Biofeedback is the monitoring and altering of involuntary body functions like skin temperature, heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, and brain waves in order to improve health. Biofeedback training teaches health care providers and others how to use biofeedback monitors to achieve the best therapeutic outcomes. Seminars, books, online resources, and live training are all options for delivering training. Patients can learn how to use biofeedback to improve their health from these trained professionals.
Stress-related ailments are the most common ailments that can be treated with biofeedback. High blood pressure, tension or migraine headaches, and chronic pain are examples. Biofeedback training can also include information on how to treat a variety of other ailments, such as depression, anxiety, autism, epilepsy, and many others.
Biofeedback machines range in complexity from as simple as a thermometer to as complex as a machine that monitors brain waves. The information on how to read the data from these types of monitors is usually included in biofeedback training. The next step is to learn how to use various relaxation techniques to control involuntary body functions.
Physicians, nurses, psychologists, physical therapists, and psychiatrists are among the health professionals who may be interested in using biofeedback. Biofeedback therapy can be certified professionals who want to practice it. The topics covered in most courses include general anatomy and physiology, biofeedback fundamentals, and ethics.
The ability to teach patients relaxation techniques is an important part of basic training. The patient is the only one who has control over his or her own bodily functions. Biofeedback therapy will fail if the patient does not fully participate.
Colleges, universities, and organizations dedicated to biofeedback certification, such as The Biofeedback Certification Institute of America (BCIA) and The Behavioral Medicine Research and Training Foundation, are common training providers. Professionals can find course listings and locations on the websites of these organizations. Some training is also available via the internet.
To maintain certification, professionals must take additional, ongoing biofeedback training on a regular basis after completing the basic coursework. Professionals with a biofeedback certification can also pursue other specialized certifications. EEG (brainwave) biofeedback and pelvic muscle disfunction feedback are two of these specialized areas.
The Association of Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback (AAPB) and the International Society for Neurofeedback and Research (ISNR) are two organizations that approve biofeedback training coursework (ISNR). These certifications can assist professionals in selecting the most appropriate biofeedback training. In most cases, these courses are only for healthcare professionals.
Biofeedback training is also available to people who want to learn how to improve their own health without the help of a professional. This type of training usually focuses on how to use relaxation to measure and change one’s own bodily functions. Individuals who are not healthcare workers are generally unable to provide biofeedback therapy to others.
Books, seminars, computer software, and consumer websites all provide personal training. On the Internet, personal biofeedback equipment is widely available for purchase. Heart rate, skin temperature, and blood pressure monitors are examples of these devices.