Our Approach: Accurate and Defined
During the initial intake and assessment session, a Chicago Mind Solutions neurofeedback specialist will review the patient’s personal health history, discuss worrisome symptoms, and outline goals of therapy.
Since different types of mental health concerns have common, overlapping symptoms, many patients find themselves in the dark when it comes to pinpointing their diagnosis, despite being under doctors’ care for years. More often than not, a patient’s signs and symptoms are evaluated and treated based on widely accepted assumptions without taking the time to verify the heart of the problem through quantitative testing (such as QEEG).
Over a lifetime, patients with mental health concerns invest an incredible amount of time, money, and effort in their treatment regime.
At Chicago Mind Solutions, we believe every individual deserves the best chance to reach their full potential. That’s why we take the time to properly diagnose each and every client by recording a qualitative electroencephalogram or QEEG.
A QEEG indicates the activity levels in different parts of the brain; and shows the relative balance or imbalance of the brain waves.
Enlightenment Begins Here: Quantitative EEG Testing
Our state-of-the-art QEEG technology is used to help identify any brain area(s) functioning outside normative ranges.
Recording a QEEG involves simultaneously measuring brain wave activity from a few dozen points on your head. From this recording, a series of brain maps is created that show the level of certain brain wave activity.
Learn how your brain waves appear in different states, such as stressed or relaxed, focused or distracted. Then master how to self-regulate to a more optimal state.
A trustworthy diagnostic tool for mental health concerns, the QEEG establishes a person’s baseline neurological activity and informs an individual’s therapy protocol Likewise, the detailed brain maps can help us more accurately pinpoint areas of EEG abnormality, which means each client will receive the best therapy possible tailored to their personal concerns.Once the QEEG is complete, it is evaluated by the collaborative team of behavioral health professionals at Chicago Mind Solutions prior to meeting with your Neurotherapy specialist. With combined expertise working together on your behalf, we will devise a therapy protocol that addresses problem area(s) to maximize your therapy benefits.
Brain Therapy Sessions
Neurofeedback therapy is not a one-time event, but rather it involves a series of sessions. Some clients find benefits after 10 sessions while others may need up to 40 to reach their therapy goals.
Each session begins with the placement of electrodes on one’s scalp and ears with the help of a “thinking cap.” Wearing the cap displays your live brain wave activity on a computer monitor during the neurofeedback therapy.
Once connectivity is established, you engage in specific tasks or computer games, ranging in duration from 10 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, the electrodes measure brain wave activity and display immediate feedback on a computer screen so you can see what your brain looks like when you generate desirable brain wave changes.
Equally important, the brain is rewarded when it produces positive patterns. The positive reinforcement reward, such as playing pleasing music or a video game, conditions your brain to create more positive brain wave patterns in order to earn more rewards.
Regulate Brain Activity
Once you see the relationship between specific brain states on the screen, the positive reinforcement reward, and how you feel during these activities, you begin to use this visual and/or audio feedback to regulate your brain activity.
Over time, you become mindful about activating positive brain activity and inhibiting any less desirable patterns, which allows your brain to re-route neurological pathways.
Since neurofeedback is a learned skill, improvement is gradual over a period of time and retained for long periods. Once these skills are generalized through practice and repetition, the brain tends to regulate these states effortlessly and automatically.
Therapy Duration
At Chicago Mind Solutions, we find that many of our patients begin to feel a positive response to neurofeedback therapy after only a few treatments. Depending on the condition being treated, it usually takes between 10 and 40 neurofeedback sessions to reach one’s therapeutic goals. For optimal results, at least two session a week is recommended.
For more information or to schedule a consultation, call Chicago Mind Solutions at (847) 656-5080 or (847) 250-9881.