Biofeedback Assisted Relaxation Therapy
In Biofeedback when we talk about B.A.R.T we are not talking about that crazy kid on the popular cartoon series, The Simpsons, we are talking about a very popular protocol which can be widely applied for various conditions. Rather than seeing it as a specific protocol I see it more as a concept. When practitioners are learning biofeedback for the first time, they are usually very interested in learning very specific protocols for the conditions they expect to be working with like headaches, anxiety, insomnia, and depression.
They expect a specific guide as to which modalities, what goals, and the number of sessions to work on each modality for each application. That would be nice. It makes things simpler and makes it easier to plan. It doesn’t always match reality for the individual that is in front of you. Now, what is B.A.R.T.? It is an acronym for Biofeedback Assisted Relaxation Therapy. It’s kind of like a generalized protocol that helps to counter the stress response by using biofeedback to teach clients to regulate their physiology using multiple modalities including surface EMG, Skin temperature, Skin conductance, Heart Rate/Heart Rate Variability, Respiration, and EEG. I decided to talk about this after reading Don Moss’s article, Biofeedback-Assisted Relaxation Training: A Clinically Effective Treatment Protocol in the Summer 2020 issue of Biofeedback Magazine.
