A form of neurological therapy new to the area is being offered in Butler, helping to eliminate or improve symptoms associated with a wide range of ailments including anxiety, depression, insomnia and memory loss, according to Dr. Ram Parikh.

The therapy is called neurofeedback therapy, a process of retraining the brain so the waves return to healthy pattens, offered by Parikh’s office, the Clear Mind Center of Butler.

Although the technology, provided by the Clear Mind Center company, has existed for about 30 years, not many places offer neurofeedback therapy.

“We’re the only ones who do this north of Pittsburgh,” said Parikh, a chiropractic doctor.

The process uses computer technology by reconnecting different functional pathways in the brain through audio and visual therapy.

The therapy takes place as a patient watches a movie, correcting irregular brain wave patterns back to the norm. After the repetition of multiple neurofeedback sessions, each lasting about 30 minutes, the brain learns how to regulate its own patterns.

Before beginning the therapy, Parikh’s staff conducts a brain map, essentially a “snapshot of brainwave activity” that shows how different brain waves are functioning, according to the Clear Mind organization.

A cap over the patient’s head tracks the electrical impulses of the brain for 12 minutes, providing a customized picture of each individual patient’s brain activity.

From there, the neurofeedback therapy sessions begin. Parikh said, depending on the individual and the symptoms the patient wants to address, there can be between 20 to 40 different sessions.

The process is non-invasive and drug-free. In some cases, neurofeedback therapy can help people slowly ease off medication, but Parikh, as a chiropractic doctor, is not licensed to advise patients on their medication. That discussion has to take place between the patient and his or her prescribing physician, he said.

Cheri Readie of Butler, one of Parikh’s patients, said she had many problems with her ADHD, suffering from racing thoughts and the inability to focus.

Three-fourths of the way through her total number of sessions, Readie said she has stopped taking the medication she had been.

Despite the lack of medication, she’s already seen a huge improvement in her mental state, she said.

“The racing thoughts are gone and I can organize my thoughts. I can focus a lot better now,” she said. “My rest at night has been a lot better.”

Readie said she is glad the therapy addresses the root cause of the problem instead of how medication only treats it for the short-term.

“Instead of just taking the medicine and not addressing the issue at hand — because that’s what medicine does — and then you have all of the side effects,” Readie said. “When you do the neurofeedback, there are no side effects. It works and it fixes the problem whereas (medicine) just covers the problem.”

Medication or not, neurofeedback therapy can help improve a patient’s symptoms regardless, Parikh said.

All of that without any negative side effects or aspects, Parikh said.

“That’s the best part,” he said.

Another patient, Greg Campbell of Portersville, said he is happy to have found Parikh’s neurofeedback therapy.

While Campbell initially went to Parikh for a shoulder problem, he said Parikh picked up on some of Campbell’s anxiety and sleep issues.

Right now, Campbell is about halfway through his estimated 40 sessions, receiving therapy three days a week.

“Based out of (my brain map), he got a custom program built for me and that is what I’ve been running against,” Campbell said. “For each session, I go in, it’s a half-hour session ... I basically watch a television show. I’m watching “NCIS” now, I was watching “Friends” for a while. It messes with the sound of the video, the brightness of the show I’ve been watching. That’s basically what you do.”

Those therapy sessions essentially help guide Campbell’s brain wave patterns back into the normal patterns, helping reduce his anxiety and improving his sleep.

“I’m sleeping much better. I was talking Tylenol PM at night to get to sleep,” he said. “My anxiety level has dropped tremendously. I’ve got a huge benefit out of this and I’m only halfway through.”

Campbell said he has noticed that he’s not only able to better handle his anxiety when he is stressed but he also has less anxiety overall.

The therapy is considered to be effective on a wide variety of conditions, because many chronic disorders have a neurological basis, Parikh said.

“When the brain waves are off, it causes all kinds of symptoms,” he said. “They all have neurological causes, and this is a great alternative for patients to get the brain to function the way it should.”

He said neurofeedback therapy has been shown to improve the following conditions: ADD and ADHD, addiction, anger issues, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, brain injuries, chronic pain, depression, dyslexia, epilepsy, fatigue, fibromyalgia, insomnia, Lyme disease, memory loss, migraines, OCD, seizures, stress, PTSD, schizophrenia, sleep issues, stroke, Tourrette’s and others.