Individuals of all ages visit with Dr. Jolene Ross, a licensed psychologist, highly trained neurofeedback therapist and founder and director at Advanced Neurotherapy, in Needham Heights. She has been practicing psychology since 1985, and says “In my undergrad neuro course we held a sheep’s brain and identified parts of it. There just wasn’t a sufficient understanding of the brain at that time.”

She has since expanded her knowledge by studying with renowned leaders in the field including K.H. Wong, Ph.D., who was trained by Dr. Frank Duffy, retired professor at Harvard Medical School and pediatric neurologist at Children’s Hospital Boston; Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, a cognitive neuroscientist, head of Luria Center at NYU and one of the pioneers of behavioral neurology; and Dr. Barry Sterman, the developer of neurofeedback.

Ross’ initial experience with neurofeedback was for her daughter, Lee, who had severe ADD. Her second-grade teacher exclaimed that hers was “worse than the worst kid on Ritalin” and urged Ross to get her daughter on the drug immediately. “This was not my first line of defense,” says Ross. “Instead I took her to a neurofeedback practitioner at McLean Hospital and saw significant improvement through the treatments.”

Soon after, the specialist left McLean Hospital and returned to his home country, and her daughter began to regress due to an insufficient number of treatment sessions. Taking matters into her own hands, Ross decided to learn neurofeedback herself. “Once I got the equipment delivered, a small bunch of patients from my practice wanted to try as well,” she says. Such began her career in neurofeedback.

Ross is an international public speaker, teacher and co-author of a chapter in Integrative Psychiatry, by Oxford University Press. In 2009, she spent time in Amman, Jordan, providing neurofeedback training to professionals that then successfully treated children and young adults with autism and epilepsy. “It was a wonderful experience,” she says, noting the strong bond, dedication and intimate connection between family members.

Before neurofeedback treatment begins, Ross performs a comprehensive QEEG Brain Map assessment to develop a neurofeedback treatment protocol. Training sessions at her clinic require sitting quietly in a comfortable chair facing a computer screen. The rest is nearly 100 percent between the brain and the computer. Sensors are placed on the head that safely monitor the brain’s electrical output, the EEG. This information is used by the computer to reward better brainwaves with a sound and a change on the computer screen. Rewarding better brainwaves improves brain function. “Even kids who cannot sit still or control their bodies can enjoy watching a video while their brains make permanent improvements,” Ross maintains.

She has successfully treated patients with ADHD, amblyopia, autism, Asperger’s syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, dementia, depression, fatigue, cerebral palsy, Tourette’s syndrome and more. She is also one of the rare neurotherapists in the area that effectively treats epilepsy.

Neurofeedback is not only for individuals with neurocognitive, neuro-emotional and neuro-developmental disorders. “Peak performance is an important piece of the puzzle,” says Ross. “Executives, golfers and other athletes, dancers, college students and anyone who wants to enhance performance find that it is extremely helpful.”

Ross works passionately to get to the root of any obstruction keeping an individual’s brain from its highest potential. Whether for a 7-year-old student struggling with focus, or a 40-year-old CEO seeking to increase company revenue, neurofeedback treatments at Advanced Neurotherapy can assist.

Location: 145 Rosemary St., Needham Heights. For more information, call 781-444-9115 or visit AdvancedNeurotherapy.com.

Gina Cronin is a writer for Natural Awakenings Magazine.