Conference
Schedule

Greetings BST Members and Colleagues
BST CONFERENCE IS FAST APPROACHING  

The dates are October 15-17 at the Hilton Garden Inn, 3201 Sage Road, Houston TX. Phone # is 1-877-782-9444. Room rate of $89 until September 30. When making reservations use group code BIOF or Biofeedback Society Room Block.  In this newsletter there is a introduction to the Program Chair, Jana Sever.  Also there is a  workshop and conference schedule. Some changes are in the works, but this will give you a tentative idea of what is going on.  Below is an article about the success of Dr. Paul Swingle's work.  Dr. Swingle is our keynote speaker and Sunday workshop presenter. Can't wait to see everyone there.   Mary O'Conner, REEG/EPT BST President

MEET PROGRAM CHAIR, JANA SEVER

Jana Sever, LPC has worked in the field of biofeedback for 15 years. For two years she worked with peripheral biofeedback focusing on anxiety management, stress management and pain management in a psychiatric hospital in Houston. For 13 years she worked for a rehabilitation hospital providing biofeedback to inpatients and outpatients utilizing peripheral biofeedback addressing anxiety, stress, sleep disturbance and pain. She expanded the outpatient program to include pelvic muscle dysfunction working in conjunction with the urology center of a large metropolitan hospital. Jana is currently working with an outpatient program which provides treatment for active duty military and veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom who have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury or post concussive syndrome. Her goal is to once again return to the field of biofeedback.

On a personal note Jana has been married for 25 years and has two sons (16 and 11) both of whom are involved in Boy Scouts. Her oldest son will achieve Eagle Rank this year.

Words from a mom whose child was treated

Arlene Martell, Author of "Getting Adam Back" www.gettingadamback.com  

It is hard to put into words the gratitude I have for what Dr. Swingle has done for my son. Adam was diagnosed with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy, and Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism - his prognosis was continued mental retardation and a life of uncontrolled seizures.    Already as a family, our life was greatly impacted as we tried to cope with a child who was extremely obsessive compulsive, did not have the ability to reason or understand consequences and had terrible seizures, learning disabilities, behavior problems and no impulse control.    Every parent wants what is best for their child but when a treatment I had not heard of comes along after so many others have failed, including 6 medications, while continuing to watch your child deteriorate - it is hard to keep faith. Dr. Swingle did more than give me hope - he healed my son, giving him a new chance at life. Adam simply could not function when we started treatment. He loved the sessions and we started to see little things change week after week. His short term memory came back, he was able to learn to read and remember the lessons he learned the day before. Adam started to interact with other kids, he started to draw, he started to ask questions and make decisions, his attention span greatly improved. The obsessions that ruled his life were reduced to a fraction of what they were. He started to play with his siblings and most importantly, he was no longer depressed and had a positive outlook on his own life.    The change was remarkable. The teachers were stunned, and so was the hospital's physiologist. Adam's brain was damaged because of the years of seizures and medications, but he made an amazing recovery over a 2-year period of time. You would not know he was the same child - Dr. Swingle gave Adam a chance to catch up and we watched him become more "normal" every day. Today Adam has graduated from high school, is completely drug and seizure-free and 90% of his autistic tendencies are gone. I felt it was time to give back and started a website called EpilepsyMoms.com where I am able to give direction to other moms desperate for help and in the same shoes I walked in years before. I will continue to promote this therapy and tell every mom who finds me because the alternative for these kids is just not acceptable to me. It is painful to think of where Adam would be without neurotherapy.