The Neurotherapy Clinic Victoria

04/05/2026

May the 4th be with you. 🌟⚔️

Whether you are stuck at a desk wishing you could use the Force to fetch your coffee, or out conquering the galaxy one task at a time: today is for all of us.

And honestly? The Jedi were onto something.

At the heart of every great Jedi is not just skill with a lightsaber. It is regulation. Balance. The ability to stay calm under pressure, manage impulse, read the room and respond rather than react. Sound familiar? That is exactly what a well-regulated nervous system looks like.

For the parents out there:
Star Wars Day is a brilliant opportunity to introduce your kids to some "Jedi training" that is genuinely good for their brains.

Try some of these:
🧘 Mindfulness and breathing. Jedi masters meditate. Teach your child to sit still, breathe slowly and notice what is happening in their body. Even five minutes builds the capacity to self-regulate under pressure.
🏃 Obstacle courses. Set up a backyard or lounge room course and time them through it. Physical movement, coordination and problem solving all in one. The brain loves this kind of challenge.
🤖 Programming droids. Simple coding games and apps like Scratch or Code.org are the modern equivalent of programming R2-D2. Logical thinking, sequencing and patience, all Jedi-worthy skills.
🌿 Emotional check-ins. Ask your child: "Are you feeling more light side or dark side right now?" It sounds playful and opens a genuine conversation about emotional states.

So whether today brings lightsaber duels in the backyard, a Star Wars marathon on the couch, or a very strong coffee summoned by telekinesis from across the desk enjoy every moment of it.

May the 4th be with you. Always. 🚀

25/04/2026

If you've had a concussion, you know the symptoms can linger long after the injury itself: headaches, brain fog, trouble concentrating, fatigue.

VA Research published a 2025 study showing that individualized neurofeedback provides measurable relief from persistent post-concussion symptoms. Participants showed significant improvements in cognitive function and symptom severity during treatment.

What makes this approach different is personalization. Each person's brain responds to concussion uniquely, so the neurofeedback protocol is tailored to the individual's specific brainwave patterns. The training helps reset abnormal neural activity and rebuild the functional connections between brain regions disrupted by impact.

Concussion recovery doesn't have to mean waiting and hoping. Neurofeedback harnesses your brain's own neuroplasticity to actively heal.

Find a qualified practitioner at isnr.org.

22/04/2026

Adults with ADHD often feel like they've tried everything to improve focus, only to have the benefits fade when treatment stops.

A 2025 meta-analysis published in Scientific Reports offers encouraging news. Researchers analyzed 17 randomized controlled trials involving 939 participants and found that neurofeedback produces significant, lasting improvements in two critical areas: inhibitory control and working memory.

The key finding: training sessions totaling 21 or more hours produce the strongest results, and the benefits persist even after training ends. Unlike medication, which works only while you take it, neurofeedback teaches the brain new patterns of self-regulation that stick.

For adults who have struggled with focus, impulsivity, and working memory, this research confirms that neurofeedback is not just a band-aid. It's durable brain training.

Find a qualified neurofeedback practitioner at isnr.org.

15/04/2026

Parental controls are a good starting point, but they are not the full solution. As kids grow, their ability to problem solve often moves faster than the controls designed to restrict them.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1: Kids will find ways around restrictions. This isn't always about doing the wrong thing, it is often driven by curiosity, social pressure, or testing boundaries. Expect it, and use it as a chance to start conversations rather than relying only on control.

2: One layer is not enough, App settings can be bypassed with another app or in-app browsers. Network controls can be avoided with guest connections or VPNs. A layered approach across device, network, and apps is far more effective.

3: Watch patterns, not just content. Changes in screen time or data use can be a signal. Some apps are designed to hide content in plain sight. Calculator-style apps are a common example.

4: Web tools are being used creatively. Some platforms sit outside typical filters.
• Google Maps has been used to create shared “locations” where comments act like a forum
• Canva projects can be shared and edited, creating a space for communication that can be quickly erased

5: Music and media apps can double as messaging tools. Shared playlists and links on platforms like Spotify or iTunes allow communication to happen without traditional messaging being detected.

Parental controls work best alongside education, trust, and gradual independence. Controls may limit access, but they do not build understanding. Ongoing, open conversations are what help young people navigate these spaces when controls are no longer there.

10/04/2026

07/04/2026

Several reports in neurology and psychiatry journals have described clusters of adolescents presenting with sudden-onset tic-like behaviours.

A consistent feature across these cases is exposure to social media content showing tic behaviours, often from the same creators.

What stands out is not just the increase in presentations, but the similarity. Individuals from different regions are showing near-identical movements and vocalisations, in some cases closely matching what they have been viewing.

The authors suggest that repeated exposure may contribute to symptom development through behavioural modelling, particularly in individuals who are already vulnerable to stress or functional symptoms.

These findings highlight the importance of considering how symptoms develop over time, including the environments and inputs shaping them.

It also raises a broader question about how repeated exposure to behaviours, particularly in highly engaging digital environments, may influence what the brain learns and expresses.

01/04/2026

Such important questions to consider.

What other questions would you add in?

29/03/2026

We’ve become a society that tends to avoid boredom, especially for kids, but it actually plays an important role in development.

When there’s always something to watch, play, or scroll through, the brain doesn’t get much of a chance to generate its own activity. Boredom creates that space. It nudges kids to look for something to do, rather than having it provided for them.

That’s usually where the good stuff starts.

“I’m bored” can quickly turn into building something, making up a game, drawing, exploring, or figuring things out through trial and error. In those moments, they’re not just passing time, they’re developing creativity, problem solving, spatial awareness, and fine motor skills.

It can be uncomfortable to sit with at first, but that discomfort is often the starting point for growth.

25/03/2026

One jury have made their decision, whilst another sits in deliberation about both Meta and Youtube. The information that has come out from these trials is eye opening to the harms that are being done, and that were known about.

Keep kids away from social media as long as possible.

23/03/2026

Neurotherapy focuses on supporting how the brain functions, not just managing symptoms.

Across randomised controlled trials, children in control groups required higher medication doses within 6 months. In contrast, those receiving neurofeedback tended to maintain stable doses, or in some cases reduce them. This reflects clinical observations from practitioners working in the field.

This highlights that when the brain is supported to function more efficiently, individuals may rely less on external adjustments and experience more stable outcomes (and growth) over time.

The brain's neuroplasticity makes it a remarkable programmable system. When changes are introduced gradually and reinforced over time, they are more likely to translate into meaningful learning that can be retained and applied. This reflects how the brain learns, through repeated experience and reinforcement, rather than rapid or external shifts alone. Supporting the system just enough to allow adaptation encourages growth, rather than simply compensating for the difficulty.

There is a growing evidence base supporting neurofeedback and broader neuromodulation approaches, including randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses demonstrating improvements in attention, self-regulation, and functional outcomes. However, within Australia these approaches are still generally considered experimental, and access and recognition may vary.

If you’re considering support options, it may be worth exploring approaches that build capacity, not just manage symptoms.

17/03/2026

Scouting for adults....

A while ago I wrote a blog about the benefits of scouting from a parents perspective, where I discuss the unexpected benefits to myself that came with joining my son in Scouts as a leader. I'll link the blog in the comments.

Something that probably doesn’t get talked about enough is that scouting only runs because people step up and get involved. Groups need more leaders and volunteers to keep things going, our group in the Sherbrooke / Yarra Ranges district included.

You don’t need to have been a Scout before. I hadn’t done much at all as a child, and definitely didn’t have the skills I thought I’d need to be a leader. Most of that I’ve learned along the way, alongside the Scouts and from them as well.

From both a parent and mental health professional perspective, opportunities like this matter. Getting kids off devices, outdoors, and connected doesn’t just happen, it’s modelled and created by the people who show up.

Reach out to your local Scout Group and speak with a leader about what is involved, and how your skill set could support a group.

16/03/2026

Neurotherapy can sometimes produce rapid changes. For some people, shifts in brain function occur quite quickly.

At other times, progress happens more gradually. Like stepping stones across a landscape, each step allows the brain time to integrate the change and learn how to use the new patterns that are becoming available.

This can be particularly relevant for children. Their brains are still developing and they may not yet have a wide range of learned responses or strategies encoded. Part of the process is not just creating new brain patterns, but learning how and when to use them in everyday situations.

Adults often have a broader set of learned patterns and life experiences. When new brain states become available, they sometimes have more existing pathways to connect these changes to, which can allow progress to occur more quickly.

Sometimes the brain changes quickly. Other times it moves step by step. Both are part of how the brain learns and adapts.