Biofeedback for the Brain: How Neurotherapy Effectively Treats Depression, ADHD, Autism, and More » (First Paperback Edition)

Paul G. Swingle, Ph.D., is a registered psychologist in British Columbia and is certified n biofeedback and neurotherapy. He was professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa, lecturer in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and coodinator of the clinical psychophysiology service at Boston's McLean Hispital. Dr. Swingle is now in private practice in Vancouver.

Neurofeedback is a cutting-edge, drug-free therapeutic technique used by over a thousand licensed therapists in North America to treat a range of conditions from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders to epilepsy, stroke, anxiety, migraine, and depression. First popularized in the 1970s, this naturalistic method is based on the idea that we can control our brain activity and that, through training, the brain can learn to modify its own electrical patterns for more efficient processing or to overcome various states of dysfunction.

In Biofeedback for the Brain, Dr. Paul G. Swingle describes in clear and coherent language how these procedures work. With numerous actual case examples, readers follow the progress of clients from the initial "brain map" that shows the location and severity of the neurological abnormalities to the various stages of treatment. Conditions often considered untreatable by conventional health practitioners respond positively to neurotherapeutic treatment and Swingle describes many of these remarkable recoveries. Other chapters describe the use of neurotherapy for a variety of surprising purposes, including performance training for elite athletes, of which the most famous example is the Italian soccer team who considered the technique to be their "secret weapon" in attaining a World Cup victory.

Despite wide-ranging success stories and the endorsement of the American Psychological Association, many health care practitioners remain skeptical of neurofeedback and the procedures are still not well-known by the public or conventional health care providers. This book provides a thorough, definitive, and highly readable presentation of this remarkable health care alternative that offers millions of individuals a chance for healing.

List of Figures and Tables

Introduction "It's All inYour Head" 1

Ch. 1 The Basics of Biofeedback 13

Ch. 2 How Do Brainwaves Work? 39

Ch. 3 Interpreting the Signals of the Brain 60

Ch. 4 Neurotherapy and Its Partners in Treatment 83

Ch. 5 Diagnostic Chaos: The Case of ADHD 127

Ch. 6 The Broad Reach of Neurotherapy 160

Ch. 7 The Promise of Neurotherapy in the Future 184

Appendix Picking a Neurotherapist 191

Notes 195

Index 207