BFE 18th Annual Meeting in Rome

As spring comes to a start, we at the BFE mark the end of our annual BFE Meeting which this year was held in Rome, Italy. Months of preparation came to fruition with clinicians and clinical leaders from all over Europe and the world converging over 5-days to learn about the latest methods and practices in biofeedback. We are extremely pleased with the results of the event, and we would like to thank all attendees, workshop presenters, scientific day speakers, and poster presenters for making the conference a success. Below, Jon Bale, the BFE's research manager, shares his perceptions of the Rome conference, as well as what the event means for the BFE's online education and software for the next year.

The BFE conference is always such a hurricane of events, with rarely a moment to sit down. There are so many interesting workshops and scientific presentations to check out, as well as people for me to engage  to learn about the exciting work they are doing in the field. Aside from the little hiccups that accompany all live, multi-day events, I'm extremely proud of everyone that helped coordinate the event and grateful to all of those who attended. It has always been a goal of ours to provide clinicians of all skill levels and students the opportunity to learn directly from the expert in their fields, and I definitely believe that standard was maintained this year.

My conversation with attendees left me with several positive, stand-out impressions of  the meeting. Amongst these highlights are:

Linda Walker, MHR, LPC presented two workshops, one on "Pratical Tips for Getting the Most out of Biofeedback"and the other on "Z-Score Neurofeedback: Tips and Methods for Effective Integration in Practice". Her name has long been cemented as the BFE's most popular online instructor, and it was confirmed by participants that her hands-on approach to learning, with calm and clear explanations, made her a winner here as well.

Mari K. Swingle, Ph.D., daughter of well-known psychologist and author Dr. Paul Swingle,  presented three times during scientific day on the neurofeedback assessment and training of digital technology and internet addictions. Due to the fascinating (and even frightening) nature of this topic of internet addiction, i-technology and youth, the BFE has invited her to present a webinar on this timely topic. Keep your eyes open for that. (You might say to yourself: "Yes, but Dr. Swingle already has spoken on that...". Well, from whom did you think he learned this?)

Biofeedback and sports fans received quite the treat: 2-days from Dr. Lindsay Thornton, 2-days from Dr. Penny Werthner, and a scientific day presentation where heavy hitters of the field Dr. Bruno Demichelis and Tim Harkness of Chelsea F.C. converged for a talk on the "Unique Peak Performance Database". Attendees of the scientific day got to witness quite the passionate discussion.

 Those that are interested in sleep issues will be happy to hear that the BFE has asked Lothar Niepoth, head of the German Biofeedback Society, to present his 1-day workshop on "Biofeedback in the Treatment of Insomnia" as full online class.

Dr. Steven Baskin received quite glowing reviews for his 2-day workshop on "Biobehavioral Considerations in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Headache Disorders". Participants enjoyed his hands-on approach and ease of interaction. If the BFE is lucky, we may also be able to share some video of his workshop.

Who doesn't love a conference room that's reminiscent of some type of United Nations round-table discussion? Attendees of Drs. Lynda and Michael Thompson's workshop certainly enjoyed it.

Although I was left a bit exhausted by the end of the conference I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet with and learn from, I look forward to the next meeting and I hope to reencounter the many new colleagues and friends made this year. From my all my online work during the year, I very much enjoy finally putting faces to the voices with whom I teach and speak to.

The BFE would like to thank everyone who attended our Rome meeting. We hope that the conference provided you with the opportunity to make new friends, connect with colleagues and share knowledge and expertise with participants from around the world. We were fortunate to welcome workshop presenters who are leaders in their respective fields, along with a diverse group of speakers and poster presenters who addressed a wide variety of biofeedback topics as part of the scientific program.

We would also like to thank our host, the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome, for providing a location for our meeting. Special thanks go out to our sponsors – without their support the conference would not be possible.

It is indeed a pleasure when so many members of the biofeedback community come together to share ideas. Thank you again for being a part of BFE 2015.

The ClinicalQ: Workshops and Online Learning

One of the most popular software suites published by the BFE is Dr. Paul G. Swingle's ClinicalQ and BrainDryvr suite. Users of the software appreciate the built-in instructions to guide the clinician, the simple to read reports generated by the software and most of all the ease and accuracy of the ClinicalQ assessment. 

We are pleased to offer a number of online events for 2015 and are happy to announce that Dr. Swingle will once again be joining us at the BFE Annual Meeting that will take place this year in Rome.


Biofeedback Federation of Europe 18th Annual Meeting
Join us in Rome to attend two 1-day workshops with Dr. Swingle:
Basics of the ClinicalQ Database and Braindriving
Neurotherapeutic Treatment of Depression
Click here for more information.

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2015 ClinicalQ and BrainDryvr Webinar Series
Each webinar in this years' series provides an introduction to the Swingle's ClinicalQ assessment and BrainDryvr methods followed by a discussion of a specific application. Attendees can ask questions during the live interactive format.  (These sessions are open to users of all equipment platforms.) Topics to be covered this year are:

Neurotherapeutic Treatment of Addictions - January 13th
Neurotherapeutic Treatment of Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, and Pain - April 7th
Neurotherapeutic Treatment of the Sequellae of Emotional Trauma - June 16th
Neurotherapy and the Unique Challenges of Adopted Children - November 7th

Bonus FREE webinar open to all:
Keeping Mentally Sharp While You Age - February 10th
Register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/992140577

All webinars take place from 3:00-4:00 pm Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Click here to register or to view descriptions of each of the webinars included in the series.

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Monthly Grand Rounds - Second Session Added
Dr. Swingle works with the BFE to support users of his method by offering monthly "grand rounds" sessions during which participants can present cases for review and guidance. Last year we added a second monthly session to meet increased demand and now offer both Thursday and Friday groups. (Sessions are open to users of all equipment platforms.)

2015 - Swingle Grand Rounds - Thursday Series
January 8 | February 12 | March 5
Time: 3:00-4:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

2015 Swingle Grand Rounds - Friday Series
January 9 | February 6 | March 6
Time: 11:00am-12:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Click here for registration information.

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The ClinicalQ and BrainDryvr Suite published by the BFE
The ClinicalQ and BrainDryvr software suite published by the BFE and designed by Dr. Paul Swingle provides a simple method to examine brain activity as a basis for determining training plans quickly and effectively. Results from the assessment are arranged in an easy to read Excel report that includes notes for quick interpretation. The documentation included with the suite guides users through the entire process of hardware hook-up, client preparation, impedance check, data recording and reviewing. The suite documents include a digital version of Basic Neurotherapy: A Clinician's Guide. Sample data is also included with the software program to allow purchasers to see a real-time recording of a BrainDryvr session. (The software is compatible with the BioGraph Infiniti system.) 

"The ClinicalQ is not a poor practitioner's substitution for the full nineteen-site QEEG. Many mini-Q systems are being marketed on exactly that basis. The purpose of using my ClinicalQ is to make neurotherapy much more efficient."  - Dr. Paul G. Swingle, Basic Neurotherapy: A Clinician's Guide

The BFE offers an live online course, co-instructed by Jon Bale and Dr. Paul Swingle. Jon provides all the how-to info on using the software in an easy to understand format and Dr. Swingle joins one of the sessions to offer clinical expertise.

If you are looking for an assessment method that you can easily incorporate into your practice, you can learn more about the software here:

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To learn more about Dr. Swingle's method and adding neurotherapy to your practice, contact the ClinicalQ and BrainDryvr BFE Team at blueswingle@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Swingle Clinic Website
About Dr. Swingle
Basic Neurotherapy: A Clinician's Guide (new edition available soon)
SoundHealth Products

Neurotherapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Dr. Paul G. Swingle is a Vancouver based psychologist and an expert in the field of neurotherapy. He is the author of the ClinicalQ and BrainDryvr software suite published by the BFE and will be presenting an upcoming webinar on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We recently spoke to him about his work in this area.

What are the advantages of using neurotherapy as part of the treatment for PTSD?

Neurotherapy can normalize or improve the brainwave architecture - that is, the way the brain is functioning - and then we typically combine that with some other psychological process for helping the person deal efficiently with the overwhelming emotions associated with the exposure to the traumatic event.  It marries well with other kinds of therapy whether its experiential, EMDR, cognitive behaviour and so forth. Once the brain is functioning more efficiently, then it just markedly enhances the efficacy of these other procedures.

When exposed to the same traumatic experience, why do some experience PTSD, while others do not?

 When I was treating combat veterans at Harvard Medical School McLean Hospital, we had situations in which we would have 3 or 4 veterans, one of whom was hospitalized with PTSD. He was disabled by the event whereas although all of the other people experienced the same thing and might have such problems such as bad dreams, they  weren't disabled by the event. The difference with the person who was disabled was his neurological condition prior to walking into the combat theatre. So, we know one of the areas that we can work with in terms or increasing stress tolerance, but what about the damage that's been done - namely the post traumatic stress disorder - and that is a marked impact on the ability to regulate emotional reactivity. The flashbacks, and all of the rest of it, are associated directly with neurological conditions that we can identify when we do EEG assessments. And if we can identify it, then we know where to go to help correct the problem. 

How does the ClinicalQ assessment work?

The ClinicalQ is an EEG assessment that measures brain activity at five critical locations. The results of the assessment are then compared to a clinical database that is remarkably accurate in terms of indicating why a person is coming to see us. I saw a client the other day - a young man who had been exposed to a recent severe emotional stressor that triggered a predisposition to depressed mood states. When I explained this to him, his  jaw dropped to the floor. How could I possibly know that from looking at brainwave activity? Well, the brain tells us everything. If you've been exposed to a severe emotional stressor recently, it is very likely that the brain is going to show the effects.  And if you have a predisposition for a certain disorder such as depression, exposure to severe emotional stressors may likely trigger that condition. 

Do you think that combat veterans - most of which are young men - are hesitant to seek treatment for PTSD because of stigmas that exist?

That's really a crucial point. Decades ago, when we were dealing with PTSD there was a presumption of a weakness of character and that an individual that was disabled by the exposure to this severe emotional stress had some kind of deficit. We know now that there are neurological conditions that render us more susceptible to one type of disorder than another. With regard to post traumatic stress disorder, there's a very specific area of the brain that's associated with this vulnerability. So, if the client was a police cadet,  prior to going into the policing theatre we would have a look and see if he was neurologically vulnerable and we would do some preventative neurotherapy to better prepare him for the severe stresses of police duty. The focus is on brain functioning - it's exactly what we would do for an Olympic level athlete, exactly what we would do for a CEO of a large company. It's just making the brain more efficient to deal with severe stress. It has absolutely nothing to do with strength of character or mental illness or anything of that nature. 

Are there other therapies that are effective with post traumatic stress disorder?

As I said before, all therapies marry perfectly with neurotherapy.  I do a lot of hypnosis for these kinds of conditions. Once you get the brain so it's functioning efficiently you can use hypnosis for trying to modify the core emotional belief that gets triggered in these post traumatic stress disorder conditions. A good example is the feeling that you're not safe. One of the situations that we get with get severe stress...automobile accidents are a good example of this. When you're driving through an intersection and you have the green light, somebody t-bones you there's a situation where something came right out of the blue. So, after you get all of the physical things sorted out you still have this angst about the world not being a safe place and that's a core emotional belief - its beyond the arena of words. So hypnosis is often an extremely efficient way of having the person reorganize that emotional belief.  

Do you have advice for PTSD sufferers that might not have access to neurotherapy?

A lot of it depends on extent of disability. If you're dealing with somebody who has full blown flashbacks where they become absolutely incapacitated and they're not present, then the notion of giving them advice or home treatment is completely misguided because you need somebody to be able to shepherd the person through all of that. For lesser conditions, we use things like my sweep harmonic,  for example,  which is something akin to EMDR, but it uses sound. If you listen to that sound while you are trying to make the fear as intense as possible, you'll find that it blows it away. So any situation in which the individual is trying to feel, what every cell in their body is telling them to avoid, under conditions in which it is manageable is a positive treatment. For military veterans, it is best to inquire with their case worker who should be familiar with these options.

The BCIA (BiofeedbackCertification International Alliance) website provides a list of practitioners that have been certified in neurofeedback.

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You can learn more about Dr. Swingle and his methods on the BFE Website or by visiting the Swingle Clinic website.

In an upcoming webinar, Dr. Swingle will discuss his approach to treating PTSD.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Presented by: Dr. Paul G. Swingle

Date: November 12, 2013

Time: 3:00-4:00 pm Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Any questions can be directed to Dr. Swingle's BFE Team at blueswingle@gmail.com.