
Neurofeedback for Depression
Research in neurofeedback shows us that clinical depression is often associated with imbalances in frontal lobe brain activity. Sometimes electrical activity “signatures” for depression can be found in other areas of the brain that are a part of the “salience network,” which influences motivation and drive and helps us make decisions about what is important and what is not.
Individuals who present with a long history of depression, seasonal affective disorder or situational depression can usually be helped with neurofeedback treatment.
The process begins with a brain mapping procedure, which is painless and takes about 40 minutes to complete. An assessment is then made of your brain activity compared to so-called “neurotypical” brain activity. The resulting deviations from neurotypical activity are used to guide the treatment of retraining the brain, using engaging videos, video games and music as feedback.
Action Plan
The first step is to assess the key areas to see where the imbalances are. I will gather information from the person and where possible from those closest to them, as well as study any evaluations that are available on behavioural issues. I will then train these areas that are key, to develop a brainwave signature that is more neurotypical, thereby reducing the symptoms.
Individuals who present with a long history of depression, seasonal affective disorder or situational depression can usually be helped with neurofeedback treatment.
Counselling for Depression
Anyone who has had depression can tell you it is not just ‘feeling sad’. Feeling sad usually has a cause, you lost your job, had an argument etc. Depression can be there when everything on the outside is fine, it can include symptoms such as heaviness, cloudy thinking, an inability to even get easy tasks done, and a feeling of separation between you and the world, to name but a few.
Action Plan
Counselling for depression takes a mix of skills; listening is key, but it is also important to spot when someone is going round in a loop. When this happens, I use a mix of cognitive and feeling based ‘somatic’ techniques, to deepen the person’s ability to feel into what is going on, while at the same time not getting lost, so as to increase their ability to reflect.