Neurofeedback for Trauma Therapy & PTSD Treatment in Katy, Texas & Houston
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Has your teen or young adult gone from a happy and outgoing teen to a sad and withdrawn teen seemingly overnight?
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Has your teen or young adult gone from mild tempered to having frequent anger outbursts, even over small things, without apparent reason?
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Have you noticed your teen or young adult suddenly having a difficult time focusing and concentrating and it's starting to impact their grades?
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Is your teen or young adult finding it difficult to get or stay asleep at night? Do they talk to you about recent nightmares that they are having?
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Is your teen or young adult spending less time with friends and family than they used to or changed their group of friends altogether?
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Is your teen or young adult, who regularly attends church, now becoming more resistant in attending?
Trauma & PTSD: Suffering in Silence
It is painful as a parent to see a change in our teen or young adult and see them hurting. What's even more difficult is to ask what is wrong and to be told, "I'm fine", "It's nothing", or "I'm just tired."
As parents who have been teens and young adults before, we understand that these statements are a wall that it put up to not let people in. We just want to help but are not able to when they keep us out.
Trauma for teens and young adults can create feelings of shame, embarrassment, and a variety of other intense emotions. It can be very hard for a teen or young adult to talk about traumatic events that they experienced.
You may have a teen or young adult who opens up and communicates with you what is going on. Sometimes, it's hard to describe the inner emotional experience. It can be confusing to sort through all the intense and competing emotions trauma or PTSD creates. They may not have the words to describe why they feel the way they do.
For those teens or young adults who can define and explain their inner emotional experience around trauma, sometimes it can feel "too big" to handle. Feelings of hopelessness and a defeated feeling does it's best to take over.
Neurofeedback for trauma or PTSD is a great option. It is not talk therapy and does not require that they rehash events that may create deep rooted shame and embarrassment. First, let's take a look at what trauma and PTSD are then how neurofeedback can help.
Table of Contents
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Understanding Teen & Young Adult Trauma
As parents, none of us wishes for our teen or young adult to go through a traumatic experience. We know life is full of ups and downs and we would like to spare as much of the 'downs' as possible.
When thinking about trauma, we usually think of the big things like abuse, neglect, veterans experiencing combat, etc. In our culture, this tends to define what trauma is and is not. These more pronounced traumatic experiences become the litmus test by which we measure other, potentially traumatic experiences.
Trauma Clarified: Physical Trauma
To help illustrate and clarify the definition of trauma, it can be helpful to compare 'physical' trauma to 'psychological' trauma. For example:
A person who has been in a car accident which resulted in the person being paralyzed we would agree experienced a physical trauma. Their body has become overwhelmed by a physical injury and can no longer function as it used to.
Is this severity of physical trauma the litmus test we use to define physical trauma?
How about the teen athlete who experiences a sprained ankle during a volleyball or soccer game? How about a young adult athlete in a football or basket ball game who tears their ACL? These are situations where their physical injury has overwhelmed the body in it's ability to function normally.
When we look at physical trauma, we would agree that both the car accident and the sports injuries are physical traumas just of varying severities.
Trauma Clarified: Psychological Trauma
Now, let's take a look at psychological trauma:
In Texas, more than 4 children die from abuse or neglect on average every week. There are 184 children that are confirmed victims daily. And, more than 7 children are maltreated every hour.
For purposes of this illustration, this would be the psychological equivalent to the car accident. Abuse and neglect can overwhelm the teen's (or child's) psychological system.
This can cause the mind and the brain's ability to not function as it normally would. As a result, the teen or young adult's emotional/behavioral regulation and control are affected.
Other teens or young adults who have not experienced abuse or neglect can also experience trauma. The teen or young adult who loses a parent to disease. The teen who is bullied. The young adult who is ostracized from their peer group. The teen who breaks up with their first love or who loses their favorite pet.
While these experiences do not rise to the level of abuse or neglect, they may be the psychological equivalent to a teen or young adult's athletes’ sports injury. This type of trauma is likely to not have the same psychological life impact that abuse neglect may have. Yet, it can still overwhelm the teen or young adult's ability to function normally.
A Teen or Young Adult's Psychosocial & Physiological Development
We sometimes see teens as 'mini adult' when in reality they are more like 'bigger children'. The teen's brain and body are in a state or rapid development. The brain does not completely develop until the age of 21 for girls and 25 for the guys.
A teen and young adult to some extent, have not learned the emotional and behavioral coping skills that adults have learned. Adults have learned these skills through repetition and experiencing situations that require us to practice these skills.
As parents, our hearts ache when our teen or young adults heart aches. As adults, we know that breaking up with your first love is almost a rite of passage. The pain will fade and life will go on.
Yet, to the teen, it can be earthshattering. This experience may be the first time they have had to cope with the pain of a broken heart.
Our hearts ache as adults when we lose a pet. To a teen, this pet may have been a significant source of comfort coming home each day and viewed as a significant loss.
As an adult, we have learned how to face bullies in various environments. As adults, the opinion of peers carries with it much less meaning than for a teen or young adult.
To a teen, the opinion of their peers is often the ONLY thing that matters. Much of a teen's sense of confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem comes from their peer group. To be ostracized by their peer group can have a profound psychological impact on the teen. Many young adults are heading off to college learning to navigate a different social scene. The desire to 'fit in' is strong.
These experiences can cause the teen or young adult's psychological system to be overwhelmed. Some can navigate these tricky life experiences. These teens or young adults may be depressed or anxious for a period of time but they tend to rebound.
Yet, some after having these experiences seem to continue to struggle. Whether it be due to other events occurring in their life at the time combined with these traumatic situations, we find some teens and young adults not rebounding as others would.
Time has passed and things do not seem to be getting better. They continue to feel sad or anxious and it seems to be getting worse. You are seeing your once happy and high achieving teen or young adult struggle to maintain their grades, friends, and a positive sense of self.
If this is the case and you have a teen or young adult who matches this description, their psychological system may be overwhelmed. If this is the case, it may be beneficial for your teen or young adult to see a therapist trained in treating trauma.
Teen & Young Adult Trauma or PTSD
Taking the examples from above, the physical trauma of the car accident or the psychological trauma of abuse and neglect, can often result in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
PTSD is a serious, anxiety related, psychological struggle. Symptoms of PTSD can impact a teen in a way that seriously impacts their ability to function normally on a day to day basis.
And the examples of the teen athlete’s sports injury is akin to teen trauma. It may not rise to the level of PTSD but still can have a serious impact to the teens ability to function normally on a day to day basis.
Symptoms of teen or young adult trauma may not be as pronounced as symptoms of PTSD. Yet, left untreated, they could create patterns of behavior that develop into more serious issues over time.
Symptoms of PTSD
We all respond differently to traumatic events. Events that are dangerous that we have experienced, or witnessed others experience, may create PTSD symptoms. Events such as:
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A violent assault on self or witnessing an assault on another
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Physical or sexual abuse
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Act of violence such as school shootings or neighborhood shootings
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Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, etc.
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Car accidents
Symptoms of PTSD generally start within 3 months of the traumatic event. Symptoms must last longer than 1 month and troubling enough to interfere with your teen's daily functioning. Depression, anxiety, and panic attacks can result.
Symptoms of PTSD in teens and young adults may include:
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Reliving the event. Teens and young adults with PTSD may experience flashbacks where they may feel they are back in the traumatic event. Nightmares of the event or disturbing mental images about the trauma during the day may occur.
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Avoiding people, places, and things that remind them about the traumatic event. Teens and young adults with PTSD may avoid those things that may bring back memories or remind them of the traumatic event. It is not uncommon for teens or young adults with PTSD to avoid talking about the event.
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Emotional numbing. Teens and young adults who have experienced a traumatic event may feel detached. They may have a negativistic view on life and lack positive emotions. They may find themselves having difficulty trusting people or situations.
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Anxiety and panic attacks. Teens and young adults who have PTSD may regularly feel nervous, irritable, jumpy, and startle easy.
If you believe your teen or young adult may be experiencing symptoms of PTSD, seeing a teen therapist or a counselor for young adults, who specializes in trauma therapy and PTSD treatment can help.
Teens and young adults can experience and respond differently to PTSD than adults. It's important that you find a teen therapist or a young adult therapist who has the expertise with trauma therapy and PTSD treatment.
Fortunately, there are several approaches in PTSD treatment. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Trauma Focused - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Neurofeedback are 3 approaches supported by research for teens and young adults. This means, that there is an approach that can be effective for your teen to help in their PTSD treatment!
How Neurofeedback for Trauma Therapy and PTSD Treatment Can Help
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Do you have a teen or young adult who has experienced trauma or if affected by PTSD?
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Have you tried talk therapy and it hasn't had the results you were looking for? You may have tried a combination of talk therapy and medication still without the results you were hoping for.
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Is your teen or young adult resistant to going to therapy as they can't talk about the trauma that they have experienced or the symptoms of PTSD?
Reasons Katy Teen & Family Counseling Began Using Neurofeedback
When starting Katy Teen & Family Counseling, the owner and Lead Clinician, Jason Drake, LCSW-S, BCN was also overseeing 3 Residential Treatment Programs (RTC). These RTCs provide intensive therapy for girls ages 11-17. The girls at the RTCs had been victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, domestic minor sex trafficking and/or neglect.
Jason was exploring options for trauma therapy and PTSD treatment that are supported by research. He was also looking for those approaches that were effective in the shortest amount of time. The girls at the RTCs were only there for 5-6 months. Traditional talk therapy with complex, developmental trauma can take a year or longer.
He learned about Neurofeedback while reading a book by one of the premier experts on teen trauma and PTSD, Bessel van der Kolk M.D. The book is, "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma."
He went on to read form another renowned expert in teen trauma and PTSD, "Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma: Calming the Fear-Driven Brain." The author of this book is Sebern F. Fisher.
Jason, along with 3 other teen therapists from one of the RTCs sought to become certified in neurofeedback. Through BCIA, they underwent rigorous training to become BCIA neurofeedback professionals. (Why is it important to choose a therapist who is BCIA Board Certified in Neurofeedback? Find out more here.)
Jason provided neurofeedback to the girls at the RTC. In providing neurofeedback for trauma therapy and PTSD treatment, he was able to see significant changes in symptoms in the teen girls within a three month period of time. The relief experienced by the girls at the RTC and in a relatively short amount of time, convinced Jason of the effectiveness of neurofeedback.
Jason Drake, LCSW, BCN, offers this effective approach at Katy Teen & Family Counseling. Neurofeedback can help your teen, young adult, or older adults resolve symptoms related to trauma and PTSD.
Neurofeedback: A Powerful Tool for Trauma Therapy and PTSD Treatment
Neurofeedback is an approach to trauma therapy and PTSD treatment that is supported by research. It has been found to be effective, so much so, that the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Administration (VA) also use neurofeedback.
Veterans who fight for our freedoms upon returning home from the front lines often experience PTSD. Neurofeedback has helped countless numbers of hero's returning from the rigors of war recover from the effects of PTSD.
At Katy Teen & Family Counseling, the sophisticated software we use is also used by the DoD/VA in treating their veterans. This software provides us access to the same neurofeedback protocols for PTSD treatment through network and symptom training that the DoD/VA use.
The DOD/VAA has found neurofeedback effective for their veterans. Katy Teen & Family Counseling has found it effective for the teens and young adults we see. As such, neurofeedback for trauma therapy and PTSD treatment has shown to be a powerful tool for teen or young adults trauma therapy and PTSD treatment.
What Does Neurofeedback Do?
Neurofeedback has been in use for approximately the last 50 years. It is an approach that is supported by research and has shown to be effective.
Neurofeedback is not talk therapy. Neurofeedback treats the problem at the source -- the brain. It is a non-invasive, comfortable, and state of the art approach in teen trauma therapy and PTSD treatment.
Neurofeedback uses sophisticated software to record the brains performance. This is done by placing a cap with sensors or individual sensors on the teen or young adult's head. The cap resembles a swimmers cap but this swimmer's cap has 19 sensors embedded in the cap.
The sensors pick up the brain's communication through the electrical signals that the brain uses to communicate. The software records how the brain is performing and creates a brain map. The brain map identifies areas of the brain that are under performing, over performing, and even peak performing.
We link the teen or young adult's symptoms related to trauma or PTSD to the recorded brain's performance and create a training program uniquely tailored to the way your teen's brain performs.
How do you Train the Brain?
At Katy Teen & Family Counseling, we use two approaches for training in neurofeedback:
Both are equally effective. The main difference is Amplitude Training does not require a teen or young adult to wear a cap (as will be outlined below). Z-score Training creates a brain map (as will be outlined below) where Amplitude Training does not.
As the training mechanisms are the same, below will be a description of Z-score training.
Once we have recorded how your teen or young adult's brain performs and have a brain map, a training protocol is developed. The training protocol will take into account the symptoms your teen or young adult is reporting based on their trauma or PTSD symptoms. We will then analyze the brain map and link those symptoms with regions of the brain that correlate with those symptoms.
We use sophisticated, state of the art software that provides the brain rewards for performing as a brain would without trauma or PTSD symptoms.
For z-score training, we use software that resembles a video game. Using the cap to measure real time performance, when your teen or young adult's brain is performing as someone their own age and gender without trauma or PTSD symptoms, their brain can control the avatar on the screen. This provides the brain a 'reward'. each time the avatar is able to be controlled.
Both amplitude and z-score training also use software that allows us to train using T.V. shows or movies. This is the most popular of the two training platforms.
How Long Are the Sessions & How Many Sessions Does it Take?
Sessions generally last for 50-60 minutes. On average and depending on the severity of the struggle, neurofeedback generally averages 40 sessions. It is necessary to provide training anywhere from 2 to 3 times a week. At Katy Teen & Family Counseling, teens, young adults, and adults participating in neurofeedback come 2-3 times weekly.
The brain receives approximately 1000 rewards per session. Over 40 sessions this results in many repetitive rewards for the brain for performing without symptoms of trauma or PTSD.
As the brain is rewarded, it starts to shift it's performance to the performance of a brain without symptoms thus alleviating or eliminating the symptoms altogether.
How is the Brain Trained?
We use software that utilizes movies or tv series. We also have software where the teen or young adult can play a video game that provides the training. We use the cap for real time feedback on the brains performance.
When the teen or young adult's brain is performing like a brain without trauma or PTSD symptoms, the picture and sound come on (or they control the avatar on the screen for the video game). When their brain is not performing like a brain without symptoms, the picture and sound fade away (or you are unable to control the avatar on the video game).
The brain seeks out novelty and reward. Through this process, we are able to achieve long term gains by treating the source of the symptoms -- the brain.
Begin Trauma Therapy & PTSD Treatment Through Neurofeedback
Katy Teen & Family Counseling
Teens or young adults who have experienced trauma and those teens or young adults who have PTSD symptoms can attest to the debilitating effects. Often, those who have experienced trauma or have symptoms of PTSD are hesitant to go to therapy.
It can be challenging to talk about the trauma they experienced. The thought of sharing that with someone they don't know can feel overwhelming even if that person is trained to help them overcome the impact of trauma.
At Katy Teen & Family Counseling, we offer an approach trauma therapy and PTSD treatment that is safe, non-invasive, and relaxing. Neurofeedback for trauma therapy and PTSD treatment can help.
If you believe your teen or young adult could benefit from neurofeedback and you would like to schedule an appointment, you can follow these three simple steps:
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Contact Katy Teen & Family Counseling
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Speak with our compassionate neurofeedback professional
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Take the first step in helping your teen or young adult regain their happy, healthy, and high achieving lives by overcoming the effects of trauma.
Katy Teen & Family Counseling Also Provides Other Therapeutic Services
While we provide neurofeedback for trauma therapy and PTSD treatment, at Katy Teen & Family Counseling, we also provide marriage counseling and couples therapy, young adult counseling, and therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
We also provide the following therapeutic services:
Neurofeedback For:
Peak performance (optimal academic brain performance)
Peak performance (optimal athletic brain performance)
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR therapy) For:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) For:
Experts in Trauma & PTSD: Current Research in Efficacy of Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback for teen trauma & PTSD can make the difference in your teen's life. Researchers have been studying treatment approaches for trauma & PTSD since the 1960's. Neurofeedback has gained attention due to it's effectiveness, non-invasive nature of the treatment, and being able to treat trauma & PTSD with or without medication.
Below are several research articles that have been conducted into the effectiveness of neurofeedback for trauma & PTSD:
The Impact of Neurofeedback Training on Children With Developmental Trauma: A Randomized Controlled Study.
Summary
Developmental trauma or chronic early childhood exposure to abuse and neglect by caregivers has been shown to have a long-lasting pervasive impact on mental and neural development, including problems with attention, impulse control, self-regulation, and executive functioning. Its long-term effects are arguably the costliest public health challenge in the United States. Children with developmental trauma rarely have a satisfactory response to currently available evidence-based psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments.
This pilot study demonstrated that 24 sessions of NFT significantly decreased PTSD symptoms, internalizing, externalizing, other behavioral and emotional symptoms, and significantly improved the executive functioning of children aged 6–13 years with severe histories of abuse and neglect who had not significantly benefited from any previous therapy.
NFT offers the possibility to improve learning, enhance self-efficacy, and develop better social relationships in this hitherto largely treatment-resistant population.
Rogel, A., Loomis, A. M., Hamlin, E., Hodgdon, H., Spinazzola, J., & van der Kolk, B. (2020). The impact of neurofeedback training on children with developmental trauma: A randomized controlled study. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(8), 918–929.
A Randomized Controlled Study of Neurofeedback for Chronic PTSD
Summary
Brain/Computer Interaction (BCI) devices (EEG neurofeedback) are designed to alter neural signals and, thereby, mental activity. This study was a randomized, controlled trial of a BCI, EEG neurofeedback training (NF), in patients with chronic PTSD to explore the capacity of NF to reduce PTSD symptoms and increase affect regulation capacities.
Compared with the control group NF produced significant PTSD symptom improvement in individuals with chronic PTSD, as well as in affect regulation capacities. NF deserves further investigation for its potential to ameliorate PTSD and to improve affect regulation, and to clarify its mechanisms of action.
van der Kolk, B. A., Hodgdon, H., Gapen, M., Musicaro, R., Suvak, M. K., Hamlin, E., & Spinazzola, J. (2016). A randomized controlled study of neurofeedback for chronic PTSD. PLoS ONE, 11(12), Article e0166752.
The Neurobiology of Emotion Regulation in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder:
Amygdala Own Regulation Via Real-time fMRI Neurofeedback
Summary
These results support the hypothesis that neural functioning among patients with PTSD is characterized by attenuated prefrontal inhibition on the limbic system, resulting in emotional dysregulation, and suggests that amygdala neurofeedback may not only be therapeutic for this patient group but may also be used as an adjunctive future treatment.
Andrew A. Nicholson, Daniela Rabellino, Maria Densmore, Paul A. Frewen, Christian Paret, Rosemarie Kluetsch,
Christian Schmahl, Jean Théberge, Richard W.J. Neufeld, argaret C. McKinnon, Jeffrey P. Reiss, Rakesh Jetly,
Ruth A. Lanius. The neurobiology of emotion regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder: Amygdala downregulation via real‐time fMRI neurofeedback. Human Brain Mapping, Volume 38, Issue 1, January, 2017.