Biofeedback & Neurofeedback

Biofeedback and neurofeedback are modern, evidence-based methods that help you better understand how your body and brain respond — and gradually train them to react with greater calm and balance. Using sensitive sensors, we monitor signals such as muscle tension, breathing, heart rate, and brain activity, displaying this information clearly in real time. In a safe and supportive environment, you learn step by step how to consciously influence these processes.

This approach is suitable for children, adolescents, and adults who struggle with anxiety, stress, attention difficulties, insomnia, psychosomatic complaints, or chronic tension. It is always integrated within a broader framework of therapeutic care — combined with conversation, therapy, and other interventions as needed. Every training plan is tailored individually, with careful attention to your needs, pace, and sensitivity. The methods are non-invasive, safe, and respectful of your boundaries. Our goal is for you to feel informed, seen, and accompanied at every step.

What is biofeedback and neurofeedback?

Both methods are based on the principle of feedback — the body or brain receives real-time information about its own activity and uses that information to learn self-regulation.

Biofeedback Sensors capture physiological signals — breathing, heart rate, skin conductance, muscle activity. The client sees their responses on screen and learns to consciously influence them.

Neurofeedback A specific form of biofeedback that works directly with brain activity (EEG). The brain receives feedback about its dominant brainwaves and learns to self-regulate without direct involvement of willpower.

In my practice, I work with the ProComp Infinity system by Thought Technology — a professional device used in both clinical and research settings. I measure and train heart rate variability (HRV), breathing rhythm, skin conductance, muscle activity (EMG), and other physiological channels.

Connection to Polyvagal Theory

Biofeedback gains deeper clinical meaning through Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory, which describes how the autonomic nervous system regulates our states of safety, defence, and shutdown — automatically, without our conscious consent.

Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the activity of the ventral vagus — the neural pathway associated with a sense of safety, social engagement, and flexibility. The higher and more rhythmic the HRV, the more the nervous system is in a state of regulation. Biofeedback allows us not only to measure this state, but to actively train it.

The goal is not to "calm down at any cost" — but to restore the flexibility of the nervous system: the capacity to move between activation and rest according to the situation, rather than according to old defensive patterns.

When to use biofeedback or neurofeedback?

Biofeedback and neurofeedback are suitable for clients who feel that their body responds differently than they would like — and who want to work with those responses directly, measurably, and with results they can see.

MOST COMMON REASONS CLIENTS SEEK BIOFEEDBACK

• Chronic stress and burnout — restoring regulatory capacity and resilience of the nervous system
• Anxiety and panic attacks — training physiological downregulation and breathing patterns
• Trauma and post-traumatic stress — somatic stabilisation before or alongside therapy
• Attention disorders (ADD/ADHD) — neurofeedback as training in cortical regulation and focus
• Sleep difficulties — working with autonomic arousal and nighttime brain activity
• Psychosomatic complaints — tension, headaches, difficulties without a clear organic cause
• Performance biofeedback — for athletes, musicians, and managers preparing for high-demand situations
• Autism spectrum — sensory and autonomic regulation, reduction of hyperreactivity

Biofeedback is not therapy in the conventional sense — it is training. We work with physiology, not with content. This is precisely why it is a powerful complement to psychotherapy: a client may learn to understand their stress verbally — and at the same time learn to change it physically.

How biofeedback and neurofeedback therapy works, step by step

We begin with an initial consultation, where we discuss your difficulties together — such as anxiety, concentration problems, chronic stress, or insomnia. We explain what biofeedback and neurofeedback are, how brain activity and physical responses work, and what you can realistically expect from the process. We ask about your health history, medications, sleep, and daily routine so that we can tailor the therapy to your individual needs. Many clients already feel a sense of relief after the first session, because they better understand what is happening for them and that there is a concrete plan for how to help.

This is followed by an assessment — using sensors, we monitor brain activity (EEG), breathing, heart rate, and muscle tension. You simply sit or lie comfortably; the sensors are painless and non-invasive. With anxiety, we often observe heightened tension and accelerated responses; with attention difficulties, fluctuating activity in the areas responsible for focus. The results help us calibrate the training to target precisely the functions that need support — such as improving concentration, calming the nervous system, or easing the transition into sleep.

The sessions themselves take the form of training — you watch a screen, a film, or an animation, or listen to sounds that change in response to your brain or body activity. When your brain or body behaves in the desired way (for example, when you are more relaxed or focused), the system "rewards" you — the image becomes clearer, the sound more pleasant. Common experiences during a session include mild tiredness, pleasant relaxation, or a sense of the brain doing satisfying work. You should not feel pain or discomfort; if a headache or unease arises, we will adjust the training accordingly.

The frequency and duration of therapy depends on the presenting difficulty — for anxiety and stress, we often recommend one to two sessions per week; for attention difficulties or insomnia, training may be longer-term. A single session typically lasts 45 to 60 minutes. We regularly review progress — asking how you are sleeping, how you are managing stressful situations, and whether concentration at work or school has improved. Training protocols are adjusted as needed. Many clients describe gradual but meaningful changes: less internal tension, easier sleep onset, better concentration, and a greater sense of control over their own responses.