Biofeedback Volume 51: Issue 3

Managing stress in the post-COVID world requires a program that can efficaciously and cost-effectively address a large number of people who have differing experiences and needs and can also be adapted for internet presentation. The purpose of this paper is to share observations, collected over more than forty years, of group stress management training in university and community settings. The specific data reported are from a subgroup that is representative of the other groups. An in-person group stress-management program of 141 adults in community clinics with approximately 15 to 20 per group attended 10 training sessions across 5 weeks with pre-post personality measures. The group also documented 5 weeks of home practice, symptoms, and medication use. The average group improvement in well-being was 80%, following training in breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, visualization, quieting response, and alphagenics, with individual temperature biofeedback having been provided during the last 5 classes. A pre- to post-two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) trait anxiety and Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) neuroticism significantly decreased. EPI extraversion increased only in females. Males and females equally preferred autogenic training (55%). The most successful males and females were older, practiced more, reported greater increases in self-confidence, and attributed more of their success to the group and/or instructor. The success of a program may also be associated with excellent home practice compliance, being a part of a group, and increases in self-confidence/efficacy.

This review evaluates published research examining the efficacy of treating immune function with biofeedback and neurofeedback. The “Template for Developing Guidelines for the Evaluation of the Clinical Efficacy of Psychophysiological Interventions” (La Vaque et al., 2002) serves as a guide to determine efficacy levels based on the studies presented. Eight randomized controlled trials examined whether interventions that included a biofeedback component (surface electromyography and temperature) could increase immunity. One study tested whether HRV BF training could protect participants from the effects of an endotoxin lipopolysaccharide injection. Another study investigated whether neurofeedback could increase CD4+ cell counts. These studies collectively show that biofeedback and neurofeedback promise to boost immune function, especially in patients with compromised immunity. The studies reviewed here are summarized in the Table.

Breathing usually occurs without awareness unless there are problems such as asthma, emphysema, allergies, or viral infections. Infant and child development may affect how we breathe as adults. This article includes discussion of the benefits of nasal breathing, factors that contribute to mouth breathing, how babies’ breastfeeding and chewing decreases the risk of mouth breathing, and recommendations that parents may implement to support healthy development of a wider palate. A link to a video presentation also is included: How the Tongue Informs Healthy (or Unhealthy) Neurocognitive Development, by Karindy Ong, MA, CCC-SLP, CFT.

The biofeedback community lost one of the earlier pioneers who developed integrated biofeedback stress management programs at the university level. Dr. Evelyn Bird, a professor in Human Kinetics at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada created the Stress Management and High Performance Clinic in 1978. Her 12-session program amalgamated information and research she learned at early meetings and workshops of the Biofeedback Society of America (now the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback), the International Stress Management Association and the Canadian Sport Psychology Association, along with research and training in stress management and sport psychology. Later she returned and

SPECIAL ISSUE: Differentiating Successful from Less Successful Males and Females in a Group Relaxation/Biofeedback Stress Management Program

SPECIAL ISSUE: Immune Function – Level 3 – Probably Efficacious

WHAT ABOUT THIS?: Mouth Breathing and Tongue Position: A Risk Factor for Health

MEMORIAL: Tribute to Dr. Evelyn I. Bird (1928–2020)

REPORT: Report from FABBS Meeting

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT: Establishing a University-Based Biofeedback Clinic for Practice, Education, and Research

SPECIAL ISSUE: The Impact of a Romantic Partner on Patient Experience of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback

SPECIAL ISSUE: Pain—There Is Hope

ABSTRACTS: Abstracts of Papers Presented at the 54th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback