2022 Schedule of Events
Schedule of Events
PLEASE NOTE: The schedule is preliminary, tentative, and subject to change. We will live stream and record keynote presentations and select breakout sessions for virtual ONLY attendee participation. Pre-conference Workshops will be held onsite, for “in-person” only participation. Virtual Registration for the conference will be offered separately in early 2022 for those who cannot or prefer not to travel. Thank you for your patience as navigate and accommodate.
ALL TIMES LISTED ARE INDICATED IN US CENTRAL TIME.
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TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022
5:00pm - 7:00pm Registration Open
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2022
8:00am - 6:00pm Registration Open
8:00am - 9:00am Workshop Attendee-only CONTINENTAL Breakfast
9:00am – 6 /6:30pm FULL-DAY PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
WS01: 9 am - 6:30 pm - Full Day Workshop
BCIA Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Certificate of Completion Workshop - Part 1
Presented By:
- Fredric Shaffer, PhD, BCB
- Donald Moss, PhD, BCB, BCN
- Inna Khazan, PhD, BCB
SESSION SYNOPSIS: This workshop is designed for biofeedback/neurofeedback practitioners, psychologists, clinical counselors, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals and academicians interested in utilizing heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback in their practice or research. This workshop will cover 7.5 hours of the BCIA HRV Biofeedback Certificate of Completion Blueprint and will cover cardiac anatomy and physiology, respiratory anatomy and physiology, autonomic nervous system anatomy and physiology, heart rate variability, HRV instrumentation, and HRV measurements. Attendees will review the cardiac, respiratory, and autonomic anatomy and physiology that underlies HRV biofeedback. They will discuss the central role of breathing in diverse disorders like anxiety, hypertension, and chronic pain. Last, they will explain how HRV biofeedback restores autonomic balance and why this is important to health and performance. Attendees will be able to discuss the meaning and sources of HRV, and the correlates of low, normal, and high HRV. The presenters will explain the relationship between aging, disease, and reduced HRV. Attendees will be able explain how to properly use HRV instruments and interpret signals from blood volume pulse, electrocardiogram, and respirometer sensors. The presenters will survey the major artifacts that contaminate recordings from these sensors and show how to prevent or minimize them. Attendees will be able to describe and interpret HRV time and frequency domain measurements.
- Basic Science
- Introductory
- 50% Clinical/50% Research
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
learn how to explain the meaning of HRV, sources of HRV, factors that influence HRV, correlates of low and normal HRV, and the benefits of increased HRV.
learn how to explain the physiological basis of HRV and the blood volume pulse (BVP), electrocardiogram (ECG), and respirometer signals.
learn how BVP, ECG, and breathing sensors operate, how to perform tracking tests, and how to identify and control artifacts.
learn BVP and ECG sensor placements with regard to cultural sensitivity.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Biofeedback/neurofeedback practitioners, psychologists, clinical counselors, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals and academicians interested in utilizing heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback in their practice or research.
DIVERSITY CONSIDERATIONS: This workshop will address age and sex differences in HRV measurements, how to explain HRV biofeedback to clients, and how to respect cultural diversity when applying sensors.
9 am - 6 pm - Full Day Workshop
WS02: Neurofield Advanced Course - Part 1
Presented By:
- Nicholas Dogris, PhD, QEEG-D, BCN
- Tiff Thompson, PhD, R.EEG.T, BCN, QEEG-D, MFT
SESSION SYNOPSIS: The NeuroField Neuromodulation Advanced Training is designed to enhance your skills in EEG and QEEG assessment, analysis, map interpretation, neuromodulation and treatment planning in the NeuroField64 software platform, as well as Independent Components Analysis via EEGlab and WinEEG. Case studies are welcome. This training is for intermediate to advanced neurotherapy clinicians. NeuroField64 combines Pulsed Electro Magnetic Field stimulation (pEMF), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), and transcranial random noise stimulation stimulation (tRNS), and transcranial Advanced Pink Noise Stimulation (tAPNS) modalities with both Z-score and Amplitude EEG neurofeedback for the purpose of enhancing treatment effectiveness.Dr. Dogris and Dr. Thompson will lecture regarding the application of NeuroField64 on various clinical diagnoses including (but not limited to) Autism, ADHD, Mood Disorders, Substance Abuse, Sleep Issues, TBI, and Concussion, as well as Peak Performance. Dr. Dogris and Dr. Thompson will conduct live demonstrations of NeuroField64 and provide participants the opportunity to experience these modalities during the training.
- Clinical Interventions and Optimal Performance
- Advanced
- 50% Clinical/50% Research
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Attendees should be able to identify different pathologies associated with EEG and QEEG presentations
- Attendees should be able to administer neuromodulation protocols, such as pEMF, tACS, tDCS, tRNS, and Pink Noise Stimulation
- Attendees should be able to use the neurofield system, including the synchronized application of stimulation and neurofeedback.
- Attendees should be able to list the mechanism of action for neurostimulation procedures.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Advanced Practitioners familiar with the Neurofield system
9 am - 6 pm - Full Day Workshop
WS03: General Introduction to Biofeedback Peripherals
Presented By:
- Raymond Yust, Training/Show Coordinator
- Frank DeGregorio, Technical Support Director ( Software IT Specialist)
SESSION SYNOPSIS: This 1 day workshop is for researchers and health professionals who want to learn how to use peripheral biofeedback technology. The modalities that will be the focus of the session are Surface Electromyography (SEMG), Respiration, Temperature, Skin Conductance, Heart Rate (from blood volume pulse and electrocardiogram), and Heart Rate Variability. A general overview of the physiological basis for each peripheral measurement will be demonstrated. Participants will participate in a " hands on" demonstration experience using the different modalities in conjunction with audio and visual multimedia biofeedback displays.
- Basic Science
- Introductory
- 100% Research
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Increase exposure on the key features of the BioGraph Infiniti 6.6 software and hardware.
- Describe software trouble shooting and technical specifications. Software suites include Neurofeedback, Physiology, Rehab-Continence, Rehab- Muscle , HRV, and Reaction Time.
- Demonstrate how to use different sensors including Surface Electromyography (SEMG), Respiration, Temperature, Skin Conductance, Electroencephalography (EEG), Heart Rate and Electrocardiology (EKG) with audio and visual multimedia biofeedback screens, sounds and games.
- Explain what a virtual data-channel is and how it is related to the raw data from the physical sensor. Describe when proportional and inverse-proportional feedback should be used. Define what is artifact and why is artifact rejection necessary. Invite “hands-on” practice generating reports, review data, and learn how to modify or customize and excising screen.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Licensed Health Care Professionals
DIVERSITY CONSIDERATIONS: The need for Biofeedback crosses all cultural diverse, competent, and multicultural populations for which it serves. It is an essential part of many therapeutic treatments and clinical assessment protocols to treat stress related disorders as well as provide treatment for incontinence and muscle rehabilitation, including sEMG-triggered stimulation. On the non-medical side, it is also used in ergonomics, sports & peak performance and educational applications.
9:00am - 1:00pm HALF-DAY MORNING PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
9 am - 1 pm - Half Day Workshop
WS10: Integrating Bio- and Neurofeedback in Psychedelic Assisted Therapies
Presented By:
- Jeff Tarrant, PhD, BCN
- Heather Hargraves, MA., C.Psych.Assoc. (SP), NMI-3
SESSION SYNOPSIS: Interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies (PAT) has increased dramatically based on clinical research showing that Psilocybin (magic mushrooms), MDMA, and Ketamine can be effective for treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, addictions, end-of-life anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, it is important to recognize that these benefits are attained within contexts that provide specialized preparation for the psychedelic experience, active support during, and structured integration sessions for follow-up. Although it is tempting to view psychedelics as a “magic bullet” that can permanently solve personal problems and mental health conditions, it is probably more accurate to think of them as medicines that induce a state of increased brain plasticity, also known as a "pivitol mental state". This neuroplasticity facilitates new ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving for those who use it medicinally (Carhart-Harris & Friston, 2019). With this understanding, it becomes increasingly important to 1) prepare the brain/nervous system for the shift experienced during a psychedelic session, and 2) to take advantage of the increased flexibility created by the experience in the days following a psychedelic session. In addition to incorporating targeted psychotherapy, it can also be helpful to include mental state training in the form of neurofeedback and neurofeedback-guided meditation (neuromeditation) into PAT’s. This workshop will present the neuroscience, research findings, and practice of psychedelic assisted therapies. We will explore this data in the context of the entropic model of consciousness, and conditions related to therapeutic outcomes. We will discuss how neurofeedback therapies are poised to offer a method to support the various states of awareness that underlie positive outcomes as well as practices that help sustain the “afterglow” after a psychedelic session. A model for neurofeedback supported PAT’s will be presented along with case study data.
- Basic Science
- Intermediate
- 75% Clinical/25% Research
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Describe the science behind psychedelic assisted therapies (PAT's)
- Discuss the entropic model of consciousness and its connection to mental health
- Apply bio and neurofeedback approaches to the preparation and integration phases of PAT's
- Explain a model of neurofeedback supported PAT
TARGET AUDIENCE: Clinicians interested in learning more about bio- and neurofeedback approaches to complement and advance psychedelic assisted therapies.
DIVERSITY CONSIDERATIONS: We strongly emphasize the importance of recognizing and honoring diversity-in all its forms. The approaches taught in this workshop are discussed in the context of individual differences based on a person's culture, background, and neurological state.
2:00pm - 6:00pm HALF-DAY AFTERNOON PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
2 pm - 6 pm - Half Day Workshop
WS11: EEG: Linking Neurology, Psychiatry, and Neurotherapy
Presented By:
- Ronald Swatzyna, PhD
- Harry Kerasidis, MD
- Robert "Rusty" Turner, MD
SESSION SYNOPSIS: Normally, by the time most patients consider neurofeedback, they have failed multiple medication trials and non-medication treatments and are frustrated with the trial-and-error method. A 2015 a study linked psychiatric medication failure to four EEG phenotypes: focal slowing, spindling excessive beta, encephalopathy (EN), and isolated epileptiform discharges (IEDs). The significance of the focal or diffuse slowing and spindling excessive beta is easily discerned in qEEG brain mapping. However, IEDs are either artifacted out or averaged out in qEEG processing. Only neurologists, through visual interpretation of the EEG, can diagnose EN or identify the presence IEDs. This is beyond the scope of practice for PhD or masters level clinicians. Encephalopathy is a term for any diffuse disease of the brain that alters brain function or structure. Symptoms include progressive loss of memory and cognitive abilities, over time subtle personality change, inability to concentrate, and fatigue. How to differentiate encephalopathic features from drowsy and sleep states including case examples of encephalopathies, metabolic, neurodegenerative, and structural disorders will be discussed. Isolated Epileptiform Discharges refers to spike and wave or sharp and slow activity in nonepileptic individuals. Various terms have been used to describe epileptiform activity such as IEDs, subclinical epileptiform activity, epileptiform discharges, and interictal epileptiform discharges. The importance of differentiating normal features of EEG from epileptiform features will be discussed as well as the ever-present danger of over interpretation or under interpretation of EEG abnormalities, with multiple examples of both errors. This workshop with cover the early work on phenotypes and vigilance modeling, including the trait and state of the four primary categories that predict treatment failure. We will discuss the vital nature of identifying EN and IEDs and how the EEG can be useful to guide neurotherapy protocol development. The ethical considerations for the neurotherapist will be delineated with an emphasis on the importance of collaboration among ourselves, neurologist, psychiatrists, and other mental health providers. Lastly, we will discuss how to collect and categorize clinical electrographic data for the purpose of joining an international collaborative effort to further the research in our field.
- Hot Topics
- Intermediate
- 50% Clinical/50% Research
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Define a refractory case, the four primary causes of treatment failure.
- Evaluate which cases should be referred for an EEG interpretation.
- Identify feature in the EEG that may imply encephalopathy
- Identify features in the EEG that may imply isolated epileptiform discharges
TARGET AUDIENCE: People in any field that utilize the EEG. Members of our community who want to help forward our field into the mainstream.
DIVERSITY CONSIDERATIONS: Currently, Neurofeedback can be expensive and difficult to explain. If we want to progress our society forwards, cultures who are impacted the most by institutional racism and need more mental health assistance, we need the field to become more accessible for all people. By discussing how to link our fields to other “mainstream” practices, we hope to bring Neurotherapy to society at large in a major way.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Thursday, March 24, 2022
Friday, March 25, 2022
Friday March 25, 2022 CONTINUED
Saturday, March 26, 2022
Saturday, March 26, 2022 CONTINUED
