
new developments in neurofeedback was a recurring theme at the
conference. This course was highly significant in that it brought
back to details that aren’t often see mentioned in the course
ofwithout a complete understanding of either. Today, a simple
watch, like the Fit Bit, can give us quantitative data about what
is going on internally, in a way that is attractive to the public. In
his talk about “Sharpening your Biofeedback and Neurofeedback
Skills,” Dr. Robert Grove reminded us that, even as biofeedback
devices evolve, it is still very important to present psychophysiology in a way that is informative and makes the client feel comfortable.
No matter the device used, we should focus on teaching the
client how to interpret self-talk. Look inside, listen, and make a
choice. I appreciated Dr. Grove’s emphasis on ensuring understanding and acceptance of rationale before employing biofeedback techniques.
You know that feeling when you are taking out a large school
loan and you are thinking, “I hope this is the right choice..” I am
overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to participate in
the BSC conference, because it only reaffirmed that I have absolutely made the right decision by entering this field. Never have
I met a group of professionals so excited about impacting the life
of others, even after decades in the practice. I believe that is the
definition of success, as a future clinician , I hope to possess the
same vitality.
California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
TRAINING
At Its Best
9
SABA 2015
40th Annual Conference Reviews
Continued from Page 6
• Neurofeedback Certification Training (BCIA)
• Biofeedback Certification (BCIA)
• QEEG Training (Q Board)
• Webinars, Workshops & CE Credits
EEG/qEEG/ERP Analysis and Education
Presented by: Nicolas Dogris, PhD
Review by: Leighton A. Grampp
The Biofeedback Society of California’s 2014 Conference was
truly eye-opening. As a student just entering this field, I was not
certain what to expect or how I might relate to the presentations
and speakers at the conference. Dr. Nicholas Dogris’s keynote
speech on Neurofield’s Applications for Autism, Depression,
Anxiety, & TBI helped me realize that this is the field I belong to.
Through personal anecdotes, case studies, and experience, Dogris
showed not only where the field is currently, but how it is growing
and what it may become. Psychologists are fortunate to be able to
affect change in incredible ways, including creation and growth
towards the field’s full potential. Sound science was evident in
Dogris’s speech, but the heart
of this field was strongly represented as well. Dogris spoke of
neurofeedback helping a 48 year
old who had been taking Prozac
and Zoloft for 10 years get off
of meds entirely. He spoke of
a child with autism who was
completely non-verbal breaking
into song while in the car with
his mother following treatment.
He spoke of alpha-theta-gamma
stimulation protocols that can
help open the doorway to the
default mode network, aiding
in peak performance. He also spoke of his belief that this same
protocol may
have a profound impact on the
autistic population. But,
perhaps most
importantly,
he spoke of
the future,
and the dir e c t i o n i n Left to right: Siegfried Othmer, Nick Dogris, Joe
which Neu- Kamiya, Patricia Norris
rofield, his
company, is moving.
As a student, it is easy to get bogged down in the specifics of
the present and forget to see the bigger picture. Dogris passionately shared his view of that bigger picture, of sLORETA being
added to real time z-score procedures, of virtual reality vision’s
integration into future protocols, of frequency-enhanced water
that can lead to changes in the brain and help inflammation.
He spoke of moving the field into the future, the importance of
which cannot be denied. As a newcomer, I realized how imperative it is for students to move beyond classroom learning and
continue to ask ourselves how we can contribute, how we can
help improve current protocols and how we can integrate our
thoughts and views into our studies. This is our future and new
ideas must be forged and implemented to ensure it is as strong a
future as possible. u
California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
Keynote Speech:
Nicholas Dogris, PhD
10
Newcomer to the BSC
Christopher Flora-Tostado
The gorgeous amber hillsides of the California coast rolled
along outside the windows but we hardly noticed. The ten hours
the San Diego Alliant students spent getting to Oakland were
spent lost in conversation. My first BSC conference experience
was made entirely possible by sharing it with my fellow scholars
from CSPP whom I am privileged to call friends. Appropriately,
our synergistic group dynamic would serve as a model for the
enthusiastic community experience of this year’s conference.
From the outset of the experience I felt treated like a valuable
member of a close circle. From the way speakers encouraged participation and made time to talk after workshops, to the way the
group rallied around Jay Gunkelman’s facial hair sacrifice to raise
a significant amount for the student fund; it was obvious that the
success of this group was founded on cooperation and reciprocal
support.
Starting the weekend with Dr. Stephen Sideroff and his tools
for building resiliency would serve as a perfect framework for
Keynote Speech:
Siegfried Othmer, PhD
Leighton A. Grampp
California Biofeedback — Spring 2015
Siegfried Othmer’s keynote
speech, “The Common Core
of Neurofeedback and Biofeedback: Fissures and Reunification”
spoke to the evolution of the
current conceptual model underlying both of these modalities. I
came into this session with some
prior knowledge of biofeedback,
but no previous understanding of
neurofeedback’s uses within the
field. I had previously believed
both of these modalities to be independent of one another, each
having its own use and clinical focus. Dr. Othmer’s depiction
provided an integration of the models, with regulation within the
central nervous system targeted by both. Whether using periph-
11
My Preditictions for the Future of Biofeedback
Continued from Page 5
psychology.
An overall map of the physiological activity associated with
all possible subjective experiences would be the goal, analogous
to 19th century scientists’ map of the atomic structure of the
known elements, or the 20th century map of the physical characteristics of compounds of the elements. The universality of the
basic perceptions, concepts, emotions and feelings provided by
our evolutionary history as a highly social species underlay the development of language for them. We speak correctly of a person’s
the concepts that each speaker
shared. Inventor Alan Macy took
his audience through a totally
unique journey of human self-exploration. His conceptual tapestry began with a philosophical
basis for understanding beauty
and wove together a progression
of technological advancements
that have propelled our species
towards a fascination of extending the self outward and into art, culture and space.
After the weekend-long parade of opportunities to stretch
the mind, it was a joy to end the conference with a skip through
the hallway. Erik Peper brought it all home with refreshing set of
common sense health solutions that left me invigorated and ready
to share ten more hours in the car excitedly chatting away with
my new friends. u
eral or central training, the aim is similar. Both of these approaches train calmness and regulation within systems, turning relaxation into an active process. Though there are differences between
them, both models can provide for better treatment outcomes and
optimal functioning. We must affect regulation before executive
function, looking at the brain as a self-organizing system.
The BSC conference in general, and this speech specifically,
highlighted the importance of remaining open-minded about different approaches and finding ways to integrate knowledge about
both biofeedback and neurofeedback. By showing the common
core, Othmer demonstrated how these models relate to one another and, consequently, how psychologists using one modality
or the other can learn from each other and connect in order to
propel the field forward. As a student, the importance of learning
from the past and working toward the future cannot be stressed
enough. Othmer’s expertise within the field was well-demonstrated, but his depiction of how the field is changing as individuals
with multiple perspectives enter it was the strongest take away.
The unrealized potential of self-regulation technologies can only
be found by embracing the physiology, teaching integrated models in schools and connecting our past to our future. u
sadness when we see her tears at her friend’s funeral because we
ourselves shed tears at the loss of a loved one.
A map of coordinates of the physiology of all human experiences should be possible. If so, it would help sharpen the labels
we use to describe our mental states. For science, our everyday
language for mental states and processes is highly ambiguous,
depending too much on connotation and too little on denotation. u
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California Biofeedback — Spring 2015