Q - I am a senior citizen and I have been suffering from depression for nearly two years. A friend gave your web page address to me. I have been on medication but it has not helped to get me back to feeling like doing anything. I have to push myself to even get out of bed. Would you please send me some information if you think I can be helped?
A - We see many clients with severe and chronic depression. The first step to take is to come in for a brain assessment to determine the exact nature of the problem. |
|
Q - Would like to know about the alternative programs to prescription drugs (like Paxil) that you feature. If you could, please send me some information on these.
A - Neurotherapeutic treatment of depression is one of the most successful applications of this technology. There are many forms of depression each of which has a definitive neurological pattern. Situational (reactive) depression such as grief, although it likewise has a pattern, is generally not aggressively treated with neurotherapy because the grievance procedure should process and proceed naturally although we sometimes treat to facilitate that process. By analogy, one should also never medicate (sedate) the grievance or reactive process either. Neurological patterns for predisposition to depression are treated with neurotherapy and related procedures to normalize the brainwave activity. Once the pattern is normalized and stabilized the problem is permanently corrected. That doesn't mean the client isn't going to experience depressed mood states but they will be like anyone else who has ups and downs. The worst-case situation for dealing with depression is to medicate for all of the reasons that are well known to those who look at the evidence. There are, of course, situations in which temporary medication is warranted but those situations are relatively uncommon. Further, neurotherapeutic treatment is most rapid for those clients who are not medicated since titration off the medication coincident with neurotherapy can be problematic and require many visits. The best source for information is to consult the clinical/scientific literature. Two good sources are the Journal of Neurotherapy available at www.isnr.org and the Journal of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback available at www.aapb.org . |
|
Q - Hello, I have had bipolar II disorder for 12 years. A year ago I finally smoothed out my moods but I am currently taking four different meds. I was wondering if neurotherapy is proven to help bipolar conditions, and if it does, how to go about reducing my medication. My psychiatrist is in Vancouver, would you work in concert with him? Could it possibly allow me to live medication free? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
A - Neurotherapy can be very effective for bipolar disorder and many of our clients can markedly reduce and often eliminate medication. Reducing medications takes a long time and one should do so VERY slowly under the direct supervision of your psychiatrist. You would be under neurotherapeutic treatment for several months before any medication changes would be considered. We work closely with many psychiatrists and would certainly be prepared to do so with yours. |
|
Q - I'm wondering if you would be able to help me with help with emotional regulation. My symptoms are suicidal depression, bipolar depression, and borderline personality disorder, to mention of few of my diagnoses over the last 12 years.
A - Neurotherapy can be very effective in the treatment of complex situations such as the one you describe. However, in such conditions, neurotherapy is not a stand-alone therapy. Certainly for the personality disorder, for example, associated therapeutic techniques would be necessary. We would commence by doing a brain assessment to determine the exact neurological condition associated with the symptoms. Treatment would then generally involve a combination of neurotherapy with some other therapies that might include hypnosis, emotional release, and various psychotherapy/behavior therapy procedures. Neurotherapy, with other supportive therapies, has been very successful in the treatment of these chronic and complex conditions. |
|
Q - My son is on Zoloft now for 10 years. Often he relapses into clinical depression and anxiety that usually lasts about one to two months. He drinks beer when out with the boys about once our twice a month and probably on those occasions he drinks to much, he is aware that he can not mix medicine with alcohol and has stopped, but does not get better. Recently he mentioned that he has had several concussions in childhood due to falls and hockey situation on ice. Could it be possible that it has affected his brain function? Would brain mapping help? He is 35 years old.
A - We see many clients in similar circumstances. It is possible that your son has brain injury from his falls and sports. Often in addition to the TBI there is a genetic predisposition to depression and/or anxiety. Brain mapping will isolate the neurological conditions associated with the symptoms. TBI and genetic predispositions can be markedly improved with neurotherapy. However, the first step is to do a brain assessment to determine the exact location and extent of the neurological condition. |
|
Q - I have clinical depression and have been on anti-depressants for approximately 10 years. I am currently on Zoloft at a very high dosage. I find that every year or two the medication does not work as well as it did initially. Would you recommend that I come in for an initial assessment, or would you recommend that I try some of the tapes and products for depression that are available on your web site?
A - When we are dealing with a chronic condition such as the one you describe it is necessary to proceed with neurotherapy. We see many clients with long term depression and with difficulties associated with habituation to medication. Our goal is to correct the brain deficiencies that are associated with the depression and restore them to normative functioning. Coming off the medication would also be a longer term goal of the neurotherapeutic treatment but the titration off medication in conditions such as yours requires a long time and VERY slow reductions. The harmonic products on the CDs are not designed to deal with clinical depression. We do use them in treatment to sustain gains made in therapy and to facilitate further improvements. The first step is to come in for an initial brain assessment and determine the exact nature of the problem from a neurological perspective. |
|
Q - I was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder at age sixteen. Only recently did I find a combination of medications that works for me. Will this technique help me with my disorder and could I undergo treatment while on medication or should I be off medication while doing it? Also, I have a friend who suffers from anxiety, depression and PTSD. Apparently he is part of 10% of the population who cannot properly metabolize antidepressants. Would he be eligible for treatment as well? He is currently considering taking cortisol blockers that are only in the early stages of being tested on patients.
A - Although neurotherapeutic treatment generally takes longer for clients on medication, treatment can proceed while medicated. Usually our clients are able to eliminate medication or at least markedly reduce the amounts required for stabilization. We treat many forms of depression including the various forms of bi-polar. Regarding your friend, we routinely see clients who have been unsuccessfully treated by many practitioners or with many combinations of drugs. As you might know, medicating trauma is not a viable long term solution to the problem for it simply masks the traumatic emotional content. neurotherapy releases the brain activity associated with the trauma after the brain's stress tolerance functions have been normalized. After having treated many clients with PTSD including combat veterans, it has become apparent that these people have a condition that compromises their stress coping capability. There is some controversy regarding whether this inefficiency predates the PTSD or whether the inefficiency is caused by the emotional trauma. In any event, this condition is always found in clients with PTSD. It is likely that your friend also has a neurological predisposition to depressed mood states. After experiencing the trauma the depressed mood state manifested and the poor stress tolerance resulted in severe anxiety. The treatment of this condition usually involves normalizing the brain's stress coping area as well as the areas associated with the trauma and predisposition to depression. The first step, of course, is to do a brain assessment to determine the exact nature and location of the brain inefficiencies. |
|
Q - Can neurotherapy help a person who has been diagnosed as having dysthymia? If so, what would be involved? What would neurotherapy for dysthymia involve?
A - The treatment for dysthymia is similar to that for depression. The first step is to do a brainwave assessment to determine the areas of inefficiency in brain functioning. After the area(s) are identified, we do neurotherapy to normalize brain functioning. If there are any psychological issues such as trauma, we do some brief adjunctive therapy to help process. We also generally prescribe some treatments that you administer to yourself at home to speed up the process. The success rate for neurotherapy in treatment of dysthymia and depression is excellent. |
|
Q - My 83 year old mother is suffering from very frightening hallucinations at night time. She lives alone, in Brisbane, Australia, but of course is convinced these hallucinations are "real" and has been calling the police quite frequently. She has been given ECT a number of times over the years to treat her clinical depression and is actually on lithium as well. Although she denies it, we are certain she has bipolar disorder, despite the fact that I have never actually known her to become manic - only deeply depressed. As well, she has also suffered from OCD in conjunction with her depression. Living all these miles away in Vancouver, how can I convince her she needs to seek psychiatric help for these hallucinations when she becomes hostile if anyone even hints that the problem is in her mind? Do you know of any neurotherapy practitioners in Brisbane? Thanks for any help you can offer.
A - It is often very difficult to encourage the elderly to pursue treatment. Psychological treatment for some of these folks carries a stigma, they are unfamiliar with the newer therapeutic technologies, and admitting to needing help may open the frightening possibility that they are "losing it." I usually introduce the treatment in the context of optimal performance/peak functioning training. I tell them that as we get older we experience age-related declines in brain efficiency. Fortunately, we have found methods for delaying these declines by applying the same technology that is used by elite athletes. I tell them that the World Cup Soccer champs, the Italian Team, every member of the team did neurotherapy - it was considered their "secret weapon" as reported in the press. I then tell them that an efficient brain, just like an efficient body, has fewer problems so any difficulties she might be experiencing such as poor sleep, low motivation and low energy correct themselves. The conditions that you describe should be treated by an experienced neurotherapist. Unfortunately, I do not know of any certified practitioners in Brisbane. There is a practitioner of general biofeedback (not EEG) listed in NSW but there may be some practitioners in the process of becoming certified. I would contact BCIA (www.BCIA.ORG) by phone and determine if they can recommend a contact person in the area where your mother resides. |
|
Q - I currently seem to be using psychic abilities, phenomena in my thoughts where I receive signals of things outside of my normal sensory view. Sometimes this skill seems like a gift but often a hindrance to stay focused on my immediate task. I'm interested in how neurotherapy would affect this psychic side of my thoughts. Has Swingle and Associates worked with others who have reported psychic tendencies, if so what were the results?
A - We have many clients who have psychic experiences. Sometimes these psychic experiences are actually related to the psychological disorder for which the person is seeking treatment (for example, delusional states). However, other clients do appear to have bone fide psychic capabilities and from their reports these skills were not compromised by the neurotherapeutic treatments. |
|
|
|
