Education
A biofeedback therapist should be licensed in a health professional field and/or certified (or certified-eligible) in clinical biofeedback by an accrediting agency. The Biofeedback Certification Institute of America (BCIA), established in 1981, is the only accrediting agency in the U.S. Clinicians applying for certification must hold at least a bachelor’s degree in an approved health care field. BCIA requires approximately 200 hours of formal training from a BCIA-approved institution in didactic education (including such topics as neuromuscular interventions, central nervous system interventions, autonomic nervous system interventions, etc.), personal experience with biofeedback, and supervised clinical biofeedback experience. The BCIA web site at www.bcia.org provides a list of accredited training programs leading to general certification.

Official Licensing Bodies
The official certifying body for biofeedback and neurofeedback training in the U.S. is BCIA (Biofeedback Certification Institute of America). Contact BCIA at www.bcia.org for approved training sites in your geographical area.

References:
BCIA (Biofeedback Certification Institute of America). What is biofeedback? March 2000. Available at www.bcia.org

MDConsult. Biofeedback: A Tool in Learning to Regulate the Body. Nov. 11, 1999. Available at home.mdconsult.com

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Rosenfeld JP. “Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback of event-related potentials (brain waves): Historical Perspective, Review, Future Directions.” Biofeedback and Self-Regulation. 15(2):99-119, June, 1990.

Sarnoch H, Alder F, and Scholz, OB. “Relevance of Muscular Sensitivity, Muscular Activity, and Cognitive Variables for Pain Reduction Associated with EMG Biofeedback in Fibromyalgia.” Perceptual and Motor Skills. 84:1043-50, 1997.

Weddington WW Jr, and Blindt, K. “Behavioral Medicine: A New Development.” Hospital and Community Psychiatry. 34(8):702-8, 1983.

Winer LR. “Biofeedback: A Guide to the Clinical Literature”. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 47(4):626-639, Oct. 1997.

Content last modified on Mar 19, 2003