Doctors preach 'brain training' to treat post-traumatic stress

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Isn't this nice when alternative medicine 101 is mentioned on media?

RE:

Doctors preach 'brain training' to treat post-traumatic stress

http://www.kens5.com/news/85617537.html

by Lucero / KENS 5

Posted on February 27, 2010 at 10:05 PM

Updated today at 11:06 PM

- Clinicians who will treat PTSD in veterans for

free<http://www.homecoming4veterans.org/index.html>

Dr. Ron Swatzyna remembers Nov. 5, 2009, well. That day, Major Nidal

Hassan opened fire at Fort Hood, killing 13 people and wounding dozens of

others. But all Swatzyna could think about was what must have been going on

inside Hassan's mind

" I think it finally finally set him into a secondary PTSD, " said Swatzyna,

referring to the post-traumatic stress disorder likely brought about during

Hassan's military service. " He had no defense mechanisms to calm himself.

And he had issues with anger. "

Incidents like that one in Killeen, Texas, have driven the Houston-based

doctor and a growing number of specialists around the country to find a

treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder that works.

For these and other conditions, there are a growing number of medical

experts who say they have discovered a groundbreaking treatment that doesn't

involve taking more pills or traditional approaches. It involves stimulating

the brain in a way that's never been done before.

The symptoms for PTSD include anger, nightmares, flashbacks and difficulty

concentrating. This is the result of being bombarded by images of war.

" Part of it is an exercise in focus and attention, " says Swatzyna, referring

to neurofeedback therapy. It's a cutting-edge approach to treating PTSD and

other brain disorders.

" The first part of neurotherapy for PTSD is to teach the brain to be calm

and stable. The second part is to allow the brain to access and resolve the

traumas, " says Othmer, the clinical director of the EEG Institute in

California.

Dr. Siegfried Othmer and Othmer have been involved with neurofeedback

since 1985. What got them involved initially was their son's seizure

disorder. The neurotherapy training was life-transforming for him, and

inspired them to continue developing neurofeedback therapy and to the

promote its public acceptance.

Neurofeedback therapy is essentially brain training. It's been around for

some 30 years, and is now gaining acceptance as a way to treat everything

from ADHD to anxiety and PTSD disorders by teaching the brain to

self-regulate better.

Through a set of mind exercises and even video games, the patient learns to

control his brain output or brain wave activity.

Mark Schell is one of Ron Swatzyna's patients. He treated the 18-year-old's

inability to concentrate or sit still. Schell's grades suffered as a result.

At Swatzyna's office, electrodes were attached to Schell's scalp to listen

in on his brain wave activity.

" The one on top is his good brain waves. I want him to make more, " says

Swatzyna, pointing to the electroencephalogram, or brain wave activity being

recorded real-time onto a computer screen.

" I'm telling him to stop making the dysfunctional ones. All he knows is I've

always told him get these lines nice and straight. "

Swatzyna also puts Schell through video game tests. One is a car racing game

in which the goal is to make the car go as fast as possible and stay on the

track. But there is no joy stick or controller. Schell controls the car's

movements solely with his mind.

" The brain picks up and learns what are nice waves, " says Swatzyna.

The goal in the games is to make Mark's brain waves line up with what is

determined to be normal brain wave function or frequencies. It can take a

few weeks to a few months to get good at it.

In just six months, Mark says he's seen an enormous difference. " I've gone

from academic probation to making almost honor roll, " he says proudly.

" After two weeks, I actually started sleeping better. And to where, even if

I had a nightmare, I got a drink of water and went back to bed. The future

actually has some hope to it now, " says Iraq war veteran, Szabowski

who underwent neurotherapy for PTSD through a foundation called, Homecoming

4 Veterans.

" Where does the resolution lie for PTSD? It means decoupling that body

memory from the historical memory. That is what we do with neurofeedback, "

says Dr. Othmer.

" I don't know how or why it just works, " says Szabowski.

" I just thought it'd be another failure, but this is the real deal, " says

Schell of his treatment.