Not Just Fun and Games: Using Biofeedback to Enhance Self-regulation

Perhaps the most significant impact of interpersonal trauma is the diminished capacity to regulate the intensity and duration of affective states such as fear, anger, and sexual impulses. Not only do many of the youth we treat struggle to regulate their emotional and behavioral responses but frequently they fail to recognize or accurately label the physiological cues that precipitate or accompany these dysregulated responses.

This training proposes that the use of HRV (heart rate variability) biofeedback as a treatment intervention that enhances the awareness of physiological cues and promotes an increased capacity for self-regulatory responses. This can not only improve behavioral stability but can facilitate a greater sense of personal competence and resilience.

Presenter: Kevin Creeden, MA, LMHC
Presentation Date: April 30, 2024

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Learn how maltreatment and disrupted attachments can promote self-regulation difficulties that can precipitate behavioral difficulties.
2. Examine how HRV biofeedback and neurofeedback can facilitate body awareness and self-regulation for youth who might be resistant or unable to utilize other types of treatment interventions.
3. Learn about the basic process of HRV biofeedback by reviewing one specific biofeedback
   protocol.