Our Programs

Our Treatments:

• Peripheral Biofeedback
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/Coping Skills Building
• Exposure Therapy
• Neurofeedback/QEEG Brain Mapping
• LORETA Z Score Neurofeedback
• Animal-assisted Therapy
• Parenting for Pain Patients and Anxiety Patients
• Pain Management (Psycho-education Pain Management)
• Return to School Program
• Anxiety/Phobia
• Headache (Migraine, Tension Type, Post-concussive)
• ADHD/Attentional Issues

Additional Pain Condition Specialty Areas Include:

• Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Myofascial Pain Syndrome
• Neuropathic Pain
• Psychogenic Pain
• Reflex Neurovascular Dystrophy
• Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

“Passive Biofeedback” versus “Active Biofeedback”

Most peripheral biofeedback programs involve a patient sitting in a quiet, comfortable position to learn breathing and body techniques. This mode is called “Passive Biofeedback,” where the environment is quiet and controlled and the objective is to teach relaxation strategies as coping techniques to counter conditions like pain, anxiety, and attentional issues. The downfall of these programs is that many patients become irritated and have difficulty sitting still for a long time. Most often this is a result of hypervigilance. Over-reliance on biofeedback instrumentation and “role play” can have a minimal effect on the overall generalization of the targeted skill development.

Our program utilizes both “Passive” and “Active” biofeedback. Patients learn vital coping and relaxation skills in the clinical setting, then practice them in an active environment, through the use of “exposure therapy.” Using our indoor obstacle course called “the pendulum,” which has received local and national media attention, we are able to provoke symptoms by exposing the patient to stress and then teach patients to control them. We can test out pain control techniques, practice frustration tolerance, learn how to problem-solve on the fly, and build confidence and resilience, all while having fun.

Pain Behavior

Anxiety and stress can exacerbate pain. When a patient lives with pain for a long period of time, their body can become accustomed to it. Often, symptoms such as lethargy, avoidance, and rigid behavior become a common experience for the patient. These emotional states can heighten discomfort to a magnitude that can render medications ineffective, and parents and physicians are often faced with the prospect of having to increase medication. Our approach is designed to target pain behavior and address the stress and anxiety elements of the condition. It is designed to work in conjunction with a physician’s treatment protocol, therefore establishing a healthy balance between medication management and psychological health.

Co-pilot Program

Many pediatric patients are overwhelmed with balancing personal life, school work, and other responsibilities. Biofeedback treatment techniques can often become compromised, neglected, and forgotten. Our program welcomes parents to participate in the child’s treatment from beginning to end with the intention of training the parent to implement treatment protocols at home when circumstances make it difficult for a child to remember.

Return to School Program and ADA Section 504 Advocate

“Whatever original coping mechanism a pain patient finds for relief will outmatch any attempts at implementing a new one” – Marjorie Toomim

Missing school due to a pain condition can be one of the trickiest scenarios to treat, in part due to the aspect described above by Dr. Toomim, who presented to the 1985 Biofeedback Foundation of Los Angeles. The other important element is the association with the school environment as a place that is responsible for the pain condition, therefore contributing to the resulting pain behavior that has developed. Mounting homework and make-up class assignments and projects further create an obstacle to returning to school. Our program specializes in helping children return to school by treating the pain condition, neutralizing pain behavior, and facilitating a re-entry plan. We use Disability Act, Section 504 to provide equal opportunity to education through school accommodations that facilitate re-entry. Our program really does make a difference in the child’s ability to have a successful re-integration back into the school environment.