A Note on Choosing a Therapist

Just as when you choose a physician or other health care professional, there are key questions to ask potential biofeedback or EEG neurofeedback providers to make sure they are trained, legitimately credentialed, and well experienced.

There are a growing number of providers advertising various versions of biofeedback or EEG neurofeedback therapy. They run the gamut from very well-trained and credentialed professionals to individuals with very little training and no legal or appropriate credentials.

EEG neurofeedback and biofeedback therapy are not licensed professions like medicine, counseling, psychology, or physical therapy. EEG neurofeedback and Biofeedback therapy are specialties offered by professionals licensed in other appropriate fields.

Does the prospective provider have a professional license including EEG neurofeedback and biofeedback therapy as services that they may legally offer to the public?

Each state has its own rules for regulating these technically complex health care services. In Texas, neither an advanced degree, nor membership in any health-related profession automatically makes an individual a legal or appropriate provider of biofeedback or EEG neurofeedback therapy.

Texas is known as a “practice act state”. That means that here, a state law specifically lays out not only the educational requirements for licensure in a given field, but the specific services that anyone in that profession may legally or appropriately provide with their required training. Not all health-related licenses legally authorize a clinician to perform biofeedback or EEG neurofeedback therapy.

Examples of licensed professions with practice acts that include biofeedback and EEG neurofeedback therapy as legitimate services include: medicine, psychology, and licensed professional counseling. When you are researching potential therapists and you have questions, there should always be a relevant state licensing board you can turn to for answers.

Does the prospective provider have appropriate specialty training?

Many providers begin offering biofeedback or particularly, EEG neurofeedback therapy after only a short training hosted by an equipment manufacturer. Their formal education often includes little or no education in neuroscience or neuroanatomy. The complexity and intricacy of human physiology (especially in reference to the human brain) can make this superficial education a questionable practice, (see Biofeedback Certification Institute of America, below).

Does the prospective provider have adequate, hands-on experience and a successful track record helping people with the specific problem for which you are seeking help?

Practitioners who have been licensed in their particular field for many years may still only have limited experience using biofeedback or EEG neurofeedback. It is also common for a health practitioner to specialize in one particular kind of problem. While they may be willing to help you, their experience working with your concerns may be limited. It is usually best to find someone with adequate experience using biofeedback or EEG neurofeedback in their practice. It is also important that their experience includes a track record of using them successfully for concerns like yours.

Does the prospective provider have formal certification in the specialties of EEG neurofeedback and biofeedback therapy?

The gold standard for practice ethics and professional training for clinical biofeedback and EEG neurofeedback is set by an internationally respected organization, the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America. When you are researching prospective clinicians and you have questions concerning their professional training, please consult the BCIA website. A provider who displays BCIA certification in their title insures that they have not only met the highest standards in their initial training but that they receive regular, required continuing education to stay abreast of the rapidly growing knowledge base in these dynamic specialties.

A provider’s membership in either or both of the two major international professional associations for the fields of biofeedback and EEG neurofeedback, also suggest high standards, (aapb.org and isnr.org). Like BCIA, these organizations are available to you as good sources of information.

If you have more questions about choosing a therapist or other related subjects, please call 512.794.9355 or email: info@austinbiofeedback.com