Donald Moss

Dr. Donald Moss

1-day workshop
Date: April 8, 2024

Workshop Title

Adjunctive Therapies for Use with Biofeedback and Neurofeedback

Workshop Description

Adjunctive therapies are interventions that combine well with clinical biofeedback, neurofeedback, and psychotherapy. These adjunctive techniques augment the therapeutic effect of biofeedback, neurofeedback, and psychotherapy. The combined therapeutic effect of biofeedback and adjunctive skills together is often greater than the effect of either intervention alone. Regular home practice of adjunctive relaxation skills improves basal autonomic nervous system regulation and reduces the onset of problematic symptoms. This workshop introduces seven adjunctive therapies, including progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, paced diaphragmatic breathing, guided imagery, meditation, self-hypnosis, and expressive writing. Three to four of them will be demonstrated, as time allows, and brief clinical vignettes will illustrate the use of the adjunctive techniques with clients. Each of these skill sets can be administered on its own, with therapeutic effect, or provided in combination with clinical biofeedback and neurofeedback as a treatment package. Each of these skill sets is also valuable as a form of self-care, facilitating wellbeing and resilience under stress.

Learning Objectives

1) To be able to use posture and electromyography feedback to increase awareness and provide feedback to sit and work with less effort.

2) Attendees will identify appropriate moments in therapy for introduction of an adjunctive technique.

3) Attendees will compare four or more adjunctive therapies for combination with frequently used and personally preferred biofeedback/neurofeedback interventions and protocols.

4) Attendees will explain evidence-based therapeutic benefits of two or more adjunctive therapies.

5) Attendees will discuss use of adjunctive techniques as homework during the course of self-regulation oriented therapy and as prescription for post-therapy maintenance.

About Donald Moss

Dr. Donald Moss is Professor and Dean, College of Integrative Medicine and Health Sciences, at Saybrook University, Pasadena, CA. He is a clinical health psychologist, certified in biofeedback and hypnosis. Moss is the ethics chair for the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance. He is the education chair, publications chair, and president-elect for the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (SCEH). He previously served as president of SCEH, president of Division 30 (hypnosis) of the American Psychological Association, and president of AAPB.

Moss is co-author with Fredric Shaffer of A Primer of Biofeedback (AAPB, 2022), and co-author with Angele McGrady of Your Pathway through Chronic Illness (Pavilion, in press), Integrative Pathways: Navigating Chronic Illness with a Mind-Body-Spirit Approach (Springer, 2018), and Pathways to Illness, Pathways to Health (Springer, 2013).

Moss is co-editor of several scholarly books, including The Integration of Psychotherapy and Psychophysiology (Oxford University Press, in press), Evidence-Based Practice in Biofeedback and Neurofeedback (AAPB, 2023), Mindfulness, Compassion, and Biofeedback Practice (AAPB, 2020), Physiological Recording Technology and Applications in Biofeedback and Neurofeedback (AAPB, 2019), Foundations of Heart Rate Variability (AAPB, 2016), Handbook of Mind Body Medicine for Primary Care (Sage, 2003), and Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology (Greenwood Press, 1999).