Interview at Mental Area: Self-regulation neurofeedback to treat ADHD

Jaume Esteve, psychologist at Mental Area, explains how this adhd treatment works.

ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is one of the most complex psychological disorders, due to the set of symptoms and variables that come into play in it.

Fortunately, there are currently effective psychotherapeutic interventions to help people with this disorder; treatments far from the side effects of psychotropic drugs that use the development of new technologies to provide the patient with the means to manage their problems.

On this occasion we will talk about one of these innovative forms of therapy with Jaume Esteve, from the Mental Area center in Barcelona, to explain center in Barcelona, to explain the characteristics of ADHD treatment with self-regulation neurofeedback.

Jaume Esteve: self-regulation neurofeedback to treat ADHD

Jaume Esteve Pérez is a psychologist and coordinator of the Psychology and Neuroscience area of the Mental Area center, located in the Catalan capital. This entity is characterized by its firm commitment to neurofeedback as a therapeutic resource, and in this case, we will learn about the use of one of its variants, self-regulation neurofeedback, in the treatment of ADHD.

What is self-regulation neurofeedback and what is needed to apply it to patients?

It is an innovative procedure specialized in brain training that combines techniques from neuroscience, psychology and meditation. Through EEG electroencephalography equipment and a neurofeedback system we can record the electrical activity of the brain in a non-invasive way. Thanks to this system, brain waves are consciously monitored and controlled.

It is specially designed to quickly and effectively learn to self-regulate and self-control the mind. Through specific training we selectively modify the increase or decrease of the power of certain brain waves, which are associated with different mental states. Thanks to these modifications we can improve our mental health, emotional well-being and increase mental capacities.

This technique is based on the theoretical model of the integrated vision of intelligence, where we can modify cognitive schemes through training from the consciousness. Intelligence is integrated in two operative models, executive intelligence (conscious) and computational intelligence (unconscious), and from the perspective of neuroplasticity, understanding that when we learn we change the brain circuits.

What are the psychological problems in which its application is most effective?

This technique can be used for a wide variety of psychological disorders and problems, but it is especially indicated for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD, stress and anxiety, insomnia, depression, fears and phobias and also to improve mental performance such as executive functions, memory and attention.

Regarding the use of self-regulatory neurofeedback in the treatment of ADHD, what advantages does it offer over other methods of intervention in patients?

Most clinical methods for the treatment of ADHD have their own characteristics and usually help people to improve their symptoms; however, this procedure has two relevant advantages.

The first has to do with having a mental training specially designed to develop the necessary learning that with practice will allow you to be autonomous in the exercise of self-regulation and mental self-control, ensuring that you will be able to continue working and growing in the absence of the professional. A Chinese proverb says "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for the rest of his life".

This procedure is designed to be combined with cognitive stimulation models, virtual reality intervention, Mindfulness and psychological techniques. In this way we manage to enhance the desired effects and perform a more personalized treatment, adapting to the client's needs.

How is the use of this technology adapted to the treatment of ADHD, taking into account the characteristics of this disorder?

The use of neurotechnology and the latest developments in clinical technology provides professionals in the field of psychology with real support in their treatments. Intervention with specialized technological equipment and obtaining objective data in a qualitative or quantitative way offers the professional an aid to improve their treatments.

Providing the client and the professional with real-time observation of brain functioning on a television screen, in frequency bands, as well as a recording and analysis of brain activity during the self-regulation neurofeedback session, allows better adaptability to the use of this treatment.

With what tasks to be applied in everyday life between sessions is the use of self-regulation neurofeedback combined? That is, exercises to be carried out at home, in order to consolidate the therapeutic change.

In this procedure we focus on mental training for the consolidation of a therapeutic change. In the psychology center we help to promote the learning necessary for the development of self-regulation and mental self-control, through the use of clinical technology combined with the intervention of the professional. But the main training is the one you do every day through exercises in your free time outside the center, through a specialized training program.

According to neuroscientific knowledge on the process of neuroplasticity in learning, the brain will learn a new skill more efficiently and effectively if in each training session you dedicate a specific time for the practice of the exercise and perform the tasks daily, than if on the contrary you perform the tasks discontinuously over time and dedicate different time intervals in each session to perform the exercise.

In your experience as psychologists, what is the progression of improvement in ADHD patients once self-regulatory neurofeedback has been started?

Due to individual differences, each person requires a specific time for psychological recovery. This type of procedure has the advantage that results can be observed in very few sessions and if no change is observed we proceed very quickly to end the intervention with the client.

Most of our clients in different degrees of evolution feel calmer and calmer, have a clearer awareness of their problems, improve their cognitive functions, and have new resources and psychological strategies to cope with all those difficulties they face in their daily lives.