Choosing a Provider & Choosing a Practitioner

Many ‘provide’ Neurotherapy services, but few ‘practice’ Neurotherapy itself.
Neurotherapy is in a class of its own as a therapeutic method falling under the umbrella / purview of Psychology and Applied Neuroscience. Like many current health / mental health & wellness services, Neurotherapy involves a delicate blend of technology (equipment) and practitioner skill.

See Our Qualifications

Dr Mari K. Swingle

Unlike many technology-based services, Neurotherapy has been around for quite a while, but only recently are some equipment manufacturers and service providers proclaiming that Neurotherapy is automated to a degree that ‘the technology does it for you’ minimizing the role, and the qualifications, of the provider.

Power goes both ways.

We feel there is an explicit danger in placing your mental and physical health, … your brain, … your person, in the ‘hands’ of those not sufficiently trained or otherwise educated in the methods of EEG Neurotherapy. We feel it is not only wise, but critical for service providers to understand the operating principles of EEG (operating principles of the brain itself), not only the principles of a program, when working with such a refined, yet delicate, instrument as the brain.

We Are Not Alone

Loss and reinstatement of the profession by APA (American Psychological Association)

In 2017 a massive effort was launched by the AAPB BOD (Association of Applied Physiology and Biofeedback Board of Directors), to counter rising confusion stemming from the inundation of both ‘non-professionals’ and unqualified (untrained) professionals in the field. The effort included submitting an application to the American Psychological Association (APA) to have Biofeedback and Applied Psychophysiology (Neurotherapy / Biofeedback) reinstated and recognized as a specific proficiency in professional psychology.

Dr Mari Swingle was heavily involved, writing both the equipment and practitioner standards to (re)quantify the profession itself as well as the those practicing. To this end she developed a three-tiered classification system outlining the practice qualifications of persons (service providers) as well as the tools (equipment) of our trade. This classification system, along with a comprehensive document clearly outlining the established record of our field, resulted in Specific Proficiency Status being granted by the APA for the period 2019–2026.

You may wish to reference this therapist / technician as well as equipment / technology classification system when seeking and thereafter selecting a service provider.

Choosing a Practitioner

Please do your Homework!

We would very much like you to choose The Swingle Clinic or a similarly qualified establishment as your primary Neurofeedback care center. That said, there are other options available. In choosing, we highly recommend you consider both the claims / qualifications of the provider (trained?  registered?  certified? … and by whom?) as well the equipment they use (fully automated? or controlled by a practitioner?). Red flags often include an establishment claiming the technology is sufficient, when practitioner knowledge / training is undermined or deemed unnecessary, or when what is being done (to your brain), and why it is being done, can not be clearly explained. In sum, when the technology or equipment being used is deemed more important than the ability or skill of the individual wielding it.

AI vs AI

Artificial Intelligence versus Assisted Intelligence

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly popularized, growing numbers of Neurotherapy providers are relying solely on the proprietary / (AKA undisclosed) claims of the producers of the algorithms within automated brain training systems. We argue when working with an instrument as sensitive and sophisticated as the brain, (… AKA the powerhouse of your entire person), learned (trained, educated, knowledgeable) and sentient (caring) persons should still be at the helm of your treatment. Although the day when technology may become totally self sufficient is surely around the corner, to date, the technological intelligence involved in the training of your brain still needs to be assisted, directed and governed.