Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment NYC

WHAT IS POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)?

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape, or another violent, personal assault.

Unwanted reactions may last months or years, with triggers that can bring back memories of the trauma accompanied by intense emotional and physical reactions that can be severely debilitating. Recurring memories and heightened sensitivity to the environment can cause even neutral stimuli to appear as threatening or dangerous. 

Brain maps reveal that people with PTSD exhibit excessive activation in the fear network of the brain. Living in a prolonged and heightened state of fear can have long-term psychological and physiological consequences. Processing the traumatic event and restoring calm and control to the brain and body are crucial for recovering from PTSD.

PTSD Symptoms Can Be Debilitating

  • Avoidance of situations, activities, or people that bring back memories of the trauma

  • Being easily startled or frightened

  • Feeling detached from friends and family, difficulty maintaining relationships

  • Feeling emotionally numb

  • Heightened emotional and physical reactions

  • Memory problems, including not remembering details about the traumatic event itself

  • Negative changes in thinking and mood

  • Nightmares and flashbacks

  • Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)

  • Self-destructive behavior such as substance abuse, reckless driving, etc.

  • Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the event

ptsd treatment new york

Retrain PTSD brain with Neurofeedback and CBT

PTSD can have wide-ranging impacts on an affected individual’s life. Thankfully, a wide range of techniques have proven effective at helping individuals to rebalance their bodies and brains, process and integrate traumatic events into their lives, and reconnect with the world around them.

Neurofeedback therapy can retrain the brain to produce a calmer and less fearful state of mind. It can also help your brain to break free of the fear-driven loops individuals with PTSD may experience, with constant flashbacks, extreme emotional reactions to neutral stimuli, and avoidance of people and places that might be triggering. When used in conjunction with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), patients can work to process the traumatic event, and untangle it from their day-to-day lives, relearning how to move through the world without the hyper-vigilance and arousal that is characteristic of those with PTSD.

How does Neurofeedback work?

  • Brain map New York City

    1. Brain map

    Brainwave assessment identifies imbalances and helps to create a personalized treatment plan.

  • Neurofeedback setup

    2. Treatment setup

    Non-invasive sensors and headphones are placed on your head and the treatment session begins.

  • Brain training

    3. Brain activation

    Software translates your brainwave data and stops or starts audio/visual media based on your brain activity.

  • brc brain training

    4. Conditioning

    In response to the audio/visual feedback, your brain adapts and learns to regulate your brainwaves and build new, healthy neural pathways.

  • brc optimal brain

    5. Brain Training

    Over time with continuous brain training, healthy brain activity in target regions increases, and symptom-associated activity decreases.

Ready to start the process?

Step 1: Schedule an intake appointment.

This initial session is a time for you to meet with our clinical psychologist, Dr. Fallahpour, to discuss your medical history, symptoms, goals, circumstances, etc. Fill out the booking form here or call us directly at 212-877-2130 to schedule your intake session or inquire for more information.

Step 2: Complete brain assessments.

After your intake session with Dr. Fallahpour, we recommend that you complete a qEEG brain map and neuropsychological screening. This provides us a more objective understanding of what is happening in your brain and which issues we need to focus on treating.

Step 3: Start treatment sessions.

After reviewing the results of your brain assessments, Dr. Fallahpour will design a personalized treatment plan for you. Then you will be able to start treatment sessions in office or remotely if eligible. Click here to learn more about our treatment options.

Related Research

Neurofeedback and Biofeedback for Mood and Anxiety Disorders: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness and Guidelines Click Here

A Randomized Controlled Study of Neurofeedback for Chronic PTSD Click Here

Real-time fMRI neurofeedback training of the amygdala activity with simultaneous EEG in veterans with combat-related PTSD Click Here