Treatment Options
Biofeedback
Kathy was trained in biofeedback at The Cambridge Hospital when she was an intern in the Behavioral Medicine Program. She is certified by the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America (BCIA) and practices with state-of-the-art equipment.
Biofeedback is an excellent treatment option for anxiety, insomnia, headaches, gastro-intestinal problems, stress, high blood pressure and chronic pain. It helps you gain control over how you are reacting to stress by teaching you skills to quiet and balance your nervous system. The result is a state of calm and deep relaxation in your body and your mind. This leads to a feeling of empowerment and
self-efficacy as you become successful in modifying your body’s responses.
A thorough assessment is completed during the initial appointment with treatment goals identified and agreed upon. The treatment is done over your clothes and is non-invasive. The parameters that can be measured are heart rate, breathing, skin conductance, peripheral temperature and muscle tension.
Your treatment will be designed specifically for you depending on your presenting problem and on how your body expresses stress. Biofeedback is a short-term treatment with average number of sessions ranging from 4-8. Practice is encouraged between sessions in order to get maximum value. At first the machine reinforces your learning; eventually you will generalize the behaviors and learn to use them in your daily life when stressful situations arise.
Often, it is also beneficial to discuss lifestyle modifications and self-care to help you minimize the harmful effects of stress. This may include discussions about sleep, eating habits, time management and exercise. Sometimes the addition of cognitive therapy can be very useful to help identify the way your thoughts might be contributing to stress and to learn how to correct problematic thinking patterns.
For more information about biofeedback please visit The Association For Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB)
