What is Biofeedback Therapy?

The Drake Institute of Neurophysical Medicine has been a pioneer of biofeedback therapy for stress and anxiety for the last 3 decades. Our clinic in Orange County has successfully treated thousands of patients with the use of FDA-approved qEEG brain mapping technology and proven biofeedback techniques.

Biofeedback treatment therapy for stress and anxiety is a non-invasive, non-drug treatment protocol designed to help patients leverage the mind-body connection to reach a deep state of relaxation, which can reduce or even eliminate negative symptoms.

During biofeedback treatment, the body is not stimulated and medications are not administered; in fact, nothing invasive is performed at all. Instead, biofeedback is akin to using a thermometer to take a patient’s temperature and only records how the body is working. 

Best of all, results from biofeedback therapy are built upon a self-generated, learned response, and with practice, this response becomes hard-wired into the patient’s nervous system, typically resulting in long-term symptom relief for many patients.

And since our treatment protocols are 100% drug-free, patients do not have to worry about experiencing negative side-effects from prescription medications. 

How is Biofeedback Used to Treat Stress & Anxiety?

During Biofeedback therapy, no drugs are administered and the body is not stimulated in any way; instead, sensors are placed in strategic areas of the patient’s body to measure heart rate, muscle tension, hand temperature, sweat gland activity in the fingers, and brain wave activities.

As an example, sensors may be placed on the forehead to provide patients with real-time feedback regarding their current muscle tension in the facial muscles.

With the guidance of a medical professional, Biofeedback therapy can help patients exercise greater control over physiologic functions regulated by the autonomic nervous system, which in turn, can lower their tension, stress, and anxiety, which as we mentioned earlier, may help reduce symptoms for stress-related disorders and even ADHD.

What Conditions Can Biofeedback Treat?

Biofeedback therapy can be used to treat several disorders and conditions, including:

  • Addiction
  • Anxiety or stress
  • Asthma
  • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Chemotherapy side effects
  • Chronic pain
  • Constipation
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Headache
  • High blood pressure
  • Insomnia
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Panic Attacks
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Raynaud's disease
  • Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
  • Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)​

Why Use Biofeedback Treatment/Training?

Compared to other treatment protocols, Biofeedback treatment/training has several advantages, including:

  • It's noninvasive.
  • It allows some patients to reduce or even eliminate their need for medications.
  • It can be used in tandem with medications or psychotherapy to amplify the effects of these treatments.
  • It can provide benefits to patients for whom medications may not be an option.
  • It improves self-confidence and helps people feel more in control of their health.

Visit the Drake Institute in Orange County

Our Irvine office is located in the Stonecreek Plaza, 4330 Barranca Parkway, Suite 130 in Orange County and is close to the 405/5 freeways. Our Orange County location is also just a short drive away from the ever-popular Irvine Spectrum Shipping Center.

If you or a loved one is suffering from the effects of ADHD, Autism, Stress, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, or PTSD, please call the Drake Institute to schedule a no-cost screening consultation.

 

Contact Us Today

To get the help you or a loved one needs, call now to schedule your no-cost screening consultation.

dr david velkoff headshot

“David F. Velkoff, M.D., our Medical Director and co-founder, supervises all evaluation procedures and treatment programs. He is recognized as a physician pioneer in using biofeedback, qEEG brain mapping, neurofeedback, and neuromodulation in the treatment of ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and stress related illnesses including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and high blood pressure. Dr. David Velkoff earned his Master’s degree in Psychology from the California State University at Los Angeles in 1975, and his Doctor of Medicine degree from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta in 1976. This was followed by Dr. Velkoff completing his internship in Obstetrics and Gynecology with an elective in Neurology at the University of California Medical Center in Irvine. He then shifted his specialty to Neurophysical Medicine and received his initial training in biofeedback/neurofeedback in Neurophysical Medicine from the leading doctors in the world in biofeedback at the renown Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. In 1980, he co-founded the Drake Institute of Neurophysical Medicine. Seeking to better understand the link between illness and the mind, Dr. Velkoff served as the clinical director of an international research study on psychoneuroimmunology with the UCLA School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Pasteur Institute in Paris. This was a follow-up study to an earlier clinical collaborative effort with UCLA School of Medicine demonstrating how the Drake Institute's stress treatment resulted in improved immune functioning of natural killer cell activity. Dr. Velkoff served as one of the founding associate editors of the scientific publication, Journal of Neurotherapy. He has been an invited guest lecturer at Los Angeles Children's Hospital, UCLA, Cedars Sinai Medical Center-Thalians Mental Health Center, St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, and CHADD. He has been a medical consultant in Neurophysical Medicine to CNN, National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, Univision, and PBS.”

More About What Makes Drake Institute Unique