Neurofeedback Therapy for Trauma Healing

What exactly is trauma? 

Trauma is a distressing or disturbing experience that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope. It can cause feelings of helplessness, fear, or emotional pain. Trauma is often characterized by negative feelings, fear, and a sense of being generally unsafe. There are different types of trauma, including acute trauma (resulting from a single event), chronic trauma (from repeated exposure, such as ongoing abuse), and complex trauma (stemming from multiple, often interpersonal, traumatic events). The effects of trauma can be emotional, psychological, and physical, leading to symptoms such as anxiety, depression, flashbacks, dissociation, mood swings, and difficulty with relationships with others and self.

Trauma can be both “big” and “small,” depending on its impact and context. Big “T” Trauma (also called acute or complex trauma) are significant, often life-threatening events that have a profound emotional, mental, and psychological impact. Examples include natural disasters, serious accidents, physical or sexual assault, war, or witnessing a death. These events can lead to conditions like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or chronic anxiety and depression. Small “t” Trauma are events that might not seem as extreme as big “T” traumas but can still have a lasting impact, especially if they occur repeatedly or over a long period of time. Examples include bullying, a difficult breakup, or ongoing stress from family or work issues. Please know that both Small “t” Trauma and big “T” traumas can be very impactful and powerful over a person’s overall well-being. 

Trauma is stored in the body! 

 Trauma can leave a lasting imprint on the body, affecting how a person moves, feels, and functions. Traumatic experiences can cause long-term changes to the nervous system, keeping the body in a heightened state of alert, also known as the fight, flight, or freeze response. It is thought that the body may store trauma to protect the individual by numbing certain areas or limiting emotional expression. Trauma can overwhelm the brain’s ability to process and integrate experiences, especially the hippocampus ( mostly responsible for memory formation) and the amygdala (mostly responsible for emotional responses). As a result, these memories may be stored as fragments, rather than coherent narratives. 

What can be done to help heal trauma?!

Neurofeedback is one of the cutting-edge and evidence-based interventions that can be done to help heal trauma. Neurofeedback is a type of therapy that uses real-time monitoring of brain activity to help people learn to regulate their brain function. During the process, the brain can be trained to function more efficiently by providing feedback on its activity and promoting self-regulation. Trauma often activates the brain’s survival mode, leading to a hyperactive fight-or-flight response. Neurofeedback can help calm this overactivity by promoting relaxation and reducing hypervigilance, helping individuals feel safer and more grounded in everyday life. Trauma can cause concentration difficulties, memory problems, and insomnia.

Neurofeedback has been shown to improve focus, cognitive function, and sleep quality.

In addition, it is known that many trauma survivors struggle with emotional dysregulation, where they may feel either overwhelmed by emotions or completely detached from them. Neurofeedback can help balance the brain’s emotional centers, promoting more adaptive and helpful emotional responses. There have been clinical studies done that suggest neurofeedback has been helpful specifically in reducing common PTSD symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts. By targeting the brain networks involved in trauma processing, neurofeedback can help individuals process trauma more adaptively and effectively. 

Neurofeedback is a non-invasive and scientifically backed-up intervention to help promote a more balanced brain function. During the process, the individual sits comfortably in a chair while the brain teaches itself the most optimal brain patterns for functioning at its best. Sometimes, when an individual has been through trauma, it can be incredibly difficult to just do traditional talk therapy with a mental health professional. In some cases, this might even make things worse as the person might be retraumatized by just talking about it. Neurofeedback is a fantastic intervention that requires a minimal amount of talking. It can also be a great way to help individuals prepare the brain for a better success rate of other interventions, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). 

Start Neurofeedback Therapy in Greenwood Village, CO, Englewood, and Littleton

All in all, neurofeedback is a smart, safe, and all-natural solution to help the brain heal from trauma. At Mountain Vista Psychology, we are happy to answer any questions and look forward to supporting you or a loved one on their mental health journey! Our team of caring therapists can support you from one of our multiple practice locations. Start your therapy journey by following these simple steps:

1. Schedule a free phone consultation to see if Neurofeedback Therapy is right for you
2. Start meeting with a skilled clinician
3. Get the support you deserve to address past trauma!

Other Services Offered by Mountain Vista Psychology

At Mountain Vista Psychology, we provide many services to help empower individuals on their journey toward mental and emotional well-being. In addition to helping you cope with your anxiety symptoms in Neurofeedback Therapy, we also provide Neurofeedback for ADHD, Neurofeedback for Autism, Neurofeedback for Concussion/ TBI, and Neurofeedback for Sports/Performance. Our counseling services include child counseling, teen counseling, adult counseling, family counseling, & more. Our team also provides testing for learning disabilities, ADHD, and Autism. Be sure to check out our Blog and FAQs for more about us and our services!