Why Alpha/Theta Neurofeedback and EMDR?

What is an alpha/theta neurofeedback session?

Alpha/theta sessions are a combined practice of quieting the conscious mind and allowing greater access to unconscious or subconscious processes through a guided neurofeedback training experience. While awake, the mind is often occupied by a constant stream of thought, which can sometimes manifest as excessive rumination or anxiety. This type of dysregulation is often linked to altered activity in alpha brainwave frequencies and can be particularly challenging when trying to sleep.

For example, we often see clients with a history of trauma presenting with globally elevated alpha magnitudes. Clinically, this heightened alpha can function as a kind of “defense” or protective mechanism, limiting access to deeper emotional material and inhibiting the processing of underlying issues. Alpha/theta training aims to gently reduce high-magnitude alpha activity, encouraging cognitive flexibility and facilitating a shift into theta, which allows deeper internal processes to emerge with less cognitive interference.

This transitional or hypnagogic state, sometimes called the “twilight state,” exists between wakefulness and sleep. In this state, conscious cognitive control is reduced, allowing previously suppressed or unintegrated material to surface more easily. During this process, the individual gradually releases conscious control and allows the experience to unfold naturally. Because this state involves vulnerability and reduced cognitive guarding, it can take significant practice for individuals to feel comfortable enough to enter and sustain it—especially those with a history of trauma.

What exactly happens during an alpha/theta neurofeedback session?

During an alpha/theta session, the individual has their eyes closed, wears headphones, and uses one electrode while listening to auditory feedback guided by the EEG readings of the electrode to help the brain enter a relaxed, meditative, and internally focused state. In our specific protocol at North Austin Neurofeedback, an individual will hear a combination of beeps and rain or ocean sounds.

The sound of rain is associated with trending alpha activity. It provides feedback that the brain is still in a state of conscious awareness, mental control, or cognitive guarding (the non-optimal state for deeper processing). As alpha activity decreases in magnitude, this indicates that the individual is moving towards the ideal hypnagogic state. As theta activity increases, ocean sounds become audible. When theta surpasses alpha as the dominant frequency, this crossover is considered an indicator of deeper processing. Additionally, the training inhibits excessive delta activity, preventing the individual from falling fully asleep and maintaining the optimal balance between awareness and internal processing.

This mechanism closely mirrors deep meditative states and is supported by research demonstrating benefits related to emotional processing, introspection, and memory integration. The overall goal of this neurofeedback protocol is to facilitate unconscious processing of material the individual intended to focus on beforehand, without requiring deliberate cognitive effort.

Combining Alpha/Theta Training With EMDR

An exciting, cutting-edge program we offer at North Austin Neurofeedback is the combination of alpha/theta training with EMDR therapy. EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy approach that supports the processing of traumatic memories and emotionally charged experiences.

When an individual participates in an EMDR session before alpha/theta training, the subsequent neurofeedback session may help further reprocess activated emotional material. Because these memories and emotions are already engaged and accessible, alpha/theta training can support continued integration in a more internally focused state of mind.

What is EMDR?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a form of psychotherapy that involves bilateral stimulation—most commonly through guided eye movements—while an individual recalls distressing memories. This process is thought to facilitate adaptive memory processing and reduce emotional distress. At our clinic, bilateral stimulation is provided using a light bar or vibrating “tappers”. The bilateral eye movements used in EMDR are often compared to processes that occur during REM sleep, a phase associated with dreaming, emotional memory consolidation, and increased theta activity.

The fascinating overlap between alpha/theta training and EMDR is that both approaches aim to facilitate memory processing and integration, but through different entry points. Both rely on shared underlying principles of information processing, neuroplasticity, and memory reconsolidation. In both cases, the goal is to access memory networks in a brain state that allows for reprocessing, integration, and reduced emotional charge, thereby facilitating long-term emotional regulation and healing.

Interested in learning more about how Neurofeedback and/or EMDR could be right for you? Schedule a consultation call with our clinical director using this link: Scheduling — natxneurofeedback

Citations:

Peniston, E. G., & Kulkosky, P. J. (1989). Alpha-theta brainwave neurofeedback therapy for Vietnam veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Medical Psychotherapy.

Peniston, E. G., & Kulkosky, P. J. (1991). Alpha-theta EEG biofeedback in the treatment of alcoholism and PTSD. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Shapiro, F. (2001). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures. Guilford Press.

Sterman, M. B., & Egner, T. (2006). Foundations and practice of neurofeedback for the treatment of epilepsy. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.

Van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. Viking.