This mechanistic explanation implies that if normal brainwave conditions can be restored, then people addicted to stimulants will benefit from Alpha/Theta therapy. This has been shown to be true.

In a study by Scott, Othmer, Kaiser, and Sideroff²³ stimulant-addicted volunteers from a residential treatment program were trained with 10 to 20 sessions of neurofeedback to generate more normal brainwaves. Training was continued until clients showed normal Test of Variable Attention (TOVA) scores. Thereafter, these clients were given a standard course of 30 Alpha/Theta sessions. Tests one year after the completion of therapy showed that 77% were abstinent. This is on par with the 80% success rate demonstrated for people addicted to alcohol.

Because these results are repeatable it is concluded that this kind of EEG-based normalization enables stimulant addicts to get the full benefit of Alpha/Theta therapy. That is to say, it allows stimulant addicts to achieve the same high abstinence rates as alcoholics.

40% of the Population

Neurofeedback clients are prescreened as suitable for this type of therapy. Some are referred, some are frustrated with alternatives, some like the approach," and they can financially afford it. Those who elect to continue the treatment either perceive benefit, or are attracted to the approach, or react positively to the therapist. As a result neurofeedback therapy is more effective for the clinical population for which success rates are measured, than it would be on the average population.

The success of any holistic therapy depends on the alignment of many factors and people with dysfunctional lives, coming from disintegrated cultures, are often unprepared for this kind of healing. This does not mean holistic therapies are not beneficial, it means the outcome is hard to predict and may yield slow progress.

The effects of neurofeedback are subtle and some people report no effect after the first treatments. This is partly intentional since a neurofeedback therapist wants to avoid strong stimulation until a client's sensitivity can be assessed. Also, therapeutic effects are dulled by medications, distraction, and tension. In most cases the therapy is considered optional, and people are encouraged to use their own judgment. As a result new clients may discontinue treatment if it fails to meet their expectations even though its long-term effects would benefit them.

In a Houston, Texas study 430 crack cocaine addicts volunteered for 30 neurofeedback treatment sessions at the Open Door Mission, a faith-based, 120-bed drug treatment facility for homeless persons.²⁴ These people were highly addicted and socially disadvantaged: 65% had been incarcerated, 67% had daily crack use, 86% were undergoing repeat treatment, and 84% were unemployed. The program did not utilize traditional substance abuse treatment modalities such as individual, group and family therapies nor adherence to twelve-step programs. The program did require religious education classes.

In this study 54% dropped out and only 46% of the subjects elected to complete the treatment. 89% of those who finished were assessed one year later as having made significant positive social adjustments and were drug-free. In the similar study by Scott, et. al., that was mentioned above, 54% of the subjects completed treatment and 77% were abstinent after 12 months. Taking a simple average of these two trials as representing the population at large indicates that 50% of the population will be comfortable with neurofeedback, with an 83% success rate within this group. We can infer that neurofeedback "works" about 40% of the time in a general population with this kind of voluntary participation.

Spirit and Ceremony

Traditional therapies typically create a physically and spiritually protective setting, and establish a positive mindset in the participant. Participants focus on healing intentions before engaging subconscious images and meaningful archetypes. These therapies usually require participation in ceremony, though often in an altered state. And while many ceremonies do not address specific ailments, traditional methods are being successfully used to treat a wide range of chronic medical conditions.²⁵

In addition to these similarities, parallels exist in brain physiology between those undergoing Alpha-Theta neurofeedback and participants in the Amazonian ayahuasca ceremony.²⁶ These similarities are likely shared between neurofeedback and other traditional therapies.

Traditional healing is holistic. When performed in the indigenous context the ayahuasca ceremony aims to heal the body, mind, spirit, family, culture and cosmos. Neurofeedback therapy does not aspire to this level of integration but I believe it can.

"Shamanic cultures view illness and trauma as a problem for the entire community, not just the individual or individuals who manifest the symptoms. Consequently, people in these societies seek healing as much for the good of the whole as for themselves." ²⁷
-- Peter A. Levine

Ayahuasca and ibogaine, which come from widely separate traditions, are successfully being used in the remediation of addiction through what can be best described as deep, personal transformation. The 6-month ayahuasca-based program at the Takiwasi Center in Peru has offered substance addiction therapy since 1992 with roughly 70% success in remediation.²⁸

"Ancestral medical practices are based on a highly sophisticated practical knowledge and, in contrast to the clumsiness with which Western peoples induce altered states of consciousness, view the controlled induction of non-ordinary states of consciousness as potentially beneficial, even in the treatment of the modern phenomena of drug addiction." ²⁹
-- Dr. Jacques Mabit, Physician and founder of the Takiwasi Center

Trauma and Alienation

Trauma plays a central role in our lives because fear, and the anxiety it creates, is the glue that fixes our habits. Psychological trauma is recognized, by far, as the major source of spiritual distress.³⁰ Acute trauma is a recognized condition, but this definition is insufficient because "any event or ongoing condition may be considered traumatic if it overwhelms an individual's ability to cope, rendering them helpless."³¹

Historical trauma, developed by Maria Brave Heart and her colleagues, is an integrated description of a condition that underlies a range of chronic ailments. It is an approach that looks outside the individual, and beyond one's own recollection and genetics as we know it. Historical trauma recognizes that people find meaning through the context of culture and family. And when one's culture has been traumatized -- as in the case of Native Americans -- or has been anesthetically amputated -- as in the case of the melting pot of Western culture -- individuals may lack the internal resources necessary to build a viable identity.

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