QMF Blog:
Musings and Items of Interest
4/3/08
Hurray,we’re in the new
office!!
the space is great, quiet and clean. There’s a
burst of energy that comes from this that I’m finding very exciting. One
immediate result is that we got the vibrating chair cushion to work with
Bioexplorer in a way that will greatly improve treatment for folks with limited
hearing or ability to understand the verbal instructions or visual cues usually
associated with biofeedback training. The chair will vibrate when the person is
in the ‘zone’ and will stop when they are not. This is very
powerful reinforcement and we’re pleased to be able to offer this now.
1/16/08
Hi Marvin, I thought I’d update you on some of the terrific progress I’ve seen with my 7 year-old son in the past 6 months since he’s been doing neurofeedback/HEG with you! I also just had a follow-up conference with his first-grade teacher, who noted his positive behavior and academic growth as well! At home, my son is more focused and less emotionally reactive. Together with the neurotransmitter support he gets from the nutritionist, the work he is doing on the neurofeedback is clearing making a difference in his ability to attend longer and focus better on tasks he is doing. In fact, over the holiday break, he literally spent HOURS at a time working on very challenging Lego building--following directions, having to deal with frustration, working with VERY small pieces that for him are hard due to his fine motor issues...if that isn't improved concentration, emotional reactivity, and attention I don't know what is!!!!! There is NO way he could/would have done that 6 months ago.
His
first grade teacher make it a point to tell me several times in our meeting this week that "*all* of [my
son’s] teachers" had noticed significant improvement since the
beginning of the year--academically and behaviorally, and although we still have
more work in this area, it is terrific that they have noticed it to the point
that they would mention it repeatedly. His teacher also said that if
"anyone had told him in Sept. that [my son] would be where he is today, he
never would have believed it”!
He said that even since my parent conference meeting with the teacher in
December, my son’s behavior and self-control has improved, to the extent
that the teacher even suggested that my son sit with his desk paired with
another student. That is truly amazing.
Thanks
for all you do, clearly it is making a huge difference!!!
Peggy
12/22/07
Got an email from David Baron, DO who is the chairman
of psychiatry at Temple U. Medical School and he is wanting to conduct an fMRI study of ADHD kids pre/post neurofeedback training
using their newest and greatest MRI machine. We will be seeking funding from
12/1/07
CALM DOWN - RELAX – FOCUS – PAY ATTENTION – CONCENTRATE
Here’s an experiment: close your eyes and say these 5 words and phrases separately, put some space between them so you can notice your reactions. Say them to yourself and notice the reaction in your body as you say them. Then remember the first time you ever heard someone say those words to you. Remember the tone of voice used by the person and the circumstances surrounding its use.
Most will remember a tone that was anything but loving and supportive let alone neutral.
Ok, now try and remember what kind of actual instructions were associated with the accomplishment of any of the 5 words listed above, i.e., “what you do in order to relax is….., “when you concentrate on something you….”, etc.
Now think about when you’ve said those words to your children or students and what the circumstances were and what your tone of voice was and how much and what kind of instruction have you given prior to making the request?
The point I’m making is that we have not really looked at the underlying emotional dynamics associated with attentional processes and that it begins with our own unconscious responses to the words and contexts in which the words are spoken. More often than not the words were spoken by authority figures who were more than likely criticizing our behavior and judging our performance on something when they said these words. Maybe they were being ‘helpful’ and providing ‘guidance’ in a loving manner yet didn’t provide direct behavioral instructions but assumed in some fashion that the word itself functions like an incantation and merely saying it several times conveys the instruction set one then employs to produce the desired result. In any case, this doesn’t really work very well and we often internalize both the words spoken with the emotional tone and context and other associations into our meaning making process about these words.
To be sure, most of us come to understand the general meaning of the words while the deeper psychophysiological understanding escapes most of us as we defend ourselves against the uncomfortable feelings that are often associated with these memories of these early experiences. We also fail to notice the associated patterns of chronic muscular tension that exist in response to these words being spoken or thought and how those unconscious patterns of tension ultimately prevent us from calming down, relaxing, focusing, paying attention, and thereby being able to truly concentrate.
Marvin H. Berman, Ph.D.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/27/07:
On Thanksgiving our daughter arrived at 5 he was there and they sat around the kitchen island and she told school stories. 11:30 and no one had gotten up from the island including him. This never had happened and he smiled and caught himself being happy. Watching his younger daughter listening to her older sister tell stories. This is a big time benefit of the work we’ve been doing.
From a client
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/27/07:
Fear of desensitization from NF training is the neurophysiological analogue to ‘doc I’m afraid I’ll lose my edge’, the often heard refrain of the depressive about why they won’t get therapy. In fact, you are making yourself more capable of experiencing and expressing yourself by expanding the ‘edge’ to your whole being. When you’re fully in the present and able to explore your experience in the here and now, you have more awareness and more capacity to choose new ways of responding.
Marvin H. Berman
11/27/07:
Walking heel to toe and walking and not falling from one foot to the other. I notice how folks move and notice how they fall from one foot to the other. There’s a sense of not really being in contact with the ground but falling from foot to the other or the opposite. Working with this means grounding yourself by shifting weight consciously from one foot to the other and feeling the shift in weight from the heel through your big toe. Walking mindfully and sensing your weight and energy flowing into the ground and back up into your body.
Marvin H. Berman