Types of Neurotherapy

There are seven types of neurotherapy for the treatment of various conditions:1

• Frequency/power neurofeedback
• Slow cortical potential neurofeedback (SCP-NF) 
• Low-energy neurofeedback system (LENS)
• Hemoencephalography (HEG) neurofeedback
• Live Z-score neurofeedback
• Low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA)
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

The type of neurotherapy recommended depends on the condition or symptoms you are trying to address.

Techniques

During a typical neurotherapy session, you’ll sit in a chair with electrodes on your scalp. This is completely painless. It’s similar to the doctor using a stethoscope to listen to your heartbeat.

Your therapist will guide you through some simple activities while the EEG records the electrical impulses in your brain. Depending on your treatment plan, you may be asked to watch images on a screen, play a video game, or listen to music. 

The electrodes provide instant audio and visual feedback about your brain activity. If you’re watching images on a screen, for example, the screen will become brighter when your brain produces favorable brainwave patterns. When it produces less harmonious brainwave patterns, the screen dims.

This instant feedback helps your brain learn what it needs to do to make the screen brighter. Over time, your brain figures out how to develop and sustain the desired brainwave patterns (and minimize the production of undesired ones) that keep the screen bright.2

A neurotherapy session typically lasts between 30 and 60 minutes. Standard neurotherapy usually involves 30 to 40 sessions. The number of sessions a person needs varies, but it’s rare for a person to need more than 40 sessions.