BST President’s Message

It is Official!... The 2006 Biofeedback Society of Texas conference will be at the Radisson Plaza Fort Worth from Friday September 29 to Sunday October 1. The Radisson is located in “Sundance Square” a vibrant and energetic hub in the heart of downtown Fort Worth. The program this year will be more compact than in previous years. Fifteen hours of quality CEUs will be offered. The program will begin Friday afternoon and end Sunday by lunchtime. This leaner schedule should require less expense and less time away from work and family, but still allow enough time to see old friends, have some fun, get your CEUs, and strengthen your knowledge and passion for biofeedback. I anticipate a great time for all.

I am very exited that Steve Baskin, PhD has agreed to be our keynote speaker. Steve is the Director of the New England Institute for Behavioral Medicine in Stamford, Connecticut and an attending psychologist in neurology and psychiatry at Greenwich Hospital of Yale-New Haven Health. He is the past president of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB), a past board member of the American Headache Society and the Connecticut Psychological Association, and a current board member of the Headache Cooperative of New England. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback and a frequent reviewer for the journals Headache and Cephalalgia . He has published extensively on primary headache disorders. His current research is in the area of psychiatric, psychophysiologic, and medication overuse factors in the development of chronic daily headache.

As in previous years, 3 hours of ethics will be part of the program. In my experience, ethics courses can be dry and boring. This year, however we will be offering something completely unique, and I suspect, something that you’ve never seen before. Ethics: A musical Comedy in Three Acts is anything but dry, and I can almost guarantee, will not be boring. More to come as the conference gets nearer.

I would like to welcome the following new members to BST:

• Michelle Aguayo, LPC
• Arlene "Candy" Frobish, OTR, CHT
• Jan Keeney, LPC-I
• Darlene Pitts, LPC
• Kathy Ropers, LPC-I

I would also like to recognize the scholarship winners from our 2005 conference in Salado:

• Janice Dunn, MA
• Lark Huang-Storm, MS
• Joyce Nebgen, BS

I hope everyone has a prosperous year, and I’ll look forward to seeing you in Fort Worth!

Goals for 2006

The board met in November and laid down an agenda for this year. Much of our emphasis is on generating new members and increasing conference participation.

1. We are researching the idea of hiring a PR professional to help increase the visibility of BST in Texas and surrounding states.
2. We are developing a BST information brochure that can be handed out to other professionals and organizations.
3. We are contacting previous and non-active BST members to encourage renewal of membership and increased participation.
4. We are contacting Universities in the surrounding areas that are involved with biofeedback in order to promote our scholarship program for deserving students.
5. We are developing a list of non-BST providers in Texas for a phone marketing campaign to help generate interest in membership and conference participation. You can help with this process by sending me names of individuals and/or organizations that we can add to our list. You can also volunteer to help with our phone marketing campaign.
6. In addition, we are almost ready to send out updated directories. They will be in a new, notebook format. Subsequent updates can then be emailed to you. Just punch holes and add the update to your BST notebook.

Randy Neblett - President

Randy is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a B.A. from Texas State University and an M.A. from Southern Methodist University. He has provided counseling and biofeedback services in the Dallas area since 1990, specializing in physical rehabilitation. Though his experience has included spinal cord, head injury, stroke, and chronic pulmonary rehabilitation, his primary interest is in chronic pain. He currently manages a biofeedback department at PRIDE – Productive Rehabilitation Institute of Dallas for Ergonomics, an interdisciplinary chronic pain management program for disabled workers. He is on the board of directors for the Surface EMG society of North America and the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America. He specializes in peripheral biofeedback modalities and adjunctive cognitive/behavioral interventions. Randy lives in Farmers Branch, which is just north of Dallas.

Lora Chandler – President Elect

Lora is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She received her undergraduate degree from UT Dallas and her Masters degree from UNT. She currently practices at the Baylor Center for Pain Management at Richardson and the Baylor Center for Pain Management at Frisco, working primarily with chronic pain patients and their families on musculoskeletal issues, headaches, and “gut” conditions. Her patient population ranges from 20 to 80 years of age. She uses peripheral biofeedback modalities with adjunctive techniques (such as guided imagery, visualization, self-calming, and PMR) combined with cognitive behavioral therapy. She has been doing biofeedback for 12 years. Lora lives in Frisco, which is just north of Dallas.

Ron J. Swatzyna – Past President

Ron is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He received his Ph.D. and MSSW from The University of Texas at Arlington and is currently practicing at The Tarnow Center for Self-Management in Houston, an interdisciplinary private practice. He works primarily with male clients ranging from age 10 and older. He uses a variety of biofeedback modalities, including SEMG, HRV, SCL, & Temp, EEG/qEEG, and neurofeedback with ADD/ADHD populations and brain injury. He has been doing biofeedback since 1996.

Lesley Solomon – Treasurer

Lesley is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She received her Master of Arts in Psychology at Houston Baptist University. She currently practices at the Tarnow Center for Self-Management in Houston, an interdisciplinary private practice. Lesley's area of expertise is treating anxiety disorders in children, adolescents, and adults using peripheral modalities, with an emphasis on Heart Rate Variability training. She has been using biofeedback since 2001.

Mary O’Conner - Secretary

A native Houstonian, Mary attended Waltrip Senior High with Patrick Swayze (ie.Buddy ), then attended the University of Houston for a year. She is registered in clinical EEG, evoked potentials, clinical EMG (or ncs, nerve conduction studies) and is a registered vascular tech (RVT). She attended the Biofeedback Institute of San Francisco, took the BCIA exam in l993, and is currently a Senior Fellow BCIA-C. She works for a group of private neurologists, primarily treating headaches, with stand-alone temperature and SEMG modalities.

Helen Alexander – Board Member

Helen is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Houston and her Master of Psychology from Texas Woman's University in Houston. She received BCIA certification in 1981. She has worked with children and adults on a wide range of psychophysiological disorders (migraine, IBS, anxiety, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, physical rehabilitation, and ADHD) and her share of "you might as well try biofeedback, nothing else is working" patients such as a pituitary ablation patient and a dysautonomia patient. She began doing biofeedback in the late 70's with a "huge" autogenic electromyograph and thermograph. She worked with learning disabled and "minimal brain dysfunction" children with Dr. Patricia Johnson and with FOLLO, a non-profit center for LLD children from late 70's to early 80's. She worked with Environmental Health and Dr. Eugene Carway, providing biofeedback and supervising biofeedback laboratories in several hospitals in the 80's. She was in private practice, including the group practice of Tarnow and Associates in Houston, until she retired in 1999. For a number of years she taught an accredited BCIA training program, psychology courses as an adjunct instructor at Houston Community College, and is currently teaching psychology at Temple College. Helen lives in Salado, which is about 30 minutes north of Austin.

Janice Keeney – Board Member

Jan is an LPC Intern and doctoral student in the Counselor Education Department at University of North Texas. She does biofeedback and neurofeedback in private practice with Richard Davis. She has been doing biofeedback since 1991 and neurofeedback since 2001. She will soon begin a research project on the use of heart rate variability training with pregnant women. Jan lives in Highland Village, just south of Denton.

JD Massingill – Board Member

JD is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a biofeedback sales representative, and a biofeedback equipment trainer. He received his B.A. at UTD and his M.S. at UNT. He contracts with several rehabilitation clinics in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. He has experience with both EEG and peripheral modalities. He has been doing biofeedback for 13 years. JD lives in Farmer’s Branch, just north of Dallas.

Pam White – Board Member

Pam is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She received her bachelor degree from UNT and her Masters degree from Amberton University. She works with a variety of clients in a small private practice, including chronic pain, anxiety, peak performance, and ADD. She primarily uses peripheral biofeedback modalities, although she has more recently begun incorporating EEG into her practice. She has been doing biofeedback since 1992. She lives in Rockwall, which is just east of Dallas.

Jana Downum – Board Member

Jana is a Licensed Professional Counselor and supervisor as well as a certificant of the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America. She received her undergraduate and masters degree from Texas Tech University. She studied biofeedback at UNT. She currently practices at Pate Rehabilitation Center with brain-injured clients. She also has experience with mentally disabled and chronic pain patients. She uses peripheral biofeedback modalities with cognitive behavioral therapy. She has been doing biofeedback for 7 years. Jana lives in Dallas.

Leslie Ann Shields- Newsletter Coordinator

Leslie Ann is a Licensed Professional Counselor and LPC Supervisor. Her B.A is from Trinity University and her M.S. is from Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, TX. She recently moved from Galveston, TX where she provided cognitive-behavioral individual, family and group psychotherapy and peripheral biofeedback at Transitional Learning Center for traumatic brain injury survivors. She has opened a private practice in Houston working with a variety of clients combining cognitive/behavioral interventions with peripheral biofeedback modalities for managing stress, pain and anxiety. She plans on adding neurofeedback to her practice and is completing BCIA certification. Leslie Ann lives in the Heights area of Houston.