SSRI medications are considered “standard” solutions for depression. And while medications are an absolute necessity for some, recently mental health professionals have become increasingly aware of the limitations of medication and psychotherapy for depression.

Problem with reliance on medications:

1. Many individuals still struggle.

2. Once on anti-depressants, it is hard to get off them as the brain becomes reliant on medication. This makes it more difficult to get out of depression or become motivated on one’s own.

Brain training in depression

Thousands of health professionals – psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, and neurologists now use neurofeedback with their clients.

How do you train mood and depression?

A great deal of research shows evidence of a neurological basis for depression. Certain image patterns often correlate to depression (see example below).

qEEG offers brain diagnostics. This can help identify connectivity issues in the brain to target and treat. After training, many depressed clients report changes in mood, motivation, and become more stable. They report being less susceptible to depression or moodiness.

Depressed or down?

Think of depression – or just chronically being down – as being “stuck.” Anyone can have an experience that gets them down or depressed. It’s when you can’t lift yourself out of it that depression becomes a problem. Even under difficult circumstances, many people can lift their mood. They may struggle, but not stay depressed.. When someone gets stuck, they can’t do that. They can’t break out of it on their own. Friends will say – “get a grip”, or “cheer up”. If one could, one would. When the brain is stuck in a pattern of being down, it’s not solely psychological. Research has shown physical patterns in the brain often correlate with depression.

A person can exercise his or her brain back to health and break up the ‘stuck’ pattern. Most patients report the impact of training on mood is very powerful. Often they notice being in a better mood within a few sessions. However, to stabilize mood regulation, more training is required. Training helps the brain practice a more efficient pattern of mood regulation. After all, the brain learns and then teaches us everything we know. It can learn to regulate mood.

The two images below (brain maps) are from different people. The map on the left is from a person with a long history of depression. On the left, there is a colored orange and yellow area. It represents an excess amount of slow brainwave activity. This pattern is often associated with depression. The picture on the right displays a relatively normal brain, without depression.

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