About The Practice

The Center for Brain Training provides advanced alternative treatments for a wide range of conditions that are difficult to control. For many, a primary treatment is medication. Using neurofeedback and brain training, we are able to significantly improve the quality of life for our clients suffering from anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD, autism, addiction, ADD/ADHD, and many other serious conditions. Our goal is to help our clients feel better and lessen their reliance on medications at the same time.

Biography

Michael Cohen is Director of Training and President of The Center for Brain Training. He has specialized in Applied Psychophysiology and EEG Biofeedback for over fourteen years.

As Director of Education for EEG Spectrum, one of the main training organizations in the field, Mike organized and taught courses around the world to psychologists, therapists and MD’s on the use of neurofeedback. He has helped organize and teach courses introducing neurofeedback to psychiatrists at the annual American Psychiatric Association. He has also taught neurofeedback at many of the annual industry conferences, as well as offering courses and a Mentor Program for new and existing clinicians.

Mike has served on the Board of Directors for two of the largest professional organizations in the field of neurofeedback. He has produced over 36 monthly, audio interviews with top industry leaders, as well as with professionals from other related fields. These professionals share their experience and expertise in using neurofeedback with PTSD, depression, ADD, autism, etc. Called the Phone Forum, the audio files are distributed around the world to neurofeedback professionals. It continues to be a popular series for new and experienced clinicians.

Mike entered the field after neurofeedback helped a close family member with major depression. This family member’s depression had not responded to any medication or even ECT (electro convulsive therapy). When Mike discovered neurofeedback, he had his family member try it. The response was remarkable — especially considering that nothing else had worked. Since then, Mike’s goal has been to make these tools more accessible to the people who need them and who can benefit from them.

Over the years, Mike has used neurofeedback with hundreds of individuals. Additionally, he’s helped hundreds of health professionals get started in neurofeedback. As Director of Education of EEG Spectrum International from 2002 through 2005, he helped create and teach an introductory course that has been described as setting the standard for the field. He continues to teach advanced neurofeedback courses to MDs, psychologists and therapists for EEG Spectrum International.

In addition, Mike provides clinical consulting services to health professionals. This involves reviewing clinical cases with them and providing guidance in using neurofeedback with specific patients.

Background

Prior to opening his first neurofeedback center, Mike was a consultant in high tech for twenty years, working with a variety of complex systems. After neurofeedback helped his father in 1995, he decided to leave high tech to dedicate himself to making this new brain technology more accessible to a larger number of people. He opened a practice in Atlanta with the practitioner who helped his father. Then he was recruited to help the largest training organization in the field of neurofeedback. Since entering the field, Mike has had extensive training in biofeedback and neurophysiology. Because of his technology background, he’s also been involved in helping evolve neurofeedback instrumentation.

Intake and Assessment

Find out if neurofeedback training is right for you. Review of client goals, symptoms and history, to help create a brain (neurophysiological) profile. We include an initial EEG review and brain training session with the assessment. This helps us to look at the brain more carefully and make recommendations about a training program customized to each individual.

EEG Brain Mapping

Determining what treatment is best for your condition. For many clients, Center for Brain Training will generate an EEG based brain report. The report can provide a detailed picture of brain activity, and provide additional information about targeting training.

Cognitive Battery of Neuropsychological Tests

Providing a baseline for treatment. Sophisticated computerized tests to help assess attention, memory, sensory/motor/spatial and executive function compared to same age normals. These tests not only help in targeting problems for an individual, but can provide a basis for measuring improvements in cognitive function.

Brain Training Sessions

Physical therapy for the brain. Brain sessions include training with EEG biofeedback, and also a variety of other tools we’ve found effective at helping with self-regulation. We provide ongoing assessment and consultations with clients regarding progress. Our clients are very involved in the feedback process, and play an important role in helping guide the training process.

CNS Response Test

Finding the right medication for you. There’s a new test that predicts which medication would work best for you based on your unique brain patterns. Many people go through several trials with medication in an effort to find the right one–sometimes they never do. Wouldn’t you like to know that you are on the best medication for your specific needs? This test was developed by a group of psychologists over 15 years based on EEG brain patterns.

A Comprehensive Strategy

We do more than just hook you up to exotic machines. We specialize in helping our clients look very carefully at any effective intervention for supporting their brain – and making sure that their problem has been fully identified. Many clients have never been told all the possible options –that’s not the way the system works. Health professionals have a speciality, but no one looks broadly at a variety of options based on the most current research or clinical experience. We help our clients identify any interventions that can help best tackle and support their brain.

As an example, we’ve seen clients who were told they by their doctor they didn’t have a thyroid problem, based on a simple thyroid test – without doing a more comprehensive thyroid assessment. Many clients and professionals are unaware of the research about essential fatty acids and the appropriate dosage used to support brain function. The research on this is excellent– for depression, to anxiety, to ADHD. However, it’s just not broadly known.

Brain Coaching. How do you learn to gain more self-control? Or to be more calm, to pay better attention, to be in a more consistent, better mood. We work closely with every client to help coach them – so they can get the most from training. Good coaching – helping clients be more aware of the skills they can learn to develop, helps speed up learning and clients achieve more quickly.

Home Training. For certain special situations, the Center can help provide training and support for a home training system.

Other Brain Regulation Options

We have a wide range of state-of-the-art tools at our disposal

pRoshi session – Using non-linear light patterns, this tool supports neurofeedback and helps speed up the process – often helping in it’s own right to calm or quiet the mind.

Alpha-stim session – many clients report it helps with sleep, reducing anxiety

Heart Rate Variability – There’s an impressive amount of literature on the use of increasing heart coherence and improving overall mental and cardiac health.

Light/sound session – Audio Visual entrainment has an impressive research base to illustrate its value for training.

Brain Music – In studies, this is shown to improve sleep. Music is created for each individual based on the client’s own recorded EEG. It’s also reported to help with anxiety and depression. It can be used at home on a CD player or an Ipod type device.

View Larger Map

I’ve struggled for years with severe anxiety, and with constant obsessing over problems which often gets out of control. I’ve tried a lot of psychiatrists and ever medication they can think of. None ever really worked. Neurofeedback has made a huge difference. The obsession and anxiety are under control. I’ve been able to cut back my medications. It’s taken a while, and I’m not done. But I’m better able to live my life now.
-T.K. Jupiter, Florida

Before S began (EEG) biofeedback I would describe him as a little boy encased within an opaque bubble. He could never hold a conversation, or even attempt to begin one with anyone. Now (after 30 sessions of neurofeedback), it is an entirely different story.
-S.V. Central Falls, RI

Mike has provided me with critical information relative to specific cases, and with regard to general practice procedures.
-Susan Parente, Psy.D., Montclair, NJ