Neurofeedback has been used for over 30 years clinically, with hundreds of thousands of training sessions. There are no known situations where a long-term, adverse effect has been identified. To our knowledge, there has never been a lawsuit for adverse effects from neurofeedback training.

It’s important that clients communicate anything they feel during their session with their clinician so the clinician can make necessary adjustments. While most people feel nothing or very little during a neurofeedback session, some people do experience some sensations. By letting your therapist know about them, you can maximize the impact of your training with every session.

Anything with the power to change things powerfully for the better could potentially have adverse effects. Good professional training is critical. This tool can help improve sleep. In the short term, training a site and frequency not optimal for an individual could make sleep worse. Training can improve depression, or in the short term, it could exacerbate that symptom if done inappropriately.

Typically, change in any one session is very minor. Training effects can be rapidly reversed by changing protocols (sites and frequencies) even within the same session. Monitoring change and shifting training protocols is part of the responsibility of a trained professional. Just as short-term side effects lead to changes in medications, short-term effects provide information useful to adjust the client’s training.