New Neurotherapy -- EEG Biofeedback Patient Procedure
Here are the steps to take to become a new biofeedback patient:
STEP 1. Fill out the forms below and get them to me. Also, get me copies of any psychological evaluations, special education testing, etc., that has been done in the past few years.
Intake form for EEG Biofeedback/Neurofeedback for Children (Under 18)
Intake form for EEG Biofeedback/Neurofeedback for Adults(18 and above)
Release of Information Form We need one of these filled out and signed by you for each healthcare provider or educational professional that we need to consult with regarding the treatment you receive with Dr. Heegel.
These forms are in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format. To view them you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can get a free copy by visiting the Adobe website here.
STEP 2. Send the forms to the clinic via fax, e-mail, or postal mail.
901-328-1592 Fax
Mailing Address-- (This is not my office location; it is just where I get my mail)
Dr. Cliff Heegel, 4728 Spottswood #361, Memphis, TN 38117
Office Location Map-- you might need this later to find my office.
Step 3. We will set up a consultation, without kids, to go over the intakes and my analysis of any other evaluations that have been done.
Step 5. Now we can start the training. Depending on how quickly you can get me the information we could begin training within a week or so.
What Next? During training, I will ask
you for regular feedback about your training or your child's progress. We can do
this via e-mail. It is also important to keep in touch with your physician. As
the person being trained progresses, it is not uncommon for them to need to
lower their medication. Medication changes should always be done in
collaboration with the physician. I will also be more than happy to communicate
with physicians regarding treatment.
If it works for your schedule, I can train two family members at once (I have 2
adjacent training
systems), so the training itself isn't all that problematic regarding time.
After the initial
evaluation, each training session takes roughly 35-45 minutes from the time you
enter the
office until you leave.
Information about me (Cliff Heegel) that you need to know--
I was trained initially in neurofeedback by
Sue Othmer and one
of the authors of ADD- The 20-Hour
Solution-- Siegfried Othmer (Sue's husband). I have since studied
neurofeedback under several other folks and I participate daily in a global
network of case consultation-- there are a few hundred of us learning from each
other via the internet. I have been doing neurofeedback training in the Memphis
area for 3 years. It makes up about 85% of my practice-- I still do a little
traditional individual and couple's counseling as well. I have officially been in the
counseling and psychotherapy business, one way or another, since around 1984. I
was involved in personal growth-human potential activities for many years before
that.
I am strongly biased toward non-labeling (although labels are required to get
special
services at school and to get insurance reimbursement), so I am more likely to
talk to you
about strengths and weaknesses rather than figuring out which diagnosis to lump
you or your child gets lumped into. People with the wildest most unruly
brains can become successful and happy despite the school system and despite the
psychiatric system. However, many of them suffer untold damage to their
self-esteem and to their social, educational, and financial attainment because
they are impaired by some sort of "brain glitch". I can help improve brain
glitches and thereby help people travel through the educational, social, and
legal systems more smoothly and happily.
My bias is also strongly in favor of minimal medication and using natural solutions (like diet, well-researched nutritional supplements, and exercise). I am not happy with the "meducation" system that seems to be growing where schools manage challenging kids through pharmaceuticals. I think most kids and adults have the abilities to live just fine without powerful drugs flowing through their brains.
However, medication has a definite place, and I am not so narrow as to think that
neurofeedback is the only solution for everything. Medication saves lives and
sometimes the right medication seems to be the only thing that can help a person
maintain "normalcy". Medication is unquestionably required in certain
situations. I do not advocate stopping medication without physician
supervision-- this can be fatal, for example, in the case of certain seizure
disorders.
I am not a great fan of our current educational system but I understand that it
is the one
we have and we have to work with it. I have had 3 kids go through it and I have
had
many meetings with teachers, administrators, etc, trying to figure out how to
negotiate the
system, obtain services, and help my children do their best. I appreciate how
tough it is
being a parent.
Good sites to visit about neurofeedback are eegspectrum.com and eeginfo.com.
If you don't yet know about it, I strongly recommend that you check out Mel
Levine's
website and his books. You can find him at
http://www.allkindsofminds.org/
Let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, regarding
Neurofeedback training.
For more info about the office, fees, etc., go back to the office info page.