Biofeedback operates on the notion that we have the innate ability and potential to influence the automatic functions of our bodies through the exertion of will and mind. Biofeedback is a non-invasive form of treatment. The therapist attaches sensors or electrodes to the body and these sensors provide a variety of readings--feedback--which is displayed on the equipment for the patient to see. Biofeedback is a training technique in which people are taught to improve their health and performance by using signals from their own bodies.

Chances are you have used biofeedback yourself. You've used it if you have ever taken your temperature or stepped on a scale. The thermometer tells you whether you're running a fever, the scale whether you've gained weight. Both devices "feed back" information about your body's condition. Armed with this information, you can take steps you've learned to improve the condition. When you're running a fever, you go to bed and drink plenty of fluids. When you've gained weight, you resolve to eat less and sometimes you do~feedback

For patients/ clients, a biofeedback machine acts as a kind of sixth sense which allows them to "see" or "hear" activity inside their bodies. Once a patient/ client can see or hear their problem it helps them to easily identify the problem. The patient/ client can now identify and recognize their imbalances when these are displayed on a computer screen.

How many sessions does it take? Typically, biofeedback treatment involves a regular series of sessions over a period of several months. Some courses of treatment may involve as few as 3 to 5 sessions; other disorders may require more. The good news is that biofeedback is almost always beneficial.
Clinicians rely on complicated biofeedback machines in somewhat the same way that you rely on your scale or thermometer. Their machines can detect a person's internal bodily functions with far greater sensitivity and precision than a person can alone. This information may be valuable. Both patients and therapists use it to gauge and direct the progress of treatment.

Biofeedback is a safe, noninvasive, painless, and effective use of instruments, now usually computerized, to provide continuous information about subtle changes in aspects of your body's functioning related to your symptoms. Its purpose is to teach you to regulate the physical responses underlying symptoms. It thus falls into the categories of behavioral medicine and mind-body education. (In other words, it can be seen as both a medical intervention and an educational experience.)