Learn more about Olga Ward and Beaverton Neurofeedback on her website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Emmalou Penrod 0:00
I’m talking to Olga Ward today. And she is a parent; she has a biological son and an adoptive daughter. For the last over six years she’s dedicated herself to helping children with trauma by serving as a foster parent. And her practice, Beaverton Neurofeedback, was born out of a desire to help traumatized brains heal naturally. Olga, welcome.
Olga Ward 0:34
Thank you for having me.
Emmalou Penrod 0:37
Well, I’m honored to be able to let you tell us about what you do. So, you know, I hear a story there. So this desire to help traumatize brains heal naturally. Tell us about that.
Olga Ward 0:56
So I actually, in my introduction, I’m a parent of both a bio and an adopted children. And I’ve done some foster care. So I really understand. I have a lot of clock hours of training in about trauma, and attachment, brain development, all those things, but also have lived in experience with children who just have challenging behaviors. But the first time I learned about neurofeedback myself was from the book, The Body Keeps the Score. It’s for many people. It’s a familiar book, by Dr. Bessel. He talks about trauma and PTSD and what trauma does to our body into our brain. And he also talks about different interventions about what can be that PTSD or developmental trauma is not a life sentence. There’s things that can be done. Well, there are ways to heal from trauma. And so he addresses different approaches, including neurofeedback. And so, yeah, in other words, neurofeedback is something that helps reset the brain, heal the brain make the brain work better, more efficiently, recover from various traumas, including biological trauma, like concussion, traumatic brain injuries, even strokes, or things like chemo brain, which is what you get after you’ve been on chemotherapy for various cancer treatments. As you know, people suffer an effect called chemo brain, anxiety, depression, forgetfulness, memory issues, can’t sleep, all those things. It’s all starts with the brain. So yep, that’s where I first learned about neurofeedback. I was so fascinated, because when my daughter, when we adopted our daughter, and she came to live with us at the age of eight, she was on numerous medications with side effects that outweighed the benefits often. And she had been in counseling. So the idea of looking for something else that can help her brain heal, reset, feel better, was really fascinating to me.
Emmalou Penrod 3:33
I can believe it. Now, I know that just being adopted, I spent the last eight and a half years of my career at a treatment facility for youth at risk, and a high percentage were adopted. And we learned that just having been adopted, creates trauma.
Olga Ward 3:54
Absolutely, yeah. It’s, I mean, it goes on the spectrum, from mild to severe, of course, depends on the conditions, you know, the age, health risks, you know, also whether the parents, adoptive parents are equipped and educated and you know, how much they know and about adoption and adoption, trauma, that kind of thing. But yeah, some kids have it a lot worse than others.
Emmalou Penrod 4:22
And I had not appreciated you mentioned, you know, when I think of brain trauma, I’m thinking of, you know, a head injury, yes, or an emotionally traumatic event. But you just rattled off a long list that makes it sound like this impacts a lot more people than they realize.
Olga Ward 4:42
Yeah, well, and I tried different locals, specialists who do neurofeedback once I learned about it, once I’ve read about it, it was just so fascinating. So I google the way and I found that there’s multiple providers in my area who do it and then the next phases I also when there’s different techniques and technologies for neurofeedback, so that was really overwhelming and a little bit confusing, but my journey started with seeing a naturopathic doctor who offered lens neurofeedback and I’ve heard such an array of different experiences with lens, mostly good. But unfortunately, either that particular provider wasn’t skilled with lens or we were just not a good fit for lens neurofeedback, but it just did not help at that time. I took my biological son to to the doctor, and we both had several sessions of lens, and he just didn’t seem to do anything. It didn’t do any harm, but also it felt like it did nothing so that was very, I mean, it was an interesting experience, but in the end it was not worth it to me, but again, I’ve heard other people rave about lens so just didn’t work for us.
Emmalou Penrod 6:08
What is lens? Is that le in z s or La e n? Is it just a type of neurofeedback?
Olga Ward 6:17
Yeah, it’s a type of equipment. Yeah, it’s usually short. It’s pretty. It’s pretty short in duration. Some people, like for us, it was one or two minutes max. They put like little electrodes on our head in. You know, I can’t remember I think we have to like, either hold our breath or breeze calmly or sit still something like that. But it just it was really fast.
Emmalou Penrod 6:44
And people may not appreciate there are different forms of neurofeedback. When someone says neurofeedback, it’s not the same. No, no. All right, so you went and did not find it effective.
Olga Ward 6:58
It did not. Then I found later on, I wanted to give it another try. So instead of going to a naturopathic doctor who just kind of did a whole bunch of things, and neurofeedback was just kind of a extra thing he did. I went to a practitioner who did nothing but neurofeedback. And he had a couple of different systems. And we, between my son, myself, and at that time, my daughter probably had about 60 sessions at least 20 each, probably more and similar just didn’t do a whole lot. I certainly, well, I didn’t have a diagnosis for myself, but I was extremely burnt out and stressed because of having my daughter in the first year, extremely challenging, because we are her second adoption placement. So attachment was very hard for her. So she really fought hard to either reject us or be rejected just to sort of like this testing period was pretty intense. And we fought hard to keep it stable. But it was really rough. Some days we felt like we were in crisis every single day. So I I seek out neurofeedback now because I hadn’t any diagnosis per se, but I just felt like my brain was fried sometimes. And I just needed the support. So the second provider first did a brain map, which I think it was like $600 and came with a long report. I can’t even remember what was in that report. It just looked fancy and complicated. But in the end, after 20 sessions, it was very little improvement. So it was very, there wasn’t a lens that he was using. There’s some other systems I can’t remember the names at this time. So yeah, that was kind of a that was our experience. And then I tried it for the third and last time when I started therapy for myself, counseling just to kind of was a specialist who, who knew quite a bit about adoption and foster care and could empathize with what I was dealing with. And then after several talk therapy sessions, she offered neurofeedback and I was like, not again, this did not work for me. Right. And so she asked me what I tried and I had to think about it. And she said, Well, most I have two types of equipment. One of them is called neuroptimal. And most people have really positive result with it. I think you will like it. Of course I was at that time I was like, What the heck, why not try it. And I still remember the first session was incredibly relaxing. Of course if anything, like if it’s going to do anything if I just feel very freshed and relaxed, it’s just so soothing. And instead of like one or two minute of zapping like with limbs, he was 33 minutes of listening to the zen music and just, you know, relaxing in a like recliner. That was really, really a different experience for me. And I enjoyed it. And probably after three or four sessions, what I personally noticed that I never noticed before anything else with any other therapies is that I felt like I was able to let go of things much faster. I was extremely tense, I was very stressed, I felt like I was getting really rigid about different things or things not going my way, which is what traumatized or stressed out brain does. But I still remember clearly when my daughter lied to me about something. And I remember being upset, because I, once I realized it was a lie, and normally would just kind of trigger me and I would just get really annoyed, and I would be frustrated with her. And that frustration would last for a while. And then she’ll feed off of that, and then end up arguing with me. And then we may not do what we planned on doing that weekend, or that day, because we would both be kind of in a sour mood over each other. That would be a normal pattern and just be really frustrating to both of us in. But after three or four sessions, I remember my daughter, she lied to me, I found out, of course, I got upset. But then I went to take a shower, just to kind of clear my head a little bit. And then by the time I stepped out of the shower, I was over it. I felt like I could, you know, I could think more clearly I can go talk to her and sort it out. And then we had a conversation, she ended up apologizing. We discussed the situation. And afterwards, we still were able to, I can’t remember I think we wanted to go to the City Library and go to the farmers market afterwards. Like we still did all those things, even after that little incident. So it just didn’t, it was not a boulder in our way. As normally, so it was really amazing. And so I just noticed my brain was able to just like, switch gears so much faster, and especially switch off of negative setbacks and annoyances or fresh frustrating events or insults that would or just able to let go of things that felt so refreshing. And I had never experienced that in my life. I always wanted that experience. I still remember as a teen, my mom would say, you know, you need to be able to let go of things, you just, you hold on to things annoyingly long, and it’s not good to be that way. And I knew that. And I couldn’t fix it. I couldn’t do it. I was just beating myself with the shame stick over. It was not helping. Trying to distract myself was not helping. So finally, I found something that was working. So I became very interested.
Emmalou Penrod 13:20
Yes, yes, I can see why. It’s kudos for you for hanging in there. And okay, I’ll try it one more time. Yes. And just after three or four sessions, what a huge difference to notice. breaking those thinking patterns. And that’s great. That’s great. So that’s is when you decided to?
Olga Ward 13:44
Yeah, yeah, that’s what I learned. And so once I learned the name of this type of neurofeedback, of course that and when I saw those interesting changes happening in myself, and how that helped my own engine, it was helping my daughter indirectly, because I was helping myself and I was just being less stressed and easygoing, forgiving quickly, you know, sorting through issues quickly. Yeah, then I just then I learned that with neuroptimal. Well, at that time, I was kind of, my job was going away, and I was looking for something more meaningful than what I was doing before. And so I wanted to bring this gift or this service to my community and do this for other people. So yeah, that’s how I ended up doing what I’m doing or purchasing my own equipment, getting the training establishing my practice. Yeah, and because I own the equipment and I it’s, it’s in my home. You know, most of the days I am still able to give myself a session here and there just as a, you know, toolkit to help myself cope with life.
Emmalou Penrod 14:59
You’ve said something that really needs to be emphasized. And I think most parents, maybe they’ve already figured it out. But they need to know that you can help your child by helping yourself. As you become more effective at managing your own state, you’re a better parent.
Olga Ward 15:19
Yes, yes. And I have these conversations. So my, it’s my favorite audience, if you will, clients, is other moms with children who are having anxiety or depression, or OCD or ADHD, or maybe have trauma, like my daughter. And the parents often, you know, even if you started out with the best intention and best dedication to your child, if your child is struggling, it’s going to get to you, your before too long, you will probably start snapping. You’ll be impatient and you’ll be frustrated, you won’t have as much joy interacting with that child because the child is constantly challenging your patience. So, and it’s kind of a becomes a cycle of you, you get frustrated and impatient, maybe assign consequences, then the kids sort of like I hate you, then they, you know, that relationship, positive relationship loop is affecting both of you. You’re both stressed out. And so most of the moms Yeah, there’s some dads, but moms come to me in their in tears they have, they’re telling me stories about what their kid did or didn’t do, and so frustrated, and I can just, I can see myself. I was, I was just like them. And so, if the child is willing to do neurofeedback sessions, which is very easy and enjoyable, and no problem. I mean, I would be more than happy to give them sessions. But once in a while I get a kid or teenagers, like really skeptical or afraid of it or something. And mom is like, I really want him to have a session, but he’s just refusing. So I just always suggest, Hey, Mom, why don’t you do it for yourself? Well, if he just did better than I will be less stressed. I’m like, well, still start with yourself. You will see. And always, always, always mom gets the support. Mom gets the stress reduction. It’s going to affect the child indirectly, but it will affect the child. And so it is a two for one benefit for sure.
Emmalou Penrod 17:35
Oh, for sure. For sure. Okay, now, tell me say the name of this type of neural feedback again,
Olga Ward 17:44
it’s called neuroptimal. neuroptimal. Yeah, yeah. Okay.
Emmalou Penrod 17:50
This is the system. Yeah, this is the system you use. And I understand you can work with clients. Either they can come into your office in Beaverton, Oregon, or you can help them remotely.
Olga Ward 18:03
Yeah, actually, I often emphasize I serve clients in three ways. Yes, if somebody lives in around Beaverton, Oregon, most people would come to see me for sessions in my office. But the other two options are other ways to serve people who are not close or close, it doesn’t matter. So the second one is, you can check out equipment, whether you live close, or you live across the country, on the other side of the country, you can, you can rent your optimal equipment, it can be shipped to you. And via zoom or phone call, I can walk you through the setup. It is pretty simple. You don’t need to go to college and complete a PhD degree in order to run the system. It’s very intuitive. It’s fully automated. It’s just, it’s easy to use. It’s very user friendly. So I send you all the components and you can do this at home. And so that’s the second way. And the third way, some people, when they realize that it’s helping, and they don’t want to return it. Because they’re like, oh, our term is up. And sure they can renew it, but they can see what a great benefit that gives them. Maybe they have a stressed out dad and grandma who had a stroke and maybe a brother who jumped on the trampoline, and had a concussion and, you know, daughter with ADHD, like everybody could use it, and they can see that the best way is just to, so people ask me, can they purchase the equipment? And I say, absolutely, you can and that’s something so I’m a, I’m a consultant, so somebody wants to own their own device. I can definitely help with that and provide a free consultation about different options that they can have. So yes, so first is in office sessions, home rentals and purchase programs
Emmalou Penrod 20:02
Wonderful. That really widens the people that you can help.
Olga Ward 20:09
You know, as the brain science and neuroscience and technology continue to evolve, so, so are the offerings that the neurofeedback provides. So it’s pretty exciting.
Emmalou Penrod 20:23
It is, it is, I think it’s wonderful. And, you know, you, you touched a bit on the medications. And again, in my, that was my experience, there is medication, but quite often there are side effects. And that, you know, so again, I love your approach of finding a natural way to heal the brain. And as you pointed out, even with the first two methods you tried, they didn’t help but they didn’t harm.
Olga Ward 20:57
Yeah, and I, you know, I’m also kind of a whole, like a wraparound approach person. So my daughter still benefits from talking to a counselor because she’s a verbal processor, she needs to get it out and talk things through. That’s what often therapy helps with, it’s very useful. So it, you know, often in combination with different things, it’s, it’s really a good combo, but for her because of the trauma. Like she saw things like she couldn’t fall asleep or she had nightmares or she, or she was easily startled. Just walking through the house, she would just jump and get scared. Those things is what neurofeedback helped her with. Right? So it’s, it’s, it’s not either or. It’s an and often,
Emmalou Penrod 21:51
Okay, so it can be used with talk therapy. Other things.
Olga Ward 21:55
Yeah, it Yeah, yoga meditation. And yeah, it was, I mean, obviously, if somebody comes to me and say I heard that neuroptimal neurofeedback is amazing for sleep, I say yes. What are your sleep hygiene? Oh, I fall asleep on the couch with the news on and they drink coffee late in the afternoon. Those are the things that you still want to address. So you still need to work through somebody’s doctor you know, somebody who teach you those basic things. So it’s not, you know, it’s not a magic pill is still have to be consistent with the healthy lifestyle and good choices in life. But it certainly is an amazing thing. If I, because I see a lot of people for sleep for example, they’re doing all the right things, but they still, they, the brain just wouldn’t shut off. Their body’s tired but their brain wouldn’t turn off even though they’re just maybe, they’re cutting back on coffee and they’re trying to walk and you know keep themselves busy and read before bed instead of looking at electronics like all the right things that you know they’re supposed to do. They’re already doing that. So in the they’re usually better candidates for new optimum neurofeedback.
Emmalou Penrod 23:10
So it’s, it’s part of a holistic approach.
Olga Ward 23:14
Of course, yeah, it’s not it’s not like, just do this and your life will be better. It’s like, how to be healthy, you know, for you, for your body. How do you feel? Feel good, feel healthy? Do you do eat nutritious food? Or do you exercise or do you get fresh air? Or do you seek healthy relationships? Why? Why not? All of those things.
Emmalou Penrod 23:41
Yes. All of the above?
Olga Ward 23:43
Yes.
Emmalou Penrod 23:44
I love it. I love it. And Olga, I love it that you can help so many people.
Olga Ward 23:50
Yes, it’s, It is my passion to help other parents and and their kids. Really, neuroptimal is whole family neurofeedback, so it’s pretty exciting. It’s helped my family and they hope other families who are desperate and looking for other ideas for support and empathy from a mom, who has done it all, seen at all, all kinds of behaviors and challenges and been in crisis. Definitely I am. I’m here to support you.
Emmalou Penrod 24:24
Wonderful. Thank you. And thank you for taking, giving us your time to share what you’ve learned and your expertise.
Olga Ward 24:34
Yeah, and if anyone has any questions, my website is a great resource for additional information and frequently asked questions or how to get ahold of me
Emmalou Penrod 24:44
And what’s the best way for people to contact you?
Olga Ward 24:47
The best way is probably through my website, so just type Beavertonneurofeedback.com I’m also on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook is Beaverton Neurofeedback. Instagram is Beaverton URL shortened it. But yeah, any, any way you can, please reach out if you have any questions concerns or just to, just to learn about this exciting new modality and how it can help your loved ones.
Emmalou Penrod 25:11
Alright, and those links will be on my website. Oh, good. Thanks again. You have a great day.
Olga Ward 25:19
Yeah, thank you so much for hosting me.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai