Gary Ames offers biofeedback training to optimize personal and professional functioning. The following are appropriate goals and cautions:
– I expect to learn skills to increase alertness, mental clarity, and self-awareness.
– I want to develop skills for learning and living which enhance the quality of life to a more optimal level through self-regulation of natural processes.
– I understand that 80-90% of clients achieve some of the above goals.
– I may also increase self-discipline, self-reliance, and personal responsibility.
– Many people feel that through neurofeedback, they develop their innate talents in leadership, emotional intelligence, and connecting with people. They learn more about their feelings and expressing emotions, identifying and asserting their needs. They learn to organize and prioritize their goals, priorities, time, attention, and energy, make effective decisions. They find a new basis for taking positive action to create a preferred life and work-life balance. They develop a new awareness of their inner strengths and resources, such as creativity, vision, courage, patience, the capacity to love and be loved, and a new found inner peace.
There is a real basis to hope for these kinds of changes, but they cannot be assured.
– I may experience other physical health or mental health benefits.
– I understand that some forms of brain wave biofeedback are – by the most stringent criteria – considered promising, but experimental. I am proceeding with that knowledge based on the majority of experiences.
– I understand that the service being provided is for optimal functioning training and coaching. It is not medical and not psychological treatment. However health care insurance may partially cover some sessions.
– I understand that biofeedback learning in not necessarily conscious skill learning. Improvement derived from levels below current awareness.
– I understand that results are not necessarily obvious from the beginning and that a full course of training is required to achieve lasting benefits.
– I understand that improvements should be gradual and self-integrating.
– I can expect all training to be fairly pleasant or interesting. It is pain-free and drug-free. There may be discomfort from just sitting and watching.
– I expect sessions to last between 20-minutes and 45-minutes, more or less. My scalp and ears are prepared for conductivity and sensors are placed on my scalp with non-adhesive gel. Sitting still prevents extraneous signals. There may be some gel residue when sensors are removed.
– There will be no unpleasant or unexpected negative side-effects.
– I will allow and cooperate in this learning using brain wave biofeedback to achieve the above stated goals and within these expectations.
