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“By Far, The Best Proof Is Experience”
Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Do you feel like you’re not living up to your potential?
Do you reach the end of a day and realize you’ve accomplished only a portion of what you set out to do?
Have you been told you are ADHD or OCD, or have a mood disorder? Would you like to improve your grades at school or achieve your professional goals at work?
Do you want to improve your athletic or artistic performance?
Do you want to feel more at peace and less anxious?
Are you being encouraged to get ‘diagnosed’ and get some medication to control you or your child’s symptoms?
Research has demonstrated that your brain is capable of functioning optimally because that is its very design. But when your central nervous system is off kilter or overloaded, your brain gets stuck in unproductive behaviors and operates inefficiently as well as ineffectively.
Symptoms of a malfunctioning and overloaded Central Nervous System can include:
- memory problems
- poor performance on tasks
- insomnia and other sleep problems
- depression
- anxiety
- difficulty paying attention
- hyperactivity
- addictions
- migraines
- catching colds and infections
- irritability
- feeling stressed and overwhelmed
IMAGINE…
Imagine finding yourself ‘not reacting’ negatively to outer circumstances, but maintaining a calm, centered awareness that allows you to act, rather than react. Imagine quickly letting go of those negative reactive states that cause you to lose touch with the relaxed and centered you.
How can NeurOPTIMAL™ Neurofeedback Training change how I react to outer circumstances?
When we become upset, lose focus, become depressed or angry (whatever the negative state is) our Central Nervous System, or brain. has lost touch with the present moment. Research has demonstrated that the brain produces its own negative states, and is reliving old patterns NOW it acquired long ago. By communicating via your brainwaves comprehensively about how it is behaving moment to moment, your brain can recognize its own volatility, stop doing it, and return to the present.
How can the brain just drop negative states and learn to come back to the present?
This is called evoking the ‘Orienting Response’ which is a built-in survival behavior where it must stop everything that it is doing in that moment and return to the present to access if there is an actual threat or not. The brain is instinctively adaptable and is its very nature; this is called neuro-plasticity or neuro-adaptability. When the brain is about to produce a perturbation event, which takes you out of the present moment, that perturbation or wobbly brain-wave pattern is recognized by the computer, which interrupts the music you are listening to. Your brain must drop the negative event that it is about to produce and come back to the present moment. It is actually very simple. And since we now know that the brain learns from experience, it actually changes.
I have tried many approaches to deal with my issues but this sounds too easy.
Because of the sophistication of the personal computer, we can now communicate with the Central Nervous System, or brain. in its own language. We are able to train the brain to stop producing its own negative states on the instinctual level by simply providing it with information about how it is behaving. People are quite surprised at how they begin to automatically and effortlessly drop behaviors that once caused them personal suffering, where prior to this training, no matter what they did, they would still respond negatively when the pressure was on.
Is there any research on neurofeedback?
A recent study (Clinical EEG Neuroscience, 2009 Jul;40(3):180-9.) which was a meta-analysis of many past neurofeedback studies (meta-analysis: a research analysis of many studies) they were able to conclude that inattentiveness, implusivity, and hyperactivity are greatly helped.
How many sessions will I need to see changes?
Since everyone is unique, I can’t tell you how many you will need. Generally clients say they notice shifts within within six to ten sessions, some as early as one or two sessions. I recall one client who immediately saw how much anxiety she had been living with during only her first session. She was quite surprised to say the least when she experienced letting go of that anxiety during the session. And a young 12 year old’s parents told me that within the first few sessions, his anxiety at returning to school had decreased greatly. This young man was aware it and his parents could tell as well immediately.
I suppose an analogy is appropriate here. If I decided to begin an exercise program to make some health changes in my life, I would be unrealistic if I thought that say, ten times going to the gym, or dojo, or yoga studio would be sufficient to reach my goal. It would take what it would take, depending on the sophistication of the exercise that I was doing, my perseverance to a regular practice, my current physical state which includes my health history, and so on.
It is the same with this approach. Think of this a working with a personal trainer. You won’t continue if you don’t experience some noticeable benefit within say ten visits; but also know that you will be kidding yourself if you don’t give it time to shift some of the negative brain patterns that have taken years to accumulate.
One young man tells me that he is no longer depressed though he was depressed all his life, and I have only seen him 12 times. So from 10 to 25 sessions is the norm, depending on your situation; so average number of session is around 20. I am seeing a women now who has been suffering deeply for 3 years. She has not been able to work, despondent and in despair. After 18 sessions she is more functional, becoming less isolated and more social, and her family and other therapists notice it too. She is working, has a relationship, and is happy with herself. Amazing, really!
How often do I need to come for sessions?
This essentially is up to you based on your personal experience of training benefits. Our recent survey indicates that most folks are happy with results after 20 +/- sessions. Some less, and some more.
But again, you are the ultimate one who decides on what you need or what you can do. As Zengar Institute (essentially the designer Dr. Valdeane Brown) continues to evolve this approach, we are seeing better and better benefits for clients. With our recent program upgrade in September 2010, we are seeing better and faster results based on its ability to provide more, but shorter feedback to the brain.
Is there any chance that my symptoms could get worse?
Since NeurOPTIMAL never pushes you brain to change as other approaches can, and since we simply provide the brain with information about what is ‘just did,’ your brain makes its own corrections based on its internal survival needs. Ocassionally, we will see a client ‘go through’ an old symptom that is already in their repertoire. But it is really a working through rather than a re-cycling through the same old pattern one more time. We are well known to help clients move through old traumas and blocks that they have been unable to resolve.
Case Study
Six year old Evan (not his real name) was brought in by his parents because he was having allot of issues. If he became upset at school, he was almost inconsolable and for long periods of time. If he had a conflict at school, he would retreat and isolate rather than be able to adapt to the situation. He was afraid of getting germs and was hyper-sensitive to many situations. They had tried many therapies but still he continued to have these concerns.
Within a number of sessions, they began to notice dramatic differences in these negative behaviors. Now when upset, it lasts only for a short time and then he is back to his normal, chipper self. He stopped obsessing about germs altogether, and when there is an interpersonal conflict at school, he is able to adapt to it just fine. They used the word ‘miracles’ for the changes that they are seeing in him. And his therapist and teachers are sharing with his parents the wonderful changes that they are seeing.
Next step?
•Make your first appointment, or set up a consultation to see if this is for you.
•Sign up for the newsletter if you wish to receive related articles and information and at the same time receive the complimentary report:
“THE EXTRAORDINARY BRAIN! DYNAMIC ON THE TURN OF A DIME, OR NEUROPLASTICITY EXPLAINED”.
A bit about my background…
I have been working with clients in private practice since 1984, helping them deal with the negative effects of stress, trauma, and overload in their lives. Most of that time was in New York City, and Washington, D.C., Chicago, and now Boulder/Denver since 2002 though I have been coming to Boulder/Denver since 1985 when I trained at the Rolf Institute in Boulder.
I have always had a strong passion for understanding how stress and overload affects our behavior, personality, and consequently causes us distress and ultimately organic dysfunction. Whether that suffering comes in the form of attentional or focus issues, anxiety or depression, interpersonal or performance blocks, unresolved stress- which is now proven to be at the root of our mental, emotional, and physical dysfunction, I seek to assist in effectively reducing the overload so that you can live a good life.
I bring over 25 years of experience to my work in assisting clients in resolving issues that often remain unresolved with other approaches and therapies, including depression, sleep issues, traumatic brain injury, trauma in general, and anxiety, traumatic brain injury, ADD/ADHD. Along side this unique, non-linear neurofeedback approach, one of the most important other elements of this ability to help folks is the relationship which we establish from our first interaction and to our final farewell. It is well known through established research that our interaction is key to any success, no matter what modality we are utilizing. This has been shown in solid research that relates to how our nervous systems interact with one another.
The other element that strengthens what I do is that I have other tools that I bring with me; trained and licensed psychotherapist, licensed and certified in various therapeutic manual therapies that I use when it’s necessary to resolve trauma held in the body. I am trained in trauma resolution approaches as well as EDMR psychotherapist for and use this if appropriate when an old trauma comes up to be processed and digested for good.
I am a trained psychotherapist with a Masters in Counseling Psychology with a Professional Counselor License in Colorado. I have additionally worked as a Clinical Supervisor at Access Counseling in Boulder, a community mental health agency where I have helped in training therapists in the counseling internship phase of their education.
Please contact me if you wish, and I am always happy to answer any questions or discuss your particular situation to see if you are a good candidate for what I offer. I promise that will never ‘sell’ you; I feel that you know best about what you or your children need, and since no-one knows you (or your children) better that you do. I look forward to hearing from you.
David Delaney, MA, CAR, LPC
Master Certified NeurOPTIMAL Neurofeedback Trainer
Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor
2 Office Locations:
BOULDER
3445 Penrose Place
suite 140-
in Williamson Health
(In Boulder, between the Diagonal and Iris Av. at 34th St .)
Directions
My office is located at 3445 Penrose Place #140, in north Boulder, just off of 34th St., between 30th St. and the Foothills Parkway (hwy 157), between Iris Ave. and the Diagonal (hwy 119).
From Longmont -
Take the Diagonal south; get off at the first Boulder exit. Immediately get in the left lane, and turn left onto 34th St. Landmark is Crist Mortuary. Turn left immediately again into the business parking lot. The lot is marked by a signs “Diagonal Dental Offices” and “3405 Penrose.” (The “Penrose Place” street sign is hidden.) Turn left at the third driveway into the second building on the north side, #3445. My office is just inside the lobby to the left, labeled “Williamson Health.”
From Louisville , Lafayette , and points east or south -
Come into Boulder on the Foothills Parkway (hwy 157), heading north. Exit left on Valmont, turn right on 30th St . Just one block before 30th intersects the Diagonal, turn right on Iris Ave. (Landmark – A retirement residence). In two blocks, turn left at the first stop sign. Immediately turn right into the business parking lot. The lot is marked by a sign “Diagonal Dental Offices” and “3405 Penrose.” (The “Penrose Place” street sign is hidden.) Turn left at the third driveway into the second building on the north side, #3445. My office is just inside the lobby to the left, labeled “Williamson Health.”
Boulder, Colorado 80301
Office: 303-449-2004
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DENVER AREA
7000 East Belleview Avenue Suite 350 (Counselors Offices) Greenwood Village/Denver Tech Center
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Also serving the following Colorado cities and towns:
Arvada, Aurora, Brighton, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Dacono, Denver, Elizabeth, Englewood, Evergreen, Federal Heights, Franktown, Glendale, Golden, Lakewood, Larkspur, Littleton, Lone Tree, Longmont, Louisville, Lyons, Monument, Morrison, Mountain View, Parker, Sedalia.