How ILF Neurofeedback Supports Mental Health

What is infra-low frequency (ILF) neurofeedback?

Infra-low frequency (ILF) neurofeedback is a gentle, non-invasive therapy to train the brain to function better and improve your capacity to self-regulate and heal from trauma, anxiety, and psychophysiological conditions. In this blog we discuss the significance of working with this method of neurofeedback in our clinic and how it differs from other more universally based approaches.

Just as there is no one way to do therapy, there are a number of different neurofeedback technologies originating from the traditional approach of training bandwidth frequencies from 1 to 30 Hz.

By contrast, ILF neurofeedback targets brain wave frequencies below 0.1 Hz.  The recent discovery in the last 25 years of these low frequencies and their clinical applications is attributed to Siegried and Sue Othmer, the founders of the EEG Institute in Woodland Hills, California.  Infra low frequencies are called foundational frequencies and are correlated with core regulatory processes of the autonomic nervous system that support good mental health.

Honoring Neurodiversity and Personalized Therapy

ILF neurofeedback supports a method to tailor an unique protocol for each person’s nervous system.  The failure of mental health services is rooted in the belief that generalized, evidence based therapies will provide good clinical outcomes despite being offered in a fragmented, depersonalized system. This criticism of the field is supported by Dr. Thomas Insel, former head of the National Institute for Mental Health in the United States, who decries the failure of traditional mental health treatments despite years of research.

Clinical practice and research in therapy demonstrates that honoring the neurodiversity of clients calls for personalized, clinically rigorous and evidence based approaches.   We need methods that can be tailored and developed for each individual and ILF neurofeedback meets this need. In our practice, each person is assessed for an individualized neurofeedback training protocol based on presentation of their symptoms and listening to the nervous system’s response to specific low frequencies.  

A unique feature of ILF neurofeedback is dialing into what we call the “Optimal Response Frequency” or ORF where the clients report feeling the most comfortable.  Each person has a unique ORF and discovering this frequency is dependent on the client’s ability to notice and report on what they are feeling.  This way of knowing is called “interoceptive awareness”, the knowing of how you feel, and is an essential part of healing in mental health. When we feel connected to our bodies and know what feels right, healing and recovery is possible.

How does ILF Neurofeedback Support Therapy?

ILF neurofeedback is a learning approach that teaches improvement of autonomic nervous system regulation - also known as exogenous neuromodulation. In everyday symptom language it can help improve symptoms of trauma, mood issues, sleep issues, headaches, migraines, concussion and other brain injuries. Better symptom management and regulation may be sufficient but for most clients it is a starting point.

Talk therapy can be daunting! Some might not feel ready to dig into the past with a therapist, or some might feel that talk therapy leaves them feeling stirred up without immediate feelings of relief. This might be because there is an ideal state in which talk therapy is most effective;  the regulated state of optimal arousal, popularly referred to as the “window of tolerance”. 

Optimal arousal is a state between high arousal, where you might be feeling anxious, angry, or hypervigilant, and low arousal, where you might feel drained, fatigued, and disengaged. Optimal arousal states are associated with capacity to tolerate difficult feelings, response flexibility and prosocial states.  ILF neurofeedback helps you return to this state so that you can feel more prepared for therapy and skilled at meeting emotional challenges as they arise.

ILF Neurofeedback and Trauma Processing with Deep State Therapies

For many people who come to our clinic, calming the nervous system with ILF neurofeedback is sufficient.  But for many this is the first step towards processing trauma at a deeper, somatic level. We work with a range of trauma-focused therapies that access healing in deep states of consciousness.  This can include, but are not limited to, therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, or internal family systems (IFS) therapy.  To learn more about the combination of EMDR and ILF neurofeedback, please read our previous blog on this topic.

Another tool that we have to work with processing trauma is a neurofeedback method called Alpha Theta neurofeedback training. This method has similarities to psychedelic assisted therapies in that it is done in a reclined position with eyes closed and uses guided imagery to access deep, non ordinary states of consciousness.  Check out this blog for a fuller understanding of Alpha Theta neurofeedback and trauma processing.

ILF Neurofeedback: What Does a Session Look Like?

During an ILF neurofeedback session, electrodes are placed on the head on sites associated with the desired effects (for example, sites on the back side of the head lead to physical calming and muscle relaxation, and the sites on the forehead lead to improved focus and emotional regulation). These electrodes receive information from the brain and then manifest it through visuals, tactile and auditory feedback (this looks like a screen playing your favourite Netflix TV show or movie, as well as a teddy bear that vibrates and gives your brain feedback through touch!). 

ILF neurofeedback is based in neuroscience and neuroplasticity, which is when the brain adapts and learns from new experiences. Since the brain likes to learn and experience, it is naturally fascinated by feedback, and through making sense of it and finding patterns, it steers the nervous system into self-regulation. 

During the sessions, adjustments to the frequencies are made by the therapist to find the most comfortable place for your brain. This approach is very specific and fine-tuned for each person since every brain and nervous system is different.

Neurofeedback at New Pathways

If you want to learn more about neurofeedback, make sure to check out this blog post and read more about our approach here. Feel free to request a free consultation with us if our approach to neurofeedback resonates with you. 

We believe that we have a unique approach at New Pathways and we appreciate working with clients who take the time to learn about us and how we work, and who feel passionate about these valuable tools for deeper healing. 

Thank you for reading!

Sources

The Brain Collective, “What is Infra-Low Neurofeedback?” (2022). https://www.thebraincollective.co.uk/what-we-do/infra-low-neurofeedback/ 

Rachael Frankford, RSW, MSW, “Is Neurofeedback Right for You?” (2021). https://www.newpathwaystherapy.com/blog/is-neurofeedback-for-you

New Pathways Therapy Centre, “Neurofeedback Therapy”, (2021). https://www.newpathwaystherapy.com/neurofeedback-therapy