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Neurofeedback Experience

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PTSDMama

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I usually post in the supporters area, so I'll just give a brief intro. Our 6 year old son has PTSD from trauma experienced in his birth family. We work with a play therapist, and recently found that in addition to his PTSD, he has some other factors, such as heavy metal toxicity.

At this point, we are not actively pursuing any additional therapy, as we are working to get the heavy metals out of his system and see if that will help him. However, his therapist did give us a list of recommended psychiatrists in case we need to go that route. One of them uses neurofeedback.

I've done some research on that subject and am confused as to how that would work for a child. It seems like it would be difficult. I'm curious as to if anyone here has experienced it for themselves and if it was helpful.
 
I haven't tried neurofeedback myself but from what I've heard your money would be better invested elsewhere.

Now, your post made some red flags pop up in my head. Heavy metal toxicity? Who tested for that? If it wasn't an ordinary, regular, main stream, non-alternative hospital's lab, I seriously advise you to have your son tested again by one, and to seek a second opinion from a medical doctor who's as main stream as the lab. There is an awful lot of alt-med cranks out there who endanger mentally ill children by administering chelation therapy for bogus heavy metal toxicity diagnosed by bogus labs. Kids have died from that.
 
Thanks for your concern and the response. I was kind of thinking it wouldn't be the way to go but still wanted to gather some information.

As for the heavy metal toxicity, they most definitely did not recommend chelation therapy and we wouldn't do that if they did. It's a chiropractic nutritionist who we've had a relationship with for more than 5 years, seeing huge benefits in my mom's, mine and my husband's health if we follow their recommendations. They provide all the values and ranges so we can see what they see and check it out for ourselves. They've been in the area for more than 20 years, providing many people with results. Since they're so transparent, we can do the research and find out if what they're recommending is for real, or bogus. They also provide independent research studies and citations we can check out ourselves too.

Only sharing that level of detail to set minds at ease...sorry if it was too much detail. :-) Thanks again for your concern and for speaking up!
 
Your reply actually made me worry even more -.- But as long as you stay away from chelation without proper medical supervision it's probably okay.
 
Nah, you're not worrying me, I'm worrying myself. You know, taking responsibility for my own emotions and stuff.

You just carry on as if nothing had happened.
 
I don't know if a psychiatrist would use neurofeedback on a child versus conventional play / art therapy to help the child describe things to them. Children aren't just going to let it all spill out normally... depending on the level of trauma endured.
 
I usually post in the supporters area, so I'll just give a brief intro. Our 6 year old son has PTSD from trauma experienced in his birth family. We work with a play therapist, and recently found that in addition to his PTSD, he has some other factors, such as heavy metal toxicity.

At this point, we are not actively pursuing any additional therapy, as we are working to get the heavy metals out of his system and see if that will help him. However, his therapist did give us a list of recommended psychiatrists in case we need to go that route. One of them uses neurofeedback.

HI
On the contrary to the opinion below, Neurofeedback and Biofeedback which measures stress related physiology has been extremely successful with PTSD.
 
I usually post in the supporters area, so I'll just give a brief intro. Our 6 year old son has PTSD from trauma experienced in his birth family. We work with a play therapist, and recently found that in addition to his PTSD, he has some other factors, such as heavy metal toxicity.

I have a child with PTSD as a result of abuse. I opted for neurofeedback prior to trying medication and the effect has been nothing short of miraculous. The process is very non threatening and uses a system of rewards that look like video games and increased points for keeping brain function in an optimal range. The idea behind it, as explained to me, is that the brain's functioning can be negatively impacted by traumatic experiences. The neurofeedback trains the brain to return to normal functioning and the results are long lasting and possibly permanent.

My son was depressed, suicidal, violent, withdrawn and had high anxiety. He is a very bright child but because of his abusive experience his academic performance dropped precipitously. After beginning neurofeedback training, most of his symptoms and problematic behaviors completely vanished. He returned to high academic achievement, he smiled, interacted with family and friends and became engaging all around. We started in the summer and when he returned to school one teacher rushed to me in the hallway and exclaimed that he was like a brand new boy. She couldn't believe the change in him.

I know that many out there critizice this therapy but I have had nothing but good experiences with it. I hope this helps. There is now a lot of information about neurofeedback out there so I encourage you to research and learn about it first hand as much as you can. Only you can decide what is best for your child. Some things that I have found helpful are the website for the Brian Othmer Foundation and the book A Symphony in the Brain by Jim Robbins.

Best of luck
 
We moved to a new area, and before we moved, our play therapist gave us some options for continued healing. One of those was neurofeedback. Once my husband's benefits kick in, we'll have to check into that. He's regressing quite a bit, which was to be expected with the move, and we need something to help.

I will definitely give it more thought and research as we wait for benefits. Thank you so much, and I'm so happy for you and your son that you found something that works.
 
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