“Using your Head”- Neurofeedback Therapy
by: Tara J. Foote
In recent times, traditional healing methods have had a cultural renaissance of sorts. Libraries are layered with journals, books, and alternative healing documentaries that help facilitate the merger of science, technology and age old wisdom. As the world becomes more globally connected, it is easier to access information from other cultures and fields. In Montana, we are fortunate to have someone like Dr. Lora Lonsberry of Kalispell, who has spent her life studying cutting edge scientific and spiritual research. Subsequent to a doctorate in Counseling Psychology and twenty years of practice, Lora went on to study at the Neurodevelopment Center in Providence, RI, in order to espouse an entirely new method of treatment in her practice. Neurofeedback Therapy offers training for imbalances in brain timing up-stream from pathological symptoms.
Dr. Lonsberry believes in the therapy and its curative effects even on the most traumatized individuals, indicating that it has beneficial effects in about 85% of clients. The process is simple, the technology revolutionary; retrain the brain with immediate feedback to release emotional and physical pain and increase resiliency by using EEG (electroencephalograph) biofeedback. A person suffering from depression and anxiety, for example, can see “advanced brain imaging technology” via a computer screen that releases information about the exact nature of your brain activity in the moment: where it is focusing its energy, and where it could be prompted to function more efficiently. Dr. Lonsberry feels that Neurofeedback therapy is very much like strength training for the brain. Like any other muscle, the brain requires focus and attention in order to perform at its best, thus becoming more functional for the individual and less reactive to stress or pain.
Lora states that “by correcting timing faults in various parts of our brains, and without expensive and incessant pharmacological prescriptions, many symptoms of neuronal dysregulation (like depression and anxiety) drop away and are replaced by a calm, centered focus”. Once “in the zone”, as she calls it, the appearance of individual “oneness” is achieved while the stifling sense of “otherness” is released. Neurofeedback Therapy is “simple, painless, and non-invasive”. Through her practice, she has helped diverse groups of individuals like athletes improve physical strength and focus as well as treating symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults and children. She has also worked with ADHD symptoms and post traumatic stress syndrome. She is proud of the work and its results saying in a phone interview from Kalispell, “when we calm the brain down, we can hear the heart’s code more clearly,” and act more relationally—with empathy and compassion.
Dr. Lonsberry is a unique individual with a brilliant contribution to offer Montana as well as modern science and medicine. She has traveled to Brazil, Belize, India, Australia, Bali and Peru but remains faithful to Montana, where she was born and raised. She has taught Jungian and archetypal classes on sacred mythology, relationships, eating disorders, and co-dependency through her practice, and Psychology of Women at FVCC. Lora Lonsberry has taken the best of traditional healing and spirituality and merged them with the latest advances in neuron science and technology.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact;
Lora Lonsberry, Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, Private Practice
Doctor, Owner
455 N. Foys Lake Dr.
Kalispell, MT 59901
406 752 6634
406 270 0093
406 756 0572