An EEG is a simple graph of voltages read from one or more points on the scalp. The voltages vary over time and their graph shows an erratic line. Here is a typical EEG graph:

2. EEG graph showing voltage changes over time at a point on the head.

The first step in extracting useful information from the EEG is to decompose this signal into the range of frequencies of which it is composed. This kind of decomposition can be done with any signal of any sort and results in an EEG spectrogram that displays a more structured picture of the brain's activity over time.

3. EEG spectrogram peaks indicate the main EEG frequencies at 10 Hz.

The spectrogram in Figure III shows electrical activity as peaks and ridges across a range of frequencies from 0 to 20 cycles per second, or Hertz. This is a typical frequency range of interest, but the map that emerges can differ greatly between subjects.

Certain spectrograms are "normal" for a person of a given age and state of mind. In particular, the spectrogram of an alert and focused person will show narrow peaks around 10 Hz. Waves in this range are called alpha waves. The same person in a hypnogogic trance will show a broader ridge formation centered at the lower frequency of 5 Hz. These are known as theta waves.

The Alpha-Theta protocol is based on the observation that we process trauma and achieve reconciliation when we alternate between an alert state and a hypnogogic state. The protocol is conducted by having the client lie comfortably for 45 minutes in a dark room, hooked up to an EEG machine, listening to one or the other of two ambient sound tracks. These two tracks alternate depending on whether the client is generating more alpha waves or more theta waves.

These audio tracks provide feedback that tells the client which of the two states is more strongly present, and the client is encouraged to listen for and relax into a state in which the two sound tracks alternate. The therapist does not interrupt this process.

This protocol involves the therapist directing the client's intentions, as it's important that the client move toward a healing mental state. This can be anything from a generally positive to specifically healing frame of mind. The therapist uses guided imagery to lead the client into this state at the beginning of each training session. This has much in common with the hypnotherapeutic technique of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, already applied in the treatment of addiction.¹⁸

The hypnosis paradigm to "explore preconscious and unconscious functions, resolve historical factors, and utilize unconscious resources"¹⁹ has much in common with neurofeedback. In most cases the fields use different procedures and terminology, but the use of psychoanalytic terms and guided imagery make Alpha-Theta the exception.²⁰

While hypnotherapy is used to address addiction in a context of other standard therapies, it has a broader purpose when used with neurofeedback. Here the aim is to two-fold. First, along the standard lines it works to resolve the embedded trauma and conditioned responses typically associated with addiction. In addition, it contributes to the process of resynchronizing a wide range of brain functions including attention, arousal, sensitivity, emotional balance, cognitive function, and pattern and boundary recognition.

Alpha-Theta neurofeedback "has all the benefits of hypnosis because you're re-programming your subconscious mind, but with the added feature that hypnosis can't get to. It clears out the traumatic experiences that have put on the brakes on your ability to progress." ²¹
-- Dr. Daniel Staso

Holistic Therapy

Hypnotically enhanced Alpha-Theta neurofeedback adduces relevant memories and subconscious states, at the same time encouraging an awake state and discouraging anxious and reactive states. There are several ways in which this treatment is similar to traditional healing therapies.

1. The therapist's power is based on trust.
2. The therapist puts the client in a sensitive trace state.
3. The therapist guides and protects the client.
4. The therapist does not know and does not claim to know how to heal the client.
5. The client is encouraged not to use their mind, and not to fixate on any issue.
6. The therapist remains sensitive to, and remains focused on the client and their process through the long period of non-interaction.
7. The therapist is available to provide support in between sessions.

Addiction is a holistic disorder involving conscious and subconscious attitudes, central nervous system functions, personal history, social history, and cultural context. Reductionist Western healing rejects integration and thereby fails to provide a holistic approach. The shortcomings of this range from uncoordinated specialists addressing complementary aspects of one's condition -- as in the story of the blind men describing the elephant -- to entirely missing the whole -- wherein the blind men cannot find the elephant. In this case the elephant is one's whole spirit.

Neurofeedback is an integrative therapy that views addiction as requiring a change of one's person difficult to achieve solely through verbal means. Neurofeedback looks within the individual, below the levels of chemistry and personality, addressing the components of perception, regulation, and cognition.²² Neurofeedback aims to introduce the client to a person, or people, they do not know. The therapist does not know them either and cannot force the introduction. The therapist functions less as a doctor and more as a doorman.

The Exception of Stimulants

Alpha/Theta relies on a patient's ability to enter into, and benefit from relaxed states. People addicted to stimulants are not attracted to relaxed states and have trouble achieving them. Alpha/Theta is unsuccessful when it is the only neurofeedback therapy used for this group.

The neuropsychological explanation for this is that stimulant addicts display excessive theta waves, and enhancing these signals through Alpha/Theta therapy is counter productive. In addition, these people are observed to show below normal brainwave activity in higher frequencies, which correlates with their presentation of ADD/ADHD-like symptoms.

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