Can Monitoring Brain Waves Boost Mental Health?
This article involved a deep dive into neurofeedback, a "brain training" therapy that has been around for decades — its advocates say the therapy can improve concentration, mood, sleep, and even athletic ability, but it has yet to gain traction in mainstream mental health circles.
It feels like something out of a science fiction movie... practitioners place patients in front of a computer, attach several electrodes to their skull, and then prompt them to play a movie or song — using nothing but their thoughts. The video/song will only play normally when you produce "healthy" brain activity. If done repeatedly, the theory goes, neurofeedback trains your brain to default towards this healthy behavior.
Critics say it's a placebo (as do the handful of double blind placebo controlled trials conducted on it) but I interviewed many people for this article that swear by it. Stephanie, the only patient I was able to include in this piece, said neurofeedback was the only thing that has reduced her PTSD symptoms, which include suicidal thoughts and intense flashbacks.
