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James Lawrence Thomas, PhD, clinical psychologist;
Author, Do You Have Attention Deficit Disorder? (Dell, 1996)

TOPIC: Can Brainwave Training Help Adults With ADD?

On March 3, we'll give the issue of brainwave training -- known too as neurotherapy, or neurofeedback, or EEG (electroencephalograph) biofeedback -- another go-round. The practice harks back to the 1960s, and picked up steam in the '90s; clinicians have claimed success in treating a variety of ailments. But what's emerged as the field's bread and butter is its work with ADD.

Like radio waves, brainwaves -- rhythmic variations in brain electrical activity -- come in different frequencies. Training proponents link ADD-like symptoms to inadequate mixtures of slow waves and fast waves. To try to fix this, ADDers are wired to sensing devices and shown computerized representations of their brainwave patterns.

The idea is that -- by studying these fluctuations -- ADDers can learn to reproduce them; shift theirs in a specified direction; and make it easier to focus their thinking or behavior. Depending on who you talk to, this can take between 20 and 50 hour-long sessions.

A trainer since the 1990s, Manhattan psychologist James Lawrence Thomas (thebrainclinic.com) has worked with clients with ADD, learning disabilities, and traumatic brain injury. His thoughts about neurofeedback can be accessed at thebrainclinic.com/pdf/JLT-NF-Manual.pdf.

Dr. Thomas earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from CUNY in 1980, and holds post-doctoral certificates in cognitive therapy, relationship therapy, group therapy and neuropsychological testing. A faculty member at NYU's medical school, Dr. Thomas has been active in the International Dyslexia Association, the New York Academy of Traumatic Brain Injury, and the New York State Psychological Association.

In 2000, Dr. Thomas was awarded NYSPA's Distinguished Service Award. In 2001, he was elected a Distinguished Practitioner of Psychology by the interdisciplinary National Academies of Practice.