BIOFEEDBACK

General biofeedback allows a person to obtain greater control over certain involuntary body responses such as heart rate, breathing, body temperature, sweat gland activity, and muscle tension. By learning to control these physiological body responses you can gain control of mental and physical health problems. Biofeedback is essentially using your mind to control your body!

Idaho Institute of Biofeedback’s primary focus with general biofeedback is to target health problems and mental conditions that are stress related. Stress and anxiety manifest in our body in a variety of physiological ways. With special equipment we can monitor your physiological responses and bring them to your awareness in the form of video or auditory cues. With this increased awareness (or feedback) you can change those body responses and thus reduce your body’s stress response. It’s like giving you a mirror of your body’s physiology!
For example, if you were simply instructed to lower your hand temperature (cold hands may indicate increased stress) but had no information to let you know if your temperature changed, then you would not be sure if you achieved that goal. Biofeedback is a means of giving you information to let you know when you achieve your physiological goals.

The forms of general biofeedback utilized in the Idaho Institute of Biofeedback clinic include: EKG (heart rate), EMG (muscle activity), temperature, respiration, GSR (skin conductance), HR/BVP (heart rate and blood volume). When a person decides to begin biofeedback training, the initial intake involves a Psychophysiological Profile Assessment. This assessment allows us to collect baseline information about your physiology and helps determine how you physiologically respond under stress.