Mary was a fifty five year old woman with severe depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). She was treated for many years with medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. In fact, her treatment was overseen by one of the world’s leading experts in OCD. But years of this treatment regimen had yielded very little benefit. She came to us extremely discouraged, more or less hopeless, and largely unable to function. Mary decided to begin with neurofeedback as a treatment for depression and anxiety.

We used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a worldwide standard, to measure her depression severity before and then after 20 neurofeedback sessions. Mary’s mood had improved markedly. Her scores on the BDI decreased from a severe level score of 38 to a score of just 1. Her OCD symptoms diminished also. Mary wanted to continue with neurofeedback and decided to participate in our home training program. It is now five years later. Mary trains at home a couple of times a month. This small amount of training maintains her with a positive mood and with very little anxiety.

John had a longstanding history of problems with mood. Like most people with depression, John also suffered from anxiety. He had been in psychotherapy several times before and was taking three medications when he began neurofeedback. John met with us and decided to pursue neurofeedback as a treatment for depression.

We measured his level of depression and anxiety before he started neurofeedback with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories — well established psychological tests. His scores showed moderate depression and a mild level of anxiety, even with the three medications. After ten weeks and 20 sessions of neurofeedback, we repeated these tests. By this time he had stopped all three medications. His scores showed very significant improvement in mood and anxiety. After his brief course of neurofeedback training, he showed minimal signs of depression and anxiety – this time without medication. John has visited us periodically over the course of three years. He continues to do very well, with no return of symptoms.