Neurofeedback at Home
Could a home unit be right for you?

Recently we’ve had more requests than ever from people wondering if home use equipment is a good option for them. Since neurofeedback technology is complicated and sophisticated, the answer isn’t always simple, so that’s why we’ve provided the information that follows.

The Center for Brain Training, headed by Mike Cohen, has more than 25 years of experience training clients with neurofeedback. Mike has also taught thousands of health professionals how to use neurofeedback with clients.

For many years, we’ve provided home neurofeedback systems to a select number of our clients in Florida, across the U.S. and in Canada and Mexico.

How will you know if home training is a good fit?

Deciding if home training is a good fit for you begins with completing specialized paperwork that uncovers your history and challenges. It’s followed by an in-depth consultation with a Center for Brain Training professional to discuss your issues and goals and, when possible, a visit to the center.

During the consultation we review your history and assess your unique needs. If at-home training makes sense for your situation, we’ll recommend which equipment we feel would be the right fit to help you reach your goals.

We want what’s best for our clients, so if we feel that home training isn’t a good fit for you, or for us, we can often suggest other options.

Not near our office in Jupiter, Florida? No problem. We do consultations remotely with people who are out of the area.

What factors make home training worth considering?

Distance. There may not be any trained providers nearby.
Convenience. Some people’s schedules make it extremely difficult to complete regular in-office visits. Consistency is important.
Some situations require ongoing, long-term training. Though it might take more sessions on home equipment than with in-office training, it may be easier to do numerous sessions at home.
Since neurofeedback helps you rewire your brain, more frequent training at home can make a huge difference.
You (or a family member) may be uncomfortable training in an office setting due to health or other concerns.
Several family members may wish or need to train, which may be financially more feasible with a home system.

Are there situations where home training is not recommended or doesn’t work?

Yes. You may not be a good candidate if your situation is too complicated or challenging for us to support remotely. We’ll be able to evaluate home training’s suitability for you during your consultation. In certain cases, you will benefit more being in an office with a technician to oversee your training or by using an approach not available in home use equipment.

There are factors that can hinder the success of neurofeedback: inconsistency of training, or a lack of patience or persistence, family dynamics and lifestyle issues. These, and other potential obstacles to success, are reviewed in more depth in Mike Cohen’s Amazon bestselling book: Neurofeedback 101: Rewiring the Brain for ADHD, Anxiety, Depression and Beyond (without medication).

What happens during a consultation?

We review your history and assess your unique needs. If at-home training makes sense for your situation, we’ll recommend which equipment we feel would be the best fit to help you reach your goals.
In some cases, we recommend having a quantitative EEG (qEEG) brain map. This type of map can be helpful in better targeting the training. If you are not local, you may be able to locate someone in your geographic area who can conduct a brain map for you and send us the results for analysis.
By the end of the consultation, we’ll have a better idea of your training options and responses.
Equipment can be ordered as soon as we identify the system and approach that best fit your situation.
We may suggest other technologies, if appropriate, to further support your home training.

Benefits of an in-person visit to our center

If you come to our office, we are able to administer several neurofeedback sessions to you and observe your response to training. This helps us understand how to best support your home training and will give us an idea of how much training you might need to reach your goal.
We may conduct sessions on more than one type of neurofeedback device in order to see which type of training and equipment may work best for you.
If we feel a qEEG (brain map) is warranted, we can conduct it in our office. A brain map can often help in targeting neurofeedback training protocols as well as influencing which system we recommend. Our center records a high-resolution 32-channel EEG that is not commonly available.

Note: We are happy to direct you to hotels and other resources close to our office that you might need during your visit.

How we work if you can’t come see us in person

We will conduct a remote, in-depth consultation with you to determine your needs and goals, as well as which equipment is right for you.
If an EEG recording is suggested for a map analysis, it may be possible to find someone closer to home to record your EEG and send it to us for analysis. Having the EEG recording may influence which system we recommend for some clients. A brain map can often help in targeting neurofeedback training protocols as well as influencing which system we recommend.
We can help install and configure the hardware and software remotely.
There are videos and manuals that help show you how to measure and identify the standard sites where EEG sensors (electrodes) are placed on the head .
By logging in with a remote camera and video app such as WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Facetime or TeamViewer, it’s like being there. We can observe what you do and help teach and guide you to make sure every placement of the sensor is correct.

“Having a neurofeedback system at home is a convenient way to achieve your goals through more frequent and consistent training. It’s like having your own ‘brain gym.’” – Michael Cohen, Director, Center for Brain Training.

What equipment and training are right for you?

What equipment is best for you varies by individual. That’s why we conduct an in-depth consultation and evaluation before making a recommendation.

What’s involved with remote setup?

When your equipment arrives, you have the option of installing the software yourself with the supplied directions or hiring one of our technicians to help you remotely over the internet.

You’ll need a remote camera and video app such as WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Facetime or TeamViewer in order to connect with one of our experienced neurofeedback techs.

Motivated 26-Year-Old Man Ramps Up Progress With Home Neurofeedback Training
After years of trying many approaches to dealing with numerous issues—ADHD, a short fuse; rumination; forgetfulness; disorganization; poor memory; and lack of focus–Tyler discovered neurofeedback. The convenience of being able to do neurofeedback at home made it possible to do neurofeedback far more often than he would have otherwise done and allowed him to improve at a faster pace. Click here to read his full story.

Home Training Significantly—and Conveniently—Helps Trauma-Plagued Businessman
Gary went through most of his adult life feeling that something wasn’t right but didn’t know why. “I believe that when you change your brain it changes the whole deal, and neurofeedback does that without you having to do a lot of conscious work,” he said. Click here to read his full story.

What is supervision – and how much do you need?

Different equipment and types of training will have different supervision requirements.

In the beginning, a technician will monitor and supervise your training remotely until you feel comfortable on your own. Your technician makes sure everything is connected and placed correctly on the head. Periodically monitored check-ins later on with a tech help to increase your chances of sticking with your training and conducting your training correctly for optimal results.

As your training progresses, your technician will customize and modify the neurofeedback training process when needed, such as what areas or sites to train and what training parameters should be used, based on your response to the training.

Since we act as your brain coach, we encourage your feedback throughout the process, such as observations about subtle changes day-to-day or week-to-week. This allows us to adjust training protocols, based on your training response. We coach you on the types of changes to watch for or observe. We use this feedback to help guide your training.

Costs and Fees

Some home training equipment is only available through purchase. Other equipment can be rented. Fees for the supervised sessions are in addition to the cost of the equipment.

The cost of purchased equipment (not including the computer) can range, as a ballpark price, from $1,200 to $6,000+.

In some cases it makes sense to purchase the equipment. In others, a rental option may be a better fit. We help you work through your options to determine what is best for your particular situation.

How to learn more about equipment or book a consultation

To find out more about home use devices, or to arrange a consultation, contact Dr. Liz Doyle at 561-594-2062 or email her at DrLizDoyle@centerforbrain.com.

How to learn more about neurofeedback before your consultation

To make the most of your consultation, we recommend you learn as much about neurofeedback as you can, in advance.

Start by watching our 4-minute video, What is neurofeedback?

You can read our abbreviated FAQ section below. A more extensive list of FAQ’s can be found here.

For an even greater depth of understanding, written for a lay audience, read Mike’s Cohen’s Amazon bestselling book, Neurofeedback 101: Rewiring the Brain for ADHD, Anxiety, Depression and Beyond (without medication). Available both in paperback and e-book format.

Neurofeedback at Home Could a home unit be right for you?