Dr. Steve Cagen had been practicing chiropractic for 13 years when his daughter was involved in a very serious automobile accident in 2007; suffering an extremely severe traumatic brain injury she was not expected to live the night… but, she did. After spending two weeks in a coma and three months in a Rehab Center where she had to relearn everything; how to walk, talk, write, and even feed herself.
Not liking the options presented by the medical community he and his wife Dr. Nancy Cagen went on a personal search for non-invasive, drug-free ways to help their daughter. Their research led them to Neurofeedback which not only met their criteria, but surprisingly had four decades of university-level research supporting its efficacy. Since then, Dr. Cagen has studied and practiced Neurofeedback and related Brain Training/Brain Health therapies on his daughter and private clients.
Not only is Neurofeedback non-invasive and drug-free, it has a very high success rate in helping most all issues associated with brainwave dysregulation.
As a parent, Dr. Cagen felt very encouraged. His discoveries in the research revealed only good things about Neurofeedback and the Othmer Method in particular. His daughter was his first patient and after being trained directly by Sue and Siegfried Othmer (pioneers in the industry) and purchasing the equipment he began home-training with his daughter noticing results almost immediately he recalls.
He continued to get more and more evidence that the Neurofeedback training was working for his daughter and also with other patients. “One of my biggest questions at that point was if these changes would become permanent; it turns out they do, a concept known as neuroplasticity.”
A recently recognized phenomenon (since 2000), neuroplasticity refers to the brains ability to reshape and remodel itself.
Since discovering the effectiveness of Neurofeedback, Dr. Cagen’s mission is to now get the word out that there is a safe and effective alternative to helping children and adults become more of who they are, and to be a part of the solution in finding drug-free, non-invasive therapies to help people who live with the difficulties experienced with symptoms of brain dysregulation.
All sessions are conducted in a private comfortable setting
At the Brevard Brain Training Center, we have the ability to do a preliminary brain mapping evaluation to determine where there is any dysregulation in the brainwave patterns, which could either be causing or associated with certain symptoms. From this brain mapping, we can determine where the brainwave dysregulation is, so we know the optimum place and the optimum way to train the brain.
By doing this specialized testing with every person in the very beginning we are able to create truly individualized plans for achieving brain health. Brevard Brain Training uses a 19-point QEEG (Quanitative Electroencephalography) to determine if someone even has dysregulation, and would therefore benefit from Neurofeedback.
Our initial and continual incorporation of the brain mapping evaluation, or QEEG, allows us to train your brain exactly where it needs it from the very beginning, and to monitor the ongoing changes in an objective way. You can actually see the changes in the QEEG Brain Mapping Scans, as they are performed at regular intervals.
Brevard Brain Training uses other therapies and procedures that help support the Neurofeedback, which is the primary c
omponent of the customized plans we create. We also use an AVE (audio-visual-entrainment) Unit, which involves flashing glasses and a binaural beat headphone system.
We often perform a special testing involving reading the brainwaves while playing different frequencies of light and sound to precisely determine the most effective frequencies that can be used as therapy.
We also use a biofeedback device called the EM-Wave from HeartMath. The goal of using this type of biofeedback unit is to help balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems by creating more coherence in the Heart Rate Variability, or HRV.
Other types of biofeedback we employ involves allowing the patient to become more aware of their breathing, anxiety, or nervousness levels. Once we can help a patient’s brain to become aware of where the body is holding onto stuck physiological patterns by using the appropriate biofeedback methods, then things can begin shifting and the Neurofeedback of brain training can progress faster.
While our initial focus years ago was traumatic brain injuries and seizures in children, we find that today many of our patients are adults who come in for help with a range of situations that respond well to a better regulated and better functioning brain; anxiety, depression and ADD… Adults have ADD as well; they just learn strategies over time to help them minimize the life effects. But we absolutely see big changes in adults as well.
Neurofeedback is also commonly used to help brain regulation which often helps symptoms associated with:
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· Anxiety |
· Chronic Pain Issues |
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· Depression |
· Addiction Disorders |
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· Insomnia |
· Migraines |
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· Fibromyalgia |
· Tension Headaches |
| · Chronic Fatigue |
· OCD / Tics |
Our therapies can also be specifically used to create more brain regulation, which often helps with symptoms such as:
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· Hyperactivity |
· PTSD |
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· Concentration |
· Anxiety Disorders |
| · Focus Issues |
· Panic Attacks |
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· Anger Issues |
· Seizures |
| · Irritability |
· Headaches |
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· Memory Loss |
· Autism Spectrum |
| · Post-Stroke Recovery |
· Traumatic Brain Injury |
One of the untapped potentials for Neurofeedback is its use for peak performance, or allowing the brain/body to perform quicker and better due to increased brainwave regulation. In fact, the USA Women’s Beach Volleyball gold medalists used Neurofeedback as part of their training regimen.
Does Brain Training Hurt? The answer is no…nothing is ever put into your body in terms of shock or electricity. The EEG instrument simply reads the 
brainwaves that are already there and feeds it into a computer so that the brain can observe itself in real-time, with both auditory and visual feedback allowing it to see how balanced it is in that very moment. This self-observation over time is what creates new connections and new pathways in the brain. The result is that the brainwaves become more ordered and the brain begins to function better in that area, exactly where it needs it most.
You can visit Brevard Brain training at 1486 Asheville Highway, Brevard, NC. With almost 40 years of combined experience in the natural healthcare world, we offer consultations at no charge to answer any questions you may have and to help assess your situation.
Brain Training and other plans available at Brevard Brain training, are powerful programs for achieving brain health and can be used with a variety of other methods.
Dr. Cagen can be reached at drcagen@citcom.net, by calling (828) 885-7100 or visiting us online at www.brevardbraintraining.com
“In my opinion, if any medication had demonstrated such a wide spectrum of efficacy as Neurofeedback, it would be universally accepted and widely used.”
Dr Frank H. Duffy, Professor, and Pediatric Neurologist at Harvard Medical School
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Brevard Brain Training
1486 Asheville Highway
Brevard, NC 28712
(828) 885-7100
