With the changing times, mental health issues in children are continuously on the rise with 1 out 7 children, ages 3-17, diagnosed with at least one behavioral or mental health disorder (CDC, 2020).
In the realm of non-invasive and non-medication treatment options, neurofeedback and biofeedback are two of the most popular in terms of improving mental health issues in children.
Thousands of families have been exploring this treatment pathway for their neurodivergent kids and it has been proven effective and helpful.
From my 20+ years of advocating for safe, integrative ways to help regulate the brain, I’ve met many parents like you who have been exhausted, but eventually came out hopeful as they gradually witnessed their child improve through neurofeedback and biofeedback.
These are great evidence-based alternatives to drug-based treatments for mental health symptoms and disorders such as ADHD anxiety, OCD, learning issues, and so on. While both methods involve using sensors to monitor bodily functions, they differ in how they train your kid to control these functions.
What is Neurofeedback?
You may have heard of neurofeedback, but most don’t understand how it changes the brain. Neurofeedback therapy uses real-time monitoring of brain activity to train, regulate, and modify brain function based on the principle of operant conditioning.
The Power of Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is a method of learning that focuses on rewards and punishments for behavior performed, and with neurofeedback, the brain changes itself based on visual and auditory reinforcement.
Neurofeedback therapy typically involves using EEG (electroencephalogram) sensors placed on the scalp to detect brainwave activity, which is then fed back to the individual through visual or auditory cues through a computer. When they produce a healthy combination of brainwaves, their brain gets reinforced, learning to stay in a healthy rhythm over several sessions.
Healthy Brainwaves Is the Goal
By learning to modify brainwave activity, a person can improve symptoms associated with neurological and psychological conditions, including ADHD, anxiety disorders, depression, and seizures. When the brain produces a healthy combination of brainwaves, a person is more focused, can process faster, and one’s mood is improved.
Research shows us that neurofeedback is safe and has minimal temporary side effects, with mental fatigue as the most common. At our center, we give each of our patients a thoughtful healthcare plan before they start their neurofeedback session, and guide them throughout the process, in order to ensure your child is protected from any potential side effects.
A Brief History of Neurofeedback
Most people are surprised to learn that biofeedback and neurofeedback have been around for a very long time. Neurofeedback has a long history, dating back to Richard Caton's observation of electrical patterns in animal brains in Great Britain in 1875. Then, in the early 1920s, Hans Berger discovered human brain patterns called alpha rhythms.
Two British scientists, Adrian and Matthews, later repeated Berger's studies and introduced EEG to the scientific community. Neurofeedback is based on the foundation of operant conditioning, which was first historically introduced by Ivan Pavlov in 1927 through classical conditioning.
Neurofeedback emerged as a field of study in 1968 when Dr. Barry Sterman researched neurological activity associated with sleep. He observed brain activity in cats and monkeys using EEG monitoring equipment and coined “sensory motor rhythm.”
Sterman's findings would be used to treat toxic rocket fuel-induced seizures in astronauts, and NASA still utilizes these tactics today. In the early 1970s, Roy John from the New York University Medical Center coined “neurometrics.”
Researchers such as Kamiya, Kliterman, and Peniston laid the foundation for Neurofeedback treatment of anxiety and psychosomatic disorders. Then, in the 1970s and 80s, with the invention of the personal computer, Dr. Joel Lubar began using neurofeedback to treat people with ADHD. It soon became a widely recognized treatment with his work and research.
Benefits of Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback involves multiple training sessions designed to modify a child’s brainwave patterns which eventually improve their emotional and cognitive functions. Most people train two to three times a week for five to six months to create stable brain change. Neurofeedback training has several potential benefits, including:
1. Improved Attention and Focus
Neurofeedback can help people learn to control their brain waves and increase brain communication, improving their ability to concentrate and focus on tasks.
Neurofeedback can help your child learn to control their brain waves, get better at communicating with others, and improve their ability to concentrate and focus on tasks.
2. Reduced Anxiety and Stress
Neurofeedback supports a relaxed parasympathetic brain state. From temper tantrums to the constant vying for attention, your child can better manage stress and anxiety in the face of triggers.
3. Improved Sleep
If your child has different sleeping times (with insomnia) and is always restless, always asking the same questions, and always scared about bedtime, neurofeedback can regulate the brainwave patterns associated with sleep.
4. Enhanced Mood
Neurofeedback has been shown to improve mood in children by increasing the production of certain neurotransmitters associated with positive emotions.
When training the brain's emotional centers or the limbic region, one can tone down reactivity which leads to over-emotional responses.
Once we bring your kid’s limbic system into a relaxed state and train it to regulate by itself when your kid faces discomfort, you won’t have to deal with so much shouting and crying and aggressiveness anymore. It will be easier for them to be aware of what’s happening, identify the why’s and control their reactions.
5. Reduced Symptoms of ADHD
Neurofeedback has been used as a treatment for ADHD, and studies have shown that it may effectively reduce symptoms such as impulsivity and hyperactivity (Loo, 2003). Thousands of research studies show just how effective neurofeedback for ADHD is. The American Academy of Pediatrics rates it as a level-one treatment for ADHD, which is the same as psychostimulant medication.
6. Reduced Symptoms of Depression
If your child has been diagnosed with depression following symptoms of withdrawal, loss of appetite, fatigue and persistent sadness, they are most likely to show abnormal brainwaves.
Some studies suggest that neurofeedback may be an effective treatment for depression, as it can help to regulate brainwave patterns associated with negative emotions (Barlas, 2021).
How Does Neurofeedback Work?
Neurofeedback enhances communication between neurons that influences our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, which generates synchronized electrical signals and pulses known as brain waves. Some brain waves are inhibitory, while others are excitatory, with specific frequencies associated with over- or under-arousal that directly impact the behavior we see in our children.
The Role of Brain Waves in Behavior
Brain waves change depending on our emotional state, with slower waves associated with fatigue and higher waves indicating alertness. We can influence our emotional state by learning how to manipulate our brains.
QEEG Brain Mapping: The First Step
Most neurofeedback begins with a QEEG brain map. A QEEG brain mapping can help identify the state of the brain and its correlation with brainwaves in both specific brain regions and brain communication. One can detect brain waves through sensors placed on the scalp.
How Neurofeedback Regulates Brainwaves, Emotions & Behaviors
Neurofeedback provides simple reinforcement to the subconscious brain, which changes brain wave activity. Over several sessions, neurofeedback works to regulate the central nervous system and achieve a healthy brain rhythm.
Dysregulation in the nervous system can lead to conditions like ADHD or depression, but neurofeedback can help reduce symptoms. Dysregulated behaviors in children can be observable when a child has externalized behaviors such as anger and hyperactivity but less observable when internalized behaviors such as worried thinking or being unfocused. Neurofeedback aims to produce a healthy combination of brainwaves that results in feeling more focused and regulated.
Tracking Progress with EEG Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback can promote new electrical activity in the brain. An EEG neurofeedback device can record and measure activity to provide feedback to mental health professionals so they can easily monitor treatment progress.
What is Biofeedback?
In Psychology, the definition of biofeedback is a technique where your child learns to consciously control their heart rate, muscle tension, and other physiological activities with the help of real-time feedback.
Biofeedback uses electronic instruments to measure and provide feedback about a person’s bodily functions, such as blood pressure and heart rate. It regulates the vitals over a series of sessions, until your child can, as a reflex, manage physical and emotional responses caused by stress and other stimuli.
This therapy treats various conditions, including anxiety, chronic pain, tension headaches, high blood pressure, and insomnia. Many people with headaches or chronic conditions find biofeedback to be a helpful tool.
What is HRV Biofeedback?
HRV biofeedback training program focuses on regulating heart rate variability (HRV) to improve overall health and well-being. HRV refers to the time variation between consecutive heartbeats. It indicates the flexibility and adaptability of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates many body functions.
HRV biofeedback typically involves using a device that measures HRV and provides real-time feedback on heart rate patterns. The device provides a visual to teach one to sync their heart rate and breath.
The person being trained is guided to adjust their breathing rate and pattern to increase the HRV waveform's amplitude, reflecting a more coherent and efficient autonomic nervous system function. And when that coherence happens, one feels more relaxed.
HRV biofeedback aims to teach people to improve their HRV patterns and maintain these changes over time, enhancing stress resilience, emotional regulation, and overall health. HRV biofeedback has been used to treat various conditions, including insomnia, anxiety, depression, hypertension, and chronic pain.
How Does HRV Lowers Stress and Anxiety?
HRV biofeedback technology, when used with the guidance of mental health professionals, can help lower stress and anxiety in several ways. They work by:
- Activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System
HRV biofeedback can help increase activity in the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for the body's “rest and digest” response. By activating this system, the body can reduce stress and anxiety. And for those significantly activated, it can take one out of a fight, flight, or freeze response.
- Regulating Breathing
HRV biofeedback often involves breathing exercises to help regulate the breath and promote relaxation. Slow, deep breathing can stimulate the vagus nerve, a crucial part of the parasympathetic nervous system, and help reduce stress and anxiety.
- Enhancing Emotional Regulation
With the proper HRV biofeedback methods, patients can regulate emotions by improving their self-regulating ability. Likewise, one can better handle stress and anxiety by learning how to control physiological responses.
- Improving Resilience
HRV biofeedback can help improve a person's resilience to stress by increasing their ability to recover from stressful events. It can help reduce the long-term impact of stress and anxiety on the body and mind.
What is Biofeedback Training Like?
Biofeedback training typically involves a series of sessions with a trained practitioner who uses sensors to measure specific physiological processes, such as heart rate variability, muscle tension, or skin conductance. The practitioner then provides real-time feedback to the person about their physiological responses, typically through visual or auditory cues.
During the training, your child is typically asked to engage in specific activities, such as deep breathing, relaxation techniques, or mental imagery, while receiving feedback about their physiological responses.
The goal is to learn how to regulate these responses voluntarily, with the help of feedback, and eventually without it.
Biofeedback training is customized to your child’s needs and goals and may be combined with other therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy or mindfulness-based interventions. The number and duration of sessions can also vary depending on the child’s needs and progress.
For some adults who have received biofeedback therapy, they continue to independently apply the techniques they learned because of the level of change they observed and experienced following biofeedback. Biofeedback devices for home use are readily available on the market and are a great tool for many.
How is a Biofeedback Session Different from a Neurofeedback Session?
While both biofeedback and neurofeedback are forms of therapy that involve monitoring physiological responses, they differ in terms of the type of response that is monitored and how the treatment is delivered.
Biofeedback typically involves monitoring physiological responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and muscle tension and providing feedback to the patient in real-time. This feedback can be in sounds, visual displays, or other cues. The patient is then taught how to modify their physiological responses through relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, or other methods.
On the other hand, neurofeedback involves monitoring the brain's electrical activity, usually using an EEG biofeedback device, and providing feedback to the patient about their brain waves. The patient is then taught how to regulate their brain waves through mental exercises, visualization, or other methods. In essence, neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback for the brain.
Neurofeedback works at the subconscious level, and biofeedback requires one to have conscious control over autonomic functions. With neurofeedback, the subconscious brain learns to regulate through measurement and reinforcement. Both neurofeedback and biofeedback can lower stress quickly but take time to create lasting change within the brain.
Regarding the therapeutic benefits, biofeedback is often used to treat conditions such as anxiety, stress, and chronic pain. In contrast, neurofeedback is typically used to treat conditions such as ADHD, depression, and epilepsy. However, both forms of therapy can help manage a wide range of conditions and improve overall well-being and lower stress levels.
The BrainBehaviorReset™ Program: Using Neurofeedback and Coaching to Help Children Thrive
As a parent, I know raising kids can feel like you’re always playing speed puzzling – always trying to figure out how to fit the pieces of your child’s needs amidst the pressures of everyday life.
Whether your child or teen is neurodivergent or not, he/she can benefit from neurofeedback and biofeedback in terms of coping with stress, staying calm, focusing, gaining the confidence to function, and more.
Coupled with individual and family coaching – as what we practice in our BrainBehaviorReset™ Program – we will teach you and your child, real-life strategies and at-home techniques so you can continue their therapy wherever they are outside our neurofeedback center.
By training the brain and teaching your kids the essential skills to face difficult situations, your child can finally become more confident and independent.
Citations
Barlas, D. (2021). A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Neurofeedback on Depression. NeuroRegulation, 8(2), 104–104. https://doi.org/10.15540/nr.8.2.104
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Data and statistics on children’s mental health. Retrieved March 15, 2025 from https://www.cdc.gov/children-mental-health/data-research/index.html.
Loo, S. K. (2003). EEG and Neurofeedback Findings in ADHD. The ADHD Report, 11(3), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1521/adhd.11.3.1.23479
Dr. Roseann is a mental health expert in Self-Regulation who frequently is in the media:
- Healthline Understanding Self-Regulation Skills
- Scary Mommy What Is Self-Regulation In Children, And How Can You Help Improve It?
- The Warrior Parent Podcast It's Gonna Be OK! Changing Behaviors and Responses (And The Magic of Magnesium)In Your Family with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge
Always remember… “Calm Brain, Happy Family™”
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to give health advice and it is recommended to consult with a physician before beginning any new wellness regime. *The effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment vary by patient and condition. Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, LLC does not guarantee certain results.
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Dr. Roseann is a Children’s Mental Health Expert and Therapist who has been featured in/on hundreds of media outlets including, CBS, NBC, FOX News, PIX11 NYC, The New York Times, The Washington Post,, Business Insider, USA Today, CNET, Marth Stewart, and PARENTS. FORBES called her, “A thought leader in children’s mental health.”
She is the founder and director of The Global Institute of Children’s Mental Health and Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge. Dr. Roseann is a Board Certified Neurofeedback (BCN) Practitioner, a Board Member of the Northeast Region Biofeedback Society (NRBS), Certified Integrative Medicine Mental Health Provider (CMHIMP) and an Amen Clinic Certified Brain Health Coach. She is also a member of The International Lyme Disease and Associated Disease Society (ILADS), The American Psychological Association (APA), Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) International Society for Neurofeedback and Research (ISNR) and The Association of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB).
© Roseann-Capanna-Hodge, LLC 2023
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to give health advice and it is recommended to consult with a physician before beginning any new wellness regime. *The effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment vary by patient and condition. Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, LLC does not guarantee certain results.
