By Shereen L Karjadi, BCN, Certified Cognitive Behavioral Life Coach
My first introduction to Neurofeedback was at RenuYou Neurofeedback Brain Fitness Center. At that time, I didn’t know much about the technology or treatment, only that it had the ability to make profound changes in people’s lives by retraining brainwave activity. So I started out naturally very curious and eager to learn why this technology was so impactful that the US military chose to use it to treat PTSD and The American Academy of Pediatrics announced it “Level 1” – “Best Support” intervention for Attention & Hyperactivity Behaviors (ADD and ADHD) for “Evidence-based Child and Adolescent Psycho-social Interventions”.
Now, after 2 years, working at RenuYou, I have witnessed countless positive changes in clients that are truly astounding. There are many testimonies I could share about the lives I have personally seen changed through Neurofeedback therapy, but there are two that stand out to me the most.
The first client was a middle-aged lady who spent most of her life with her husband serving in the mission field. She was never too concerned about cognitive function until she had to undergo an emergency surgery. Due to the anesthetics she was given, she stated she felt negative repercussions and found herself dealing with confusion, slowed-processing, high anxiety levels, depression, memory problems, focus & attention difficulties, only weeks after the surgery. She felt she was “drastically changed for the worse.” During her initial consult with me, emotions ran high as she stated “This is not who I am.” A friend of hers who had gone through a similar traumatic event and successfully treated at RenuYou, recommended she come for neurofeedback. When we went over the results, of her last brain mapping, she rated herself an average of 90% positive improvements in all symptoms she was previously concerned about. My observation was this huge difference between this very sad person, I first met, to a woman now radiating with happiness and smiles and who left RenuYou telling me, “I am grateful to your compassionate staff and thank God for neurofeedback”.
The second client was a gentleman in his early 30s, who found himself in and out of court cases because of uncontrollable anger issues and a toxic relationship. He was coerced to go through treatment, as an ultimatum, by his loving grandmother who wanted desperately to help him with his struggles. In the beginning, I had to admit it seemed hopeless because he started off with an extremely negative mindset and high levels of frustration; bottom line, he did not want to be here. However, our staff always treated him with the utmost respect and compassion and continued to lend an ear when he needed to just voice out his frustrations. Slowly but surely, he became confident that RenuYou was a safe non-judgmental place. I remember having a conversation with him after his first round of neurofeedback sessions, and it was like speaking to a completely different person. He was calmer, more conscious of his actions, and through our conversation I could just tell he was processing things on a whole new level. He even stated, “I feel smarter. I feel like I am able to notice and read the room/people in a way I haven’t been able to do before.” He was able to receive suggestions, able to define his shortcomings, but most importantly I felt like he had experienced a newfound hope that served as a light at the end of a very dark tunnel for him. Weeks later, I had the pleasure of presenting his final qEEG brain mapping analysis, where he brought both his grandparents and his wife, to review the results. Each family member had a positive comment such as “He is a completely different person and “we are so thankful we brought him here.” What a joy it was to see how happy all of them were and to know that this young man could now fulfill the purposes God had destined for him.
The main reason I enjoy working at RenuYou is to continue to see the heartfelt, sincere gratitude of families such as these. This is not a once- in- a- while occurrence but an everyday happening at RenuYou and I never get tired of it! Everyday I get to experience with many other clients and their families, the joy of life’s transformations. I believe Neurofeedback is one of the most effective tools in treating symptoms that many individuals feel they must endure for the rest of their lives. I am so grateful to be working with passionate people who share the same mission in empowering individuals to achieve peak performance beginning with an optimal and fully functioning brain. For we all are born with a plan and a purpose, and we should all strive to show up to the world as the best version of ourselves, just as God had intended when He created us. My belief is that everyone was born with an innate passion to make the world a better place. Each of us are gifted with unique talents and skills to be able to carry out a world-healing purpose. The fullness of one’s potential can only be found in the most honest version of one’s self, and this is exactly where I am called to serve.
By Shereen L Karjadi, BCN, Certified Cognitive Behavioral Life Coach