What to Expect

Before your first visit

Getting started begins with a phone call or email to discuss fit and availability. You do not need a formal referral, though many clients arrive having been recommended by a physician, therapist, or other care provider. When you call or email, Dr. Finnick or his staff will ask about your primary goals and any relevant history so the first visit can be focused and useful.

Bring any relevant records or reports (prior psychological assessments, medication lists, notes from your referring clinician) are helpful but not required.

Wear comfortable clothing. Sensors are placed on the scalp using a conductive paste or solution, so wear clothing you do not mind getting a small amount of paste near. The paste washes out easily with water. Avoid heavy hair products or tight styles that would restrict access to your scalp.

The first visit

The first visit is a conversation, not a training session. You and Dr. Finnick will talk about your goals, your history, and what you are hoping to address. He will explain in plain language how neurofeedback works, what training can realistically accomplish, and what it cannot. He will also explain what the process looks like over time — typical session frequency, what progress looks like, and how the plan is adjusted along the way.

Depending on your situation, he may recommend starting with a Brain Map (a quantitative EEG assessment) before designing a training protocol — see the Services page for Brain Map details. For other clients, it makes more sense to begin training based on a careful clinical intake and standard EEG observations. You will leave the first visit with a clear understanding of the proposed approach.

What a training session is like

A neurofeedback session is calm, low-key, and not physically demanding. You do not need to concentrate hard or perform in a particular way.

You sit comfortably in a chair. Small sensors are placed on specific sites on your scalp — the exact locations depend on your training protocol — using a conductive paste or solution. The sensors simply listen to your brain's electrical activity; nothing is injected, and no current is introduced.

You watch a screen that displays a simple visual — a bar graph, a moving graphic, or another straightforward image. You also hear an audio signal. These signals respond in real time to your EEG. When your brain produces activity in the target ranges Dr. Finnick has set, the visual and audio feedback becomes more continuous or rewarding. When it moves away from those patterns, the feedback shifts.

Your job is simply to sit, watch, and notice what you feel. You are not trying to make anything happen. The feedback works by giving your brain a consistent, readable signal — and your brain, over repeated sessions, learns to spend more time in the patterns being reinforced.

What Dr. Finnick is doing

Dr. Finnick monitors your EEG on a separate screen throughout the entire session and makes real-time decisions about the training.

He watches which frequencies are appearing at which sites, how they change as you engage or relax, and how your brain responds when he makes small adjustments to the training parameters — sometimes as small as a fraction of a hertz. He is not simply starting a program and stepping away. His active monitoring is what allows the protocol to stay aligned with your nervous system's actual responses from session to session.

He also checks in with you before and after each session about what you notice: changes in sleep, attention, mood, or energy. That subjective report, combined with what he observes in the EEG, shapes how the protocol evolves over the course of treatment. This is where the clinical skill lies — not in the equipment, but in knowing what to look for and how to respond to it.

Learning alongside the training

Alongside the technical training, there is an explicit educational component. As changes unfold across sessions, Dr. Finnick encourages you to notice what shifts in your body, mood, attention, or thinking. That self-awareness is not an optional extra — it is part of the treatment.

Understanding how your nervous system signals fatigue, stress, or overload — and how it feels when it is more settled and focused — makes it much easier to carry the benefits of training into daily life. Over time, you are not only changing brain patterns in the office; you are building a clearer picture of how your own system works.

Across sessions

Course length depends on your goals, your starting patterns, and how consistently you train. Dr. Finnick sets expectations at the first visit and adjusts them as training progresses. Progress is not always linear — some clients notice changes quickly; others see gradual shifts over several weeks. Regular check-ins help ensure the protocol is tracking your actual responses.

For families with children and adolescents

Neurofeedback works for children and adolescents as well as adults. The session experience is the same — sitting in a chair, watching a screen — and most young clients adapt to it quickly. The display can be made more engaging for younger clients.

For children, the motivational piece often extends beyond the session itself. Parents can set up simple, consistent rewards for completing sessions over time — stickers building toward a meaningful reward is one example. The most powerful reinforcement, though, tends to be intrinsic: once a child starts to feel the difference as their nervous system stabilizes, that internal shift becomes the main driver.

Ready to schedule?

Call 530.606.5168 to discuss availability and fit. Email works too: info@tahoeneurofeedback.com.

For fees and service descriptions, see services. For other questions, see the FAQ.