A biofeedback therapist is an individual who oversees biofeedback therapy sessions. These people generally give patients advice so that they can learn to control their bodily functions more effectively. A typical biofeedback therapist will often have a medical or health care background of some sort, along with some training specifically in the skills needed to offer biofeedback therapy. Much of the job involves learning to use various biofeedback machines and coaching patients in relaxation techniques.
Normally, a biofeedback therapist will hook somebody up to machines with electrodes. The machines monitor all kinds of vital body functions, including everything from muscle tension to heart rate, breathing, and brain activity. Therapists will generally start giving people advice on different exercises patients can perform to take control of various body functions. For example, the person may learn methods that lower his heart rate or decrease his body temperature. The machines give the people feedback so that they can detect changes that aren't necessarily noticeable through their own senses.
Most of the disorders treated with biofeedback machines have something to do with emotional stress. In many cases, the overall goal of most biofeedback therapy is teaching patients to reduce the physical effects of stress. For example, stress can make a person's blood pressure go up. The advice of a biofeedback therapist can sometimes help people learn to lower blood pressure without using medicine.
Biofeedback has some other major applications for dealing with things like incontinence. Sometimes people who suffer with incontinence problems are unable to control their urinary functions, and biofeedback can often help remedy this problem by teaching them to control muscles that they can't actually feel. Some people also use it for other disorders such as circulation-related diseases.
According to experts, one of the best things about biofeedback therapy is that it can reduce the amount of medication a person has to take. Medication can be very effective for many disorders, but most medicines have some undesirable side effects. Since biofeedback only relies on a person's natural ability to control body function, there aren't generally any dangerous side effects at all.
Some people eventually buy their own biofeedback equipment and try to learn to use it without the aid of a biofeedback therapist. Others prefer to get some training from a therapist initially and then eventually purchase their own equipment once they learn the basic exercises. Biofeedback therapists can potentially be expensive, but many people say that it can be hard to benefit from biofeedback without some initial guidance.
