INCORPORATING NEUROFEEDBACK AND BIOFEEDBACK TO TREAT PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA WEBINAR RECORDING

Presenters: Dr. Ainat Rogel and Dr. Diana Martinez

Development Trauma (DT), a chronic early childhood exposure to neglect and abuse by caregivers, is arguably one of the most critical public health challenges around the globe. It has shown to have a long lasting negative impact on neurophysiological and mental development, which can lead to a lower quality of life, early death, and creates a substantial financial burden for the individuals affected, their families, and the healthcare system as a whole.

The purpose of this webinar is to explore the use of neurophysiological activities to assess and treat individuals with DT. The webinar begins with a short background of the neurophysiological impact of developmental trauma. It then introduces subjective (such as questionnaires) and objective (such as qEEG and heart rate) DT assessments, which together give a comprehensive overview of the client. The majority of the webinar focuses on the clinical aspects of multiple modalities of neurofeedback and biofeedback (including heart rate, respiration, peripheral temperature, skin conductivity, and EEG). Through a variety of examples and case presentations, the presenters highlight challenges using different modalities of neurofeedback and biofeedback, and ways to integrate these modalities together. They also discuss ways to track both a client’s improvement and adverse reactions, and conclude with a discussion on future directions and challenges

All views expressed in the recording are solely those of the presenter(s) and participants.

Learning Objectives

• Define what is developmental trauma and the impact it has on individuals.
• Understand the importance of using both subjective and objective assessments relevant to developmental trauma.
• Describe how using multiple modalities of neurofeedback and biofeedback can be used to effectively treat individuals with developmental trauma.
• Identify three challenges of implementing neurofeedback and biofeedback with individuals with developmental trauma.

About Ainat Rogel, PhD, MSW, BCN, LICSW

Ainat is the founder and director of Boston Neurodynamics. She conducts neurofeedback (NFB), biofeedback (BFB), performs and analyzes brain mapping (qEEG), and supervises other practitioners. She teaches NFB related courses, gives international presentations, and conducts evidence-based research. Ainat specializes in working with clients with developmental trauma, dissociation and PTSD. Her unique holistic approach incorporates NFB with BFB, psychotherapy and body therapy. Ainat was the president and a BOD member of ISNR.

Ainat has a PhD in Computer Science and Neurobiology. She has a master in Social Work, a licensed Independence Clinical Social Worker, and a BCIA certified NFB provider and supervisor. She was a brain research scientist at various institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at MGH-Harvard, Hebrew University and Ben-Gurion University. She worked as a NFB researcher and clinician at the Trauma Center at JRI.

About Diana Martinez, MD, PhD, LMHC, BCN

Diana is a founder and director of Boston Neurodynamics. She is a medical doctor with a specialty in Neurorehabilitation. She has 18 years of experience treating patients with severe brain injuries and developmental disorders using neurofeedback, biofeedback and neuromodulation techniques. She has extensive experience in neurophysiology and EEG/qEEG/ERP interpretation.

Diana received her medical degree from University of Aguascalientes, Mexico. She completed a Fellowship in Neurological Rehabilitation and M.Sc in Neurological Rehabilitation; a Fellowship in Neurophysiology at University Hospital of Cleveland; and a PhD from De Montfort University of Leicester, U.K. She is an international consultant for Neurofeedback professionals and currently she combines clinical work and research. She is a certified clinician from the SMART (Stress management and resilience training) program from the Benson-Henry Institute/Massachusetts General Hospital integrative Medicine. Currently, she is the secretary of ISNR (International Society of Neuroregulation and Research).