Heartmath researchers report that humans continuously emit energy fields into their environment that can have positive or negative psychophysiological consequences for persons who enter them. The heart is a major source of these electrical fields, but thoughts, attitudes, and emotions also make an important contribution. Amazing too is that these electrical fields can be detected by others up to 5 feet away ...

U.S. News and World Report recently listed neurofeedback among 9 drug free treatments of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that consumers should consider. The author discusses why some parents are inclined to seek out "alternative" or behavioral treatments and cites evidence that stimulant drugs, such as Ritalin, may not provide long term relief and may even stunt kid's growth. The field of ne ...

In an unpublished study* (in press), researchers report that home-based neurofeedback training ("tele-neurofeedback") leads to significant improvements in sleep for participants with insomnia. A electromyography (EMG) biofeedback group ("tele-biofeedback") was used as a comparison group. Seventeen participants were randomly assigned to a neurofeedback (n=9) or biofeedback condition (n=8), and 12 control sub ...

Journey to the Wild Divine and Healing Rhythms are part of the Wild Divine hardware/software biofeedback system available for professional or home use. This software sports a cool user interface that teaches relaxation skills through guided tutorials from experts and through visual and auditory feedback complete with modern graphics and beautiful sounds and music. The user explores ancient worlds and must a ...

In a huge development for the field of biofeedback, researchers* classified neurofeedback for childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as "Level 5 - Efficacious and Specific" - the highest available efficacy rating established by ISNR and AABP. The investigators utilized a statistical technique called a meta-analysis to arrive at the results. Speaking from personal experience, neurofeedback ...

The National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) released a free video to promote awareness of the symptoms of depression and its potential treatments. In fact, they encourage public distribution of this video at schools, workshops, and other public functions. Preteen or adolescent males and females are the targeted audience. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), psychotropic, and combined treatments are advoc ...

The Beck Institute, a non-profit organization headed by Aaron Beck, M.D., created The Soldiers Suicide Prevention to provide a central resource for suicide prevention mental healthcare services for the proud men and women of our fighting forces. Healthcare providers can also receive Cognitive Therapy-based suicide prevention training. As a strong supporter of our fine military personnel, I urge our readers ...

Approximately 5% of persons in the United States suffer from primary persistent insomnia and many are prescribed sedative hypnotics or antidepressant medications. However, prescription medication can also cause side effects or create dependence, and published data on their efficacy for sleep disorders is limited*. Additionally, poor sleep may return once the medication intake stops*. The current study* inve ...

Researchers* acquired data during March 1, 2003 to December 31, 2004 from the The Organized Program to Initiate Lifesaving Treatment in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure (OPTIMIZE-HF) to further explore the connection between depression and heart failure. Data from the medical charts of 48,612 patients (mean age = 73) from 259 hospitals were included. The authors* provide a good overview of the widel ...

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's "Rethinking Drinking: Alcohol and Your Health" is a wonderful online evidenced-based resource for clinicians who work with persons with drinking problems. This website is somewhat unique in that it does not promote abstinence, though abstinence is one treatment option discussed. A downloadable PDF e-book that is suitable for patient handout is also av ...