19-channel
BRAIN MAP
30
TRAINING SESSIONS
4
BRAIN MAPS
Free
15-MINUTE CALL
WHAT NEUROFEEDBACK IS
It is training, not a treatment you receive
Sensors on your scalp read the electrical rhythms your brain is already producing. Software turns those rhythms into something you can perceive: a movie that stays bright and clear when your brain does what you are training it to do, and dims when it does not. Your brain notices the pattern long before you do, and moves toward it.
It is the same mechanism as learning to balance on a bike. Nobody explains balance to you. You get feedback until your body works it out. You do not have to concentrate, believe in it, or do anything in particular. Most people watch a show.
Nothing goes in. No current, no stimulation, no pain. The sensors only read, the same way a thermometer reads temperature.
The cap on, sensors in place, mid-session. This is what a session looks like.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A SESSION
Three things, in a loop, for about half an hour
1
Sensors read
Sensors on your scalp pick up the electrical activity your brain already makes.
2
Software responds
The movie you are watching stays clear, or dims, in real time.
3
Your brain adjusts
It notices the pattern before you do and moves toward it. Repeated several hundred times a session.
Change accumulates across sessions rather than arriving in one. Most people train twice a week for roughly three months. Sleep is usually the first thing that shifts. Attention, reactivity and mood follow later if they are going to.
YOUR BRAIN MAP (qEEG)
Before any training starts, we map
Nineteen sensors, twenty minutes, eyes open and eyes closed. The recording is cleaned of muscle and eye movement, then compared with a database of people your age. The result is a picture of how your brain is running, and where to aim.
Delta (1–3 Hz)
Slow-wave activity running well above the age-matched range across the front of the brain.
Alpha (8–12 Hz)
The brain’s idling rhythm, here sitting outside the expected range in frontal regions.
Beta (16–20 Hz)
Fast, thinking-speed activity, elevated where it should be quieter.
These are real images from a brain map, shared with permission by a staff member and a friend of the practice, with every identifying detail removed. Colour marks where activity sits far from the average for that person’s age (red is furthest); grey is within the normal range.
What the map shows
How much activity there is at each speed, and in which regions
How well regions are communicating with each other
Whether the two sides of the brain are balanced
Whether activity is arriving in the right order
How the larger networks are organised
This is a description of how your brain is running. It is not a diagnosis and it does not name a condition. It tells us where to aim.
WHAT WE COMPARE IT TO
Live z-score training, 19 channels at once
Most neurofeedback trains one or two spots on the scalp against a rough idea of what is normal. Live z-score training compares your brain, moment to moment, with a normative database of people your age.
A z-score simply says how far a given measure sits from the middle of that group. Where something sits well outside the range, and where it matches a symptom you came in with, that is where the training is aimed.
Brian trains all of the standard recording sites at once, along with sLORETA source training that looks at activity deeper in the brain. The software sees which networks are running too fast, too slow, or out of step, and rewards your brain each time those patterns move toward typical.
The training screen during a session: live EEG from four sites, z-scores for each rhythm, and the reward thresholds the brain is learning to meet.
We show you the map and walk you through it. If it does not show anything worth training, we tell you that.
THE RHYTHMS WE TRAIN
Your brain runs several of these at once, all the time
Training nudges the balance between them.
Delta
Deep, dreamless sleep. Loud while you are awake usually means tired or foggy.
0.5–4 Hz
Theta
4–8 Hz
Drifting, daydreaming, right before sleep. Too much of it during the day makes focus hard.
Alpha
Calm and awake. The brain’s idling speed: relaxed, but ready.
8–12 Hz
SMR
Body still, mind alert. The rhythm behind sitting quietly without fidgeting.
12–15 Hz
Beta
15–25 Hz
Thinking, solving, focused outward. Too much at the back of the head can look like anxiety.
A fair warning about this chart. These one-line meanings are clinical shorthand, not settled neuroscience. Researchers do not fully agree on where one band ends and the next begins, and no single rhythm maps neatly onto one feeling. It is a useful picture, not a readout of who you are.
THE PROGRAM
Four steps, about three months, with a measurement at each end
1
Brain map
Two qEEG recordings, eyes open and closed. About an hour in the office.
2
Your protocol
Built from your map, not a preset. We walk you through it before anything starts.
3
Training
30–45 minutes, about twice a week. A new map every ten sessions shows what is changing.
4
Progress maps
A new map every ten sessions, four in total, so you see what changed in your own brain, not just how you feel.
The equipment
We use a BrainMaster Discovery 24 amplifier, a 24-channel EEG system, with NeuroGuide from Applied Neuroscience for qEEG analysis and protocol design, and BrainMaster’s BrainAvatar software for live z-score and sLORETA training.
The EEG equipment is FDA-cleared as a biofeedback device. That clearance covers the hardware and its use for relaxation and muscle re-education; it is not a finding by the FDA that neurofeedback treats any condition.
WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS
We would rather tell you this plainly than have you find out later that we oversold it
One randomised controlled trial: adults with chronic PTSD who no longer met diagnostic criteria after 24 sessions over 12 weeks.
72.7%
NEUROFEEDBACK GROUP
16 of 22 people
PTSD: the strongest evidence
In a randomized controlled trial published in PLOS ONE in 2016, 52 adults with chronic PTSD who had already tried other treatments without enough relief were assigned to either neurofeedback or a waitlist. The neurofeedback group did 24 sessions over 12 weeks. One encouraging study, not a guarantee of any individual outcome.
Anxiety, sleep and stress
Smaller studies and a lot of clinical experience support neurofeedback here. The research base is thinner than for PTSD and ADHD. Many of our clients come for these and do well, and we tell you it is less studied because it is.
31.8%
WAITLIST GROUP
7 of 22 people
ADHD: promising, and unsettled
Neurofeedback for ADHD has been studied more than any other use, and the answer depends on who is rating. Parent ratings improve in meta-analyses; blinded raters show smaller or no effects. If your child is doing well on medication, we would not suggest replacing it with this. If medication is not tolerated or is not enough, this is a reasonable thing to try with clear eyes.
Where the evidence is thin
People ask about traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, autism and OCD. Research exists but it is early, small and inconsistent. We will not tell you it works for those. If you want to try, we map first and tell you honestly whether we see anything we would expect to be able to train.
WHAT A SESSION IS LIKE
You sit in a chair and watch a show
Brian puts a few sensors on your scalp with conductive paste; it washes out, and it is the least comfortable part of the whole thing. Then you watch something on a screen for half an hour while the software does its work.
No shock. No current. No pain. Nothing to concentrate on.
Some people feel tired afterward, especially early on. A few feel briefly wired. Both usually settle within a session or two, and we adjust the protocol if they do not.
IS THIS FOR YOU
A good fit, honestly assessed
This is a good fit if
• You have done talk therapy, gotten real insight, and your body still has not gotten the message.
• Sleep is the thing that will not move.
• Medication is not tolerable, is not enough, or is not something you want as the only approach.
• You can commit to twice a week for about three months.
This is not for you if
• You are looking to replace medication for bipolar disorder or a psychotic disorder. This sits alongside that care; it does not substitute for it.
• You are in acute crisis. We would want to stabilize things first.
• You need it to work by a specific date.
• You want it instead of therapy for something therapy treats well. We will say so.
WHAT IT COSTS
One price for the whole program
$3,500
30 training sessions and four brain maps: one before you start and a new one every ten sessions.
A brain map on its own is $250. If you go on to the program, that $250 is credited, so the rest is $3,250.
Most insurance plans do not cover neurofeedback yet, so nearly everyone pays out of pocket. We accept HSA and FSA funds, which is how most of our clients pay, and CareCredit if you would rather spread it out.
You will get a Good Faith Estimate in writing before you commit to anything.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Neurofeedback FAQs
Is it safe?
No current goes into your brain; the equipment only reads. The most common side effects are temporary tiredness or feeling briefly keyed up afterward.
Do the results last?
Because it's learning rather than a substance, changes tend to hold. Some people come back for a few tune-up sessions after a hard stretch.
Can I do therapy at the same time?
Yes, and most people should. Neurofeedback tends to make the nervous system more available for the work; therapy gives the change somewhere to go.
Can my child do this?
Yes. Children often need fewer sessions. We'd want to walk you through the ADHD evidence above first, honestly.
What if my brain map doesn't show anything?
We'll tell you, and we won't sell you the program. That happens, and it's exactly why we map first.
How many sessions will I need?
The program is 30 training sessions plus four brain maps, run about twice a week. That works out to roughly three months. Some people need fewer, and we'll say so rather than sell you sessions you don't need.
How soon will I notice anything?
Usually somewhere between session 10 and session 20, and the people around you often notice before you do. Change tends to be gradual rather than dramatic. If nothing at all has moved by session 15, that's a conversation, not something we ignore.
Does insurance cover it?
Almost never, yet. Nearly everyone pays out of pocket. HSA and FSA funds do apply, and that's how most of our clients pay.
Can I keep taking my medication?
Yes. Don't change anything without talking to your prescriber. As the brain regulates better, some people find a dose that used to fit now feels like too much. Tell us and tell your prescriber if that happens.
What if I miss a week?
It isn't ruined. Twice a week is what works best, and stretching the gaps out slows things down, so we'd rather start when your schedule can carry three months than start and stall.
YOUR NEUROFEEDBACK PROVIDER
All neurofeedback here is provided by Brian
Brian Austin, LCSW is trained in neurofeedback and is the only clinician here who offers it. He also provides EMDR, Internal Family Systems and clinical hypnosis, so the brain training and the therapy can be planned together.
Sessions are in person at 746 E 1910 S, Ste 4, Provo. Neurofeedback pairs with therapy from the rest of the team when you want both.
Please read: Neurofeedback is not a substitute for medical or psychiatric care and is not a treatment for any medical condition. Individual results vary, and some people see little or no change. Nothing on this page is a guarantee of any outcome. If you take medication, do not change it without talking to your prescriber. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.