More detailed history for Mike Cohen, President
In 1995, Mike's family member had severe treatment-resistant depression and rumination. No medications or ECT were working. After trying neurofeedback,there was a significant response in a few days of intensive training. He was impressed and proceeded to call 20 MD's and psychologists who already used neurofeedback. He got the same story from everyone - it's not a fluke, it's not a one time thing. You do get consistent results for a high percentage of clients.
Mike opened a neurofeedback center in Atlanta with Marty Wuttke in 1996, who had treated Mike's family member. Marty was well known in the field at the time, because he provided some of the first neurofeedback services in an addiction treatment program in early 1990's (till managed care killed most of the insurance driven 28 day addiction programs.) In 1998, Marty took over the center while Mike left to work for EEG Spectrum, Inc, then run by Siegfried and Sue Othmer. The company at the time was one of the leaders in the field. It helped provide one of the leading courses and equipment for professionals entering the field of neurofeedback.
He subsequently traveled around the US helping clinicians learning neurofeedback as part of the course. He 1999, he developed the first version of a hands-on followup course to the initial Spectrum training. It was designed to help accelerate the learning curve for new clinicians. Ultimately, that course evolved and became the foundation for a whole new course. The original course evolved as he taught across the US, and in Europe, Australia, and South America.
In 2000, EEG Spectrum Inc. run by the Othmer's went into bankruptcy. Mike helped organize a group, primarily psychologists and therapist to create a new company called EEG Spectrum International (but completely separate from the old company). Their mission was to create the best possible course in the field, to support existing clinicians doing neurofeedback, and to deliver an instrument that was easier for clinicians to use.
Mike took on the acting president role for EEG Spectrum International for a year, till they brought in an outside CEO. Though initially the company used the Othmers to continue teaching the course from the previous company, eventually the Othmers left and Mike became the Director of Education. He helped create a new course along with John Finnick, an Educational Psychologist in private practice in California.
This course was very successful. It was the first course in which Spectrum provided BCIA certification hours. Some clinicians at almost every course would say that it was not only the best course in neurofeedback, but it was one of the best post-graduate level courses they had taken. Following it's success,Mike helped create the first curriculum of courses in neurofeedback. He helped coordinate graduate level credit for the course with an accredited university. He also launched the Phone Forum as a way to continue to share learning more easily among busy clinicians.
This idea for this web site evolved over some time. It's goal is to continue to make it easier for professionals and the public to learn more about neurofeedback and to make it more accessible to a much wider population.
Before neurofeedback, Mike had a background from a high-tech environment. He worked with a variety of complex software and technical products over 20 years, as a consultant, in product management and business development. Since entering the field of neurofeedback, he's attended many courses and conferences. Working for one of the top companies in the field, he's and been in a position to learn from and interview many of the top people in the field. He has taken graduate level courses in neurofeedback and neurophysiology and neuroanatomy. He is on an industry committee to produce advisory guidelines regarding the use of neurofeedback by non-professionals. He is a strong advocate of the need for clinical or medical problems to be under the supervision of licensed clinicians. His primary role has been teaching clinicians how to apply this new technology and to combine many new concepts with their clinical skills and knowledge. He also played a role in systematically gathering information about various clinical models in neurofeedback and many experienced clinicians, and helping document and develop methods for clinicians to learn these.