Neurocounseling

Neurocounseling is an integrative and forward-thinking therapeutic approach that combines neuroscience with evidence-based psychological practices. It utilizes cutting-edge methods—such as neurofeedback, brain-wave entrainment, and cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES)—to help regulate and organize brain function and improve communication across neural networks.

Beyond neurotechnology, Neurocounseling also incorporates cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strategies to support the reprogramming of mental and emotional patterns. This includes reshaping internal narratives, shifting perception, and modifying behaviors associated with distress or dysregulation.

Grounded in the latest neuroscience research, Neurocounseling seeks to optimize brain function, promote emotional regulation, and restore nervous system balance. By working at the intersection of brain and mind, this approach supports meaningful, lasting improvements in mental health and overall well-being.

The craft of altering your mind–brain system is a complex process. It involves not only a technical component, but also the emotional and psychological dimensions, along with the art of interpreting data, observing your subjective responses, and guiding you toward a state that feels safe, comfortable, and productive.

Learning self-regulation can empower you to shift or inhibit behaviors that place you at risk or contribute to emotional dysregulation.

NFB is a technique that optimizes the brain functioning by changing the focus of attention from your behavior, to the way your brain and nervous system works.

Neurofeedback harnesses the brain’s natural capacity for neuroplasticity—the ability to unlearn maladaptive patterns and replace them with healthier, more functional, and effective ones. This process helps restore a sense of control over emotional and cognitive responses that may have previously felt automatic or overwhelming, such as:

Impulsivity
Anger or rage
Obsessive thoughts
Mental fog
Difficulty concentrating
Low motivation
Chronic insecurity

...and many other unwanted experiences and reactions.

Neurofeedback works by providing the brain with a real-time “mirror” of its own activity. Through this feedback, the brain gradually learns to self-regulate, shaping its performance toward a more balanced and desirable state.

This optimization occurs through a computer-based interface—often in the form of a game—that rewards the brain each time it moves toward healthier activity patterns. Importantly, it is not the person’s conscious mind playing the game—it is the brain itself learning. This makes the results more lasting and automatic, as the brain creates and strengthens new, efficient neural pathways without relying solely on effort or willpower.

Conditions Treated

NFB provides the brain with a mirror of its own function, which eventually "shapes" its activity towards a more desirable, more regulated performance.

Nothing is put on the person. With the use of the best technology, the rhythms of the brain are identified through an extensive evaluation of the brain and of symptoms, and then, protocols are customized in order to re-path the brain, organizing it and creating better communication among all areas.

Neurofeedback has been shown to be effective in treating conditions like:

Peak performance and brain optimization
Emotional Self-regulation
Emotional Rigidity
Social Phobia
Asperger's Syndrome
Bipolar Disorder
Anger and over-reactivity
Anxiety and stress
PTSD and Developmental Trauma
Traumatic head injury
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD)

Benefits

Some of the benefits of engaging in Neurofeedback training are:

reduced craving (alcohol, food, and drugs),
improved hormone balance,
reduced stress and anxiety,
increased attention and focus,
reduced use of medication for ADD/ADHD and anxiety y/or depression,
reduce fear, shame, anger and indesirable emotions that have become "regular" in the daily experience of life.

A complete treatment is achieved when the therapist also understands how the brain disorganization affects the mind, the thoughts, the emotions and the interactions of those that live under this maladaptive brain functioning. Therefore, that understanding is capable of guiding the mental process while the biological problems are regulated.

Effectivity

In terms of reprograming your brain functionality, the meaning of “effective” could be very different depending on

the skill of the clinician,
the capability of the equipment,
the sophistication of the software, and
the clarity in choosing and setting goals.

There are many different approaches and schools of thought in the world of Neurofeedback:

Protocol-based,
Infra-low frequency (ISF),
Surface Z-Score,
LoRETA Z-Score NFT to name only a few.

All of them reported being useful for their respective users.

Inside each of these approaches, there may be an infinite number of protocols and targeted areas, frequencies and variables, defined by channels, derivations, filters, targets, methodologies and other dimensions like feedback presentation (visual, auditory, tactile), reward percentage, delay, etc.

This huge variety in the world of Neurofeedback-based Brain Training creates a huge challenge in terms of research, and also in terms of reliability on the treatment.

Many clients go looking for NFT without really knowing what to ask for, and will accept whatever the clinician offers as such. There are even manufacturers of equipment that claim to have a one-size-fits-all application, that because of the simplicity of use, is chosen by clinicians that apply it with clients without any training or understanding of what each brain needs.

Equipment

The competition for market share in the neurofeedback field has become increasingly intense. Many companies and professionals claim that all neurofeedback methods are equally effective, often relying on the brain's natural capacity to adapt and learn through neuroplasticity. However, not all approaches are created equal.

Some devices marketed as neurofeedback do not offer true reprogramming of dysregulated brain networks. Instead, they merely amplify or “feed” certain brainwaves—often those already functioning adequately—without addressing the root of the dysfunction.

Our approach is grounded in precision, integrity, and results. We invest in the most advanced, research-backed technology and offer only the most reliable and effective neurofeedback systems.

We recognize that each individual is unique, and successful treatment depends not only on cutting-edge equipment and clinical expertise, but also on our ability to understand and respond to each client’s specific needs.

To achieve that, we design highly individualized protocols. These integrate traditional neurofeedback methods with statistically based models that target specific brain regions, neural networks, and functional domains—ensuring a comprehensive and responsive approach to brain optimization.

Training Modalities

As with the neurofeedback equipment itself, competition for market share among training methodologies is intense. Each approach strives to demonstrate its superiority—whether in effectiveness, speed, or long-term outcomes. However, research in this field is both costly and complex, primarily due to the wide variety of protocols and techniques used to influence brain activity.

While all methods aim to improve regulation, each one claims to offer distinct advantages depending on what aspect of brain function is being reprogrammed.

Overview of Common Neurofeedback Methodologies:

Amplitude Training

This is the most traditional form of neurofeedback, focused on increasing or decreasing specific brainwave frequencies (e.g., alpha, beta, theta). The goal is to bring brainwave activity into more optimal ranges, depending on the symptoms being treated.

Coherence Training

Coherence refers to the degree of connectivity or synchronization between different regions of the brain.

For example, limited coherence between the front-left and rear-left regions may impair short-term memory.
Conversely, hyper-coherence in the frontal lobes can create difficulty processing new information, resulting in disorganization and poor task execution.

Coherence training helps optimize these communication pathways, improving cognitive clarity and coordination.

z-Score Training (2-Channel / 4-Channel)

This method uses real-time comparisons of an individual's brain activity to a normative database (z-scores) to guide training.

2-channel z-score training focuses on balancing activity between two key brain sites.
4-channel training allows for more complex, network-level reorganization, promoting deeper integration across brain regions.

z-Score LORETA Training

This advanced protocol uses Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) to target deeper brain structures in three dimensions. It provides a more detailed and spatially precise method for normalizing brain function across multiple areas simultaneously.

Infra-slow Fluctuation (ISF) Training

ISF neurofeedback is a cutting-edge technique targeting the brain’s lowest-frequency electrical activity (<0.1 Hz) using direct current (DC)–coupled amplifiers.

While distinct from Slow Cortical Potential (SCP) and Infra-Low Frequency (ILF) training, ISF shares their focus on emergent state regulation.
This method emphasizes real-time frequency adjustments to guide subtle shifts in brain state, leading to improved emotional and physiological regulation.

Slow Cortical Potential (SCP) Training

SCP training targets the brain’s slow electrical shifts (up to several seconds long) that are involved in regulating cortical excitability. It's widely used in clinical research, especially for attention disorders and seizure regulation, and is well-established in European neurofeedback protocols.

Infra-Low Frequency (ILF) Training

ILF focuses on stabilizing the brain’s most foundational regulatory networks, often leading to improvements in mood, sleep, and arousal regulation. It’s especially effective for clients with complex trauma, as it targets the autonomic nervous system and supports deep self-regulation without requiring conscious effort.

Neuromodulation

The field of neuromodulation is becoming the new way to treat many issues that originate in the way neurons interact among themselves. It covers a wide spectrum of technologies that

modify pathological or non-optimal activity within the nervous system to achieve a more desired behavior, emotional response, perception, and motivation. Individual neuromodulators can have different actions in a neuron by targeting multiple physiological mechanisms. They can be invasive and non-invasive

Neuro-stimulation

Therapies and technologies that include deep brain stimulation (DBS), intracranial cortical stimulation (ICS), transcranial direct

current stimulation (tDCS), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have shown very positive results helping neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, ADHD, etc.

BRAIN TRAINING DEVICES

Neurostimulation technologies provide relief to an unprecedented number of patients affected by debilitating neurologic and psychiatric disorders.

Non-invasive neurostimulation therapies involve the application of electrical stimulation to drive neural function within a circuit.

Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) is a well-researched, safe, effective, and cost-effective means to manage mood and sleep disorders.

With mental health care moving away from pharmaceuticals and toward a new set of devices, CES is the first line of treatment for many disorders, as it is safer and at least as effective as other forms of therapy (APA, 2020).

Most cranial electrotherapy stimulators are limited to 600 µA at 9 volts (0.0054 watts). To put this in perspective, this is about 11,000 times less energy output than a 60-watt bulb. Some people do not even feel this small amount of current.

Training your brain to function at its best optimizes cognitive capacity, improves decision making, motivation, and regulation, and help neurons to connect and re-connect in healthy and efficient ways that reestablishes balance.

Some of the CES devices available for home use are:

Fisher Wallace Stimulator
MindAlive CES Stimulator
Alpha Stim Aid
Caputron MindGear
NuCalm
MyoCalm
StimTens
CES Ultra
NeuroMicro
Starstim
Pulseto

TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION (TDCS)

These devices provide a form of neuro-stimulation that uses constant, low current delivered to the brain area of interest via electrodes on the scalp.

They deliver stimulation in waveforms to gently stimulate the brain to produce serotonin and other neurochemicals responsible for healthy mood and sleep.

Not an FDA-approved treatment yet. It still is considered an investigational technology even when there are several devices available to purchase.

It uses direct current as opposed to alternating current like on CES. For tDCS use, a constant current (not voltage) is required. Batteries are used as voltage sources in commercial tDCS treatment devices (typically 9 V or 18 V if two batteries are needed).

Some of the devices ( such as LIFTiD] specifically target the prefrontal cortex area of the brain, an area associated with cognitive performance, including attention, focus, alertness, and productivity. Some other devices are: