How to Locate the Right Therapist For Your Child

When your child’s symptoms indicate a need for therapy due to a mental or emotional condition, it can seem quite difficult to find the person best suited for the task. A medical doctor or school counselor may have offered a referral, and that’s a good place to start, but it’s important to locate a therapist who is a good fit for your child.

We’ll first deal with the questions you can use to filter your search. It’s appropriate, as you make inquiries, to ask what experience the therapist has in treating your child’s specific disorder. For your own comfort level, it’s also important to know the method of treatment they will be employing. Will they rely primarily on medication to relieve your child’s symptoms? Are they open to alternative therapies like biofeedback? Asking those kinds of questions during your research can help you better understand the qualifications and background of individual therapists.

As you begin your search for the right therapist for your child, you have several sources of information at your disposal. Most medical society directories have ratings and background information on doctors in every type of practice.

If you are in a support group for parents whose children have a specific condition, asking other parents about their experiences with therapists can be helpful. As mentioned previously, your child’s medical doctor can provide information on therapists that patients have been referred to in the past. In the same way, the counselor at your child’s school may be able to provide details about child therapists to which students have been referred.

Another source of information regarding therapists is the abundance of directories available online. Some directories are maintained by professional organizations to which therapists may belong. Others may offer clinicians the opportunity to provide detailed profiles with their education, licensing, and areas of specialty to prospective clients.

It is helpful to know, as you read through a therapist’s profile, what their credentials indicate, because counseling professionals come from varied educational backgrounds. LCMFT, for example, indicates the therapist is a Licensed Clinical Marriage & Family Therapist.  The credentials LCPC mean that the therapist is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with a Masters degree in psychology. LMSW would indicate they are a Licensed Master Social Worker.

Regardless of credentials, the therapist who is right for your child is the one who employs effective strategies to bring relief. Do your homework, choose the therapist you believe will relate best to your child and look forward to a brighter future for your child.

Alternative medicine: BrainCore Therapy's Neurofeedback therapy

Weighing Alternative Treatments for ADHD

Sifting Through the ADHD Treatment Muck

With medication and therapy coming at high costs – monetarily and health-wise – many people are wondering if alternative treatments for ADHD are viable options that can actually help treat and control the problem. Though many of these treatments have been written off as hokey or impractical, they have actually experienced some degree of success if administered correctly. At the very least, they are at least worth looking into and considering.

Dietary Changes Lack Proof

When speaking about alternative treatments for ADHD, one of the first things that comes to mind is dietary modification. Historically, there was always thought to be a link between ADHD and sugar intake. This hypothesis has been researched extensively over the last several decades, and it has never once been conclusively shown to be true. Alternatively, in recent years, the thinking has shifted to adding more high-fiber and whole foods into a child’s diet may subdue ADHD symptoms or defeat the disorder altogether. While promoting a healthy and balanced diet in the lives of our children is certainly of paramount important, unfortunately research has again debunked this as a worthwhile combatant for ADHD.

Is the Answer in Your Back?

One really interesting theory that has surfaced amongst alternative treatments for ADHD has been that the disorder can be controlled through chiropractic medicine. Doctors have utilized several methodologies, including the correction of spinal imbalances and the realigning of cranial bones. Where the first method might have a little validity (although research has been inconclusive), the second one has been laughed off by most doctors, who are quick to point out that cranial bones do not move and therefore cannot be realigned.

Neurofeedback: The Last Treatment Standing

While most of the alternative treatments for ADHD have been debunked both here and elsewhere, there are some interesting new methods that actually are backed up by scientific research. One such method is called neurofeedback, a painless and noninvasive process in which the brain is taught to regulate dysfunctional patterns that may in fact be at the root of ADHD and its symptoms. After a comprehensive assessment, patients are taken through a series of guided brain exercises over the course of their treatment sessions. These exercises slowly but surely retrain the brain to vigilantly police its own activity, and thereby quelling the more problematic symptoms of ADHD.

Now that you have sorted through the various alternative treatments for ADHD, it is time to embrace BrainCore’s dynamic and transformative neurofeedback therapy; to learn more click here today.

Five Alternative and Natural Remedies for ADD

Beyond Prescriptions and Therapy

Alternative and natural remedies for ADD have never been more important. Pharmaceuticals have gotten more and more complicated over the years, and now we hardly even know what is going into our bodies or those of our children. Taking a doctor’s word for it is usually fine, but in this case, even they probably don’t know the intricacies of each pill and what the long-term effects could be. Here are five alternative and natural remedies for ADD that, when administered properly, should subdue symptoms in just the same manner but without the inherent risks:

·         Massage: This may sound hokey or altogether unrealistic, but massage is one of the most effective natural remedies for ADD. The long and short of it is this: children and adults with ADD or ADHD tend to be extremely over-stimulated, and this is reflected throughout their bodies, especially in their nervous system and muscles. Massage has an obvious soothing effect on these systems, as well as helping divert pent up energy elsewhere within the body. This has been shown to directly correlate to more productive behavior. Nighttime massage immediately prior to bed has proven particularly effective, especially in children.

·         Vitamins/Supplements: Fish oil, zinc, melatonin, magnesium, B and C vitamins, and probiotics have all shown measured success as natural remedies for ADD. When it comes to finding the right vitamins for you and suppressing ADD symptoms, find what works best for you by trying a few. Do not despair, however, as all of these can be healthy parts of your diet even outside of treating the disorder.

·         Yoga/Meditation/Relaxation Exercises: Finding your center, learning how to calm yourself, and taking active control of your body are incredibly useful tools in combating inattentiveness and other symptoms of ADD – each of these exercises focuses on instilling these concepts.

·         Diet and Exercise Modifications: This is not so much among the natural remedies for ADD, but is more of an alternative approach. Keeping diet simple, free of complex additives, caffeine, and unnecessary sugar is of absolute utmost importance. We do not truly know how some of these ingredients affect mood, behavior, and long-term health, so the best approach is to steer clear. In terms of exercise, as noted above, people with ADD often have very over-charged systems. Expend that energy, and do it in a healthy way through daily exercise.

·         Neurofeedback: This is a really exciting alternative approach to ADD treatment. The greatest part about neurofeedback is that it is designed to set up patients for long-term symptom suppression – a life without the frustration of ADD. Doctors first will identify what brainwave patterns have gone awry, causing the loss of focus and concentration characterized by ADD. After this, they will develop a treatment plan unique for each patient. All done noninvasively and without poking or prodding, neurofeedback is the ultimately serves to your brain to self-regulate through guided brain exercises.

To find out more about alternative and natural remedies for ADD such as BrainCore’s awe-inspiring neurofeedback therapy; read on and click here today.

Retraining Your Brain with Biofeedback

What Exactly Is Neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is a specific type of biofeedback that deals exclusively with the brain. Brain functions are observed and brain waves are measured in order to provide feedback that can be used to retrain dysfunctional brainwave patterns. Not sure what type of damage these patterns are doing? Believe it or not, they are the root of problems causing neurological issues both large and small.

Also known as EEG Biofeedback, neurofeedback is designed to give patients long-term coping mechanisms for managing neurological disorders. This is accomplished by teaching the brain to self-regulate, as opposed to having it be regulated by medications which can have harmful side effects or even create dependency.

What Can Be Treated?

In the past, neurofeedback has been proven effective in fighting a great number of neurological conditions both common and rare. Here are just some of the problems an disorders in which the worth of the treatment has already been proven by anecdotal research:

·         Addiction

·         Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

·         Autism

·         Chronic Pain

·         Depression

·         Epilepsy

·         Headaches

·         Insomnia

·         Panic Attacks

How it Works

Neurofeedback is a guided exercise for the brain that aims to get brainwave patterns that have gone awry and subsequently become problematic back to normal. Doctors are able to recognize brainwave patterns in need of retraining during a pre-treatment assessment that all patients must undergo and then formulate a course of action. The treatment itself generally consists of patients being presented various stimuli while simultaneous hooked up to a monitor. Brainwave patterns are measured, and if they are regular the stimuli will continue being presented. If the brainwaves begin to deviate from normal, the stimuli will become less available to the patient, prompting the brain to return to a normal pattern subconsciously and thus training the brain to self-regulate. Ultimately, in doing so, the entire brain becomes much healthier and operates much more efficiently – ridding patients of some of the more troubling symptoms of neurological disorders.

Neurofeedback therapy is entirely noninvasive and has been declared safe by the Food and Drug Administration. In fact, not once in the 40-year history of the procedure has one serious side effect been recognized. Everything is pain-free and monitored by trained doctors. Best of all, where a drug wears off or therapy is no longer available, the positive effects of neurofeedback are still felt for a lifetime because your brain has learned to right the ship independently.

To further understand how BrainCore’s extraordinary neurofeedback therapy could change your life, click here today.

Can BrainCore Therapy Treat Post Stroke Syndrome?

What is Post Stroke Syndrome?

Central Post Stroke Pain Syndrome, also called CPSP or simply Post Stroke Syndrome, is an excruciating and debilitating condition, one BrainCore Therapy is determined to defeat. Post Stroke Syndrome is extremely difficult to treat because it can take many forms and we are still in the process of learning about it. Generally, there are four kinds of pain common to post-stroke recovery:

• Peripheral neuropathic pain: nerve sensitivity that causes muscle pain, numbness, tingling, burning sensations, and weakness throughout the nervous system
• Spasticity: tightness or stiffness in muscles causing discomfort and limiting movement
• Musculoskeletal pain: pain centralized in the bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons
• Headaches 

BrainCore Therapy recognizes that surviving a stroke is unfortunately only the first hurdle patients must overcome in getting their life back to some semblance of normalcy. In addition to these typical post-stroke symptoms we just discussed, Post Stroke Syndrome is characterized by thalamic pain syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes the brain and spinal cord to register various stimuli incorrectly and cause chronic and agonizing pain throughout the body. It is precisely this condition that BrainCore Therapy wishes to treat with neurofeedback.

How Neurofeedback Works

The concept behind BrainCore Therapy’s groundbreaking treatment is simple: your body knows how to function properly, and if it has lost its way, we must simply retrain it. That sounds well and good in theory, but never before have we been able to accomplish this through such technologically sophisticated means. Neurofeedback therapy allows doctors to monitor cues and feedback from the body real-time while patients are taken through a series of guided brain exercises aimed at correcting brainwave patterns that are causing problems such as Post Stroke Syndrome. The best part is this: neurofeedback by BrainCore Therapy is all completely painless, noninvasive, and doesn’t involve any sort of medication. All that is used are small EEG sensors that hook you up to monitoring devices, all supervised by a doctor. BrainCore Therapy understands that you have been through enough surviving and recovering from a stroke, and the ultimate goal of neurofeedback is to give you lasting tools to make each and every day more comfortable and enjoyable for you as you put your best foot forward. To learn more about BrainCore Therapy and their incredible neurofeedback treatment technique for Post Stroke Syndrome, click here today.

Can BrainCore Therapy Treat Post Stroke Syndrome?

What is Post Stroke Syndrome?

Central Post Stroke Pain Syndrome, also called CPSP or simply Post Stroke Syndrome, is an excruciating and debilitating condition, one BrainCore Therapy is determined to defeat. Post Stroke Syndrome is extremely difficult to treat because it can take many forms and we are still in the process of learning about it. Generally, there are four kinds of pain common to post-stroke recovery:

·         Peripheral neuropathic pain: nerve sensitivity that causes muscle pain, numbness, tingling, burning sensations, and weakness throughout the nervous system

·         Spasticity: tightness or stiffness in muscles causing discomfort and limiting movement

·         Musculoskeletal pain: pain centralized in the bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons

·         Headaches

BrainCore Therapy recognizes that surviving a stroke is unfortunately only the first hurdle patients must overcome in getting their life back to some semblance of normalcy. In addition to these typical post-stroke symptoms we just discussed, Post Stroke Syndrome is characterized by thalamic pain syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes the brain and spinal cord to register various stimuli incorrectly and cause chronic and agonizing pain throughout the body. It is precisely this condition that BrainCore Therapy wishes to treat with neurofeedback. 

How Neurofeedback Works

The concept behind BrainCore Therapy’s groundbreaking treatment is simple: your body knows how to function properly, and if it has lost its way, we must simply retrain it. That sounds well and good in theory, but never before have we been able to accomplish this through such technologically sophisticated means. Neurofeedback therapy allows doctors to monitor cues and feedback from the body real-time while patients are taken through a series of guided brain exercises aimed at correcting brainwave patterns that are causing problems such as Post Stroke Syndrome.

The best part is this: neurofeedback by BrainCore Therapy is all completely painless, noninvasive, and doesn’t involve any sort of medication. All that is used are small EEG sensors that hook you up to monitoring devices, all supervised by a doctor. BrainCore Therapy understands that you have been through enough surviving and recovering from a stroke, and the ultimate goal of neurofeedback is to give you lasting tools to make each and every day more comfortable and enjoyable for you as you put your best foot forward.

To learn more about BrainCore Therapy and their incredible neurofeedback treatment technique for Post Stroke Syndrome, click here today.