Workshop - Erik Peper, Ph.D.

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Building Hope: Integrating Biofeedback and Somatic Feedback with Self-healing Skills Resolving Chronic Disorders from Test Anxiety to Severe Chronic Pain
Dr. Erik Peper
2-day Workshop

The workshop focuses upon integrating biofeedback and somatic feedback with self-healing skills embedded within an evolutionary developmental perspective. The components include assessing the person from a holistic perspective (e.g., diet, movement, internal self-talk, social support, and circadian patterns) and identifying the chained behavior.  The workshop includes assessment of dysfunctional respiration and motor patterns, training in effortless breathing with scalene/trapezius and transverse abdominis SEMG, respiratory strain gauges and blood volume pulse.  The somatic biofeedback includes movement patterns, visual and kinesthetic imagery, touch, cognitive and postural strategies to reduce dysfunctional patterns and optimize health. Participants will learn to recognize and experience subtle dysfunctional illness promoting patterns such as those triggered by the startle response and defense reaction, breath holding, gasping, absence of pelvic floor movement, and hyperventilation. Applications of this integrated approach has been demonstrated to reverse numerous illnesses such as vulvodynia, test anxiety, epilepsy and eczema. The workshop includes self-practices, physiological monitoring, demonstrations and strategies to teach clients.

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About Dr. Erik Peper

Erik Peper, PhD., is an internationally known expert on holistic health, stress management, and biofeedback. He is a professor at San Francisco State University, where he was instrumental in establishing the Institute for Holistic Health Studies, the first holistic health program at a public university in the U.S. He is president of the Biofeedback Federation of Europe (BFE) and former president of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology. He has received numerous awards such as the State of California Governor's Employee Safety Award in 2004 for his contributions to improving workplace health for computer users, the 2005 Sheila Adler Award from AAPB for his efforts to support and encourage student participation, and the 2011 Recipient of the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe Educator Award. He is an author of numerous scientific articles and books: Biofeedback Mastery, Muscle Biofeedback at the Computer, Make Health Happen: Training Yourself to Create Wellness, De Computermens and Fighting Cancer-A Nontoxic Approach to Treatment. He has a biofeedback practice in Berkeley, California and publishes a blog titled The Peper Perspective: Ideas on illness, health and well-being. He has been an invited speaker at international conferences in the United States, Europe and Asia and is a recognized expert on holistic health, stress management and workplace health. His research interests focus upon strategies to optimize health, illness prevention, holistic health, healthy computing, and respiratory psychophysiology.

Workshop - Lothar Niepoth, Dipl. Psych.

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Biofeedback in the Treatment of Insomnia
Lothar Niepoth, Dipl. Psych.
1-day Workshop

Approximately 8 million people are suffering from psychophysiologic (non-organic) sleeping disorders in Germany – how can Bio- and Neurofeedback be used in the treatment of sleeping disorders?

This one-day-workshop aims at introducing the participants to the basics of sleep disorders, like classification, common diagnostic tools, sleep architecture and relevant comorbidities. Furthermore, you will learn basic knowledge about standard treatment and medication.

There are some sleep disorders that are of special interest to Bio- and Neurofeedback- practitioners thus we will focus on:

• Psychophysiological Insomnia
• Inadequate Sleep Hygiene
• Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders

and differentiate from:

• Insomnia associated with medical disorders
• Insomnia associated with substance-related addiction
• RLS, Apnea, Narcolepsy

When it comes to Biofeedback, a muscle relaxation training of own devising will be presented and trained.

Lots of research has also proven the efficacy of Neurofeedback in the treatment of sleeping disorders – we will discuss the latest study results and practice the implementation of SMR training, theta training and training of sleep spindles. Participants may exercise electrode placement following AASM and detecting common artefacts. Depending on the needs of the participants a digression to brain mapping in diagnostics can be offered.

In recent years, more and more devices have been developed which make an outpatient analysis of one’s EEG-pattern during sleep possible. The pros and cons of those devices will be outlined and discussed.


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About Lothar Niepoth, Dipl. Psych.

Lothar Niepoth, born in 1959, Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist (BT, body-centered therapy), Biofeedback Therapist DGBfb (German Society for Biofeedback) and trainer of the German Society for biofeedback-education. Trainer of Behavioral Therapy and Trainer for Biofeedback (BFB) and Neurofeedback (NFB). Board member of the DGBfb since 2004 and since 2009 president of the DGBfb.

Many years of experience as Clinical Psychologist in hospitals with somatoform disorders and also research. Since 1994 owner of a practice for Psychotherapy and Bio/Neurofeedback in Munich. Also teacher in several universities with BFB in the field of sleeping disorders, hypertension and bruxism.

Several publications in the field of somatoform disorders, Biofeedback and Neurofeedback (e.g. Biofeedback bei Schlafstörungen in: Rief/Birbaumer: Biofeedback, last: Leitlinien und Ausbildung in: Strehl: Neurofeedback - Theoretische Grundlagen - Praktische Vorgehen - Wissenschaftliche Evidenz, 2013).