Do you – or your kids – have to manage ADHD? Why is neurofeedback such a surprisingly successful treatment modality for ADHD? How does neurofeedback dramatically improve sleep?

In this podcast episode, I am so excited to have Dr. Divya Kakaiya on the podcast. We talk about how to unlock your child’s potential with practical ADHD solutions

Meet Dr. Divya Kakaiya

Divya Kakaiya, Ph.D., M.S.(Psychopharm.) Clinical Director and Founder of Healthy Within has been working with families and teens since 1983.

Her center incorporates treatment modalities that are on the cutting edge of brain neurocircuitry and gut-brain axis. As an Integrative Psychologist, she has been utilizing Neurofeedback at her treatment center for the last 12 years and sees tremendous progress with her patients. Her patients range from age 4 to 89 years old. Having a Postdoctoral Degree in Psychopharmacology makes her very knowledgeable about working with all aspects of brain health.

She wears numerous hats within the teen world and parenting, ethnic communities, and the addiction world. Neurofeedback makes her an expert with Gaming Addictions, Screen Dependencies, Asperger’s,
Autism, Concussions, Pain Conditions, Fibromyalgia, ADHD, and Learning Disorders. Her role as a Neuroscientist makes her knowledgeable about the effects of trauma, drugs, and other neurotoxins on the brain. Mindfulness, working on regulating the brain in a non-medication way is Dr. K’s specialty.

She just published her first book on Neurofeedback just as COVID-19 began in 2020. Her passion for neurofeedback has translated to the creation of a Franchise Program that is available nationally and internationally for Board Certified Licensed professionals who want to expand neurofeedback in their offices.

She is an avid community volunteer and activist and has received numerous awards for her service to her community. Among the most notable are the Top Cool Women in San Diego by Girl Scouts and the KPBS Diversity Hero. Being a Rotarian is a HUGE part of her life and she serves on numerous committees with her San Diego Rotary Club 33, which is one of the largest Clubs in the world! She serves on the Board of San Diego Crime Stoppers. She is also very active in working with anti-sex trafficking initiatives in San Diego through HT-RADAR. She is actively engaged in the Brain Injury community. Being a graduate of the LEAD Impact Program makes her civically engaged in the San Diego community.

Dr Kakaiya is a highly sought out speaker in the “Teen Brain” arena and her talks are requested over and over again every year. Additionally, she presents to Parent and Professional communities about “The Health and Care of the Adult Brain.”

Connect with Dr. Divya Kakaiya on her website. Find her on LinkedIn.

Summary

• The relationship between the mind and the brain
• Dr. Kakaiya’s advice for parents to help kids with ADHD
• Patient benefits of neurofeedback
• How neurofeedback supports better sleep

The relationship between the mind and the brain

Dr. Kakaiya – or Dr. K – describes neurofeedback as the muscle exercise for the brain. You exercise your brain to make it healthier which in turn improves the mind. In essence, the brain serves the mind.

For example, if you exercise to strengthen the muscles in your body, it becomes safer and easier for you to run or swim greater distances without damaging yourself. By exercising your brain, you make it easier for your mind to help you in life.

Neurofeedback is an exercise for the brain that makes the brain stronger so that it serves the mind better. (Dr. Kakaiya)

Dr. Kakaiya’s advice for parents to help kids with ADHD

• You can have a blood test done.
• The brain must be scanned: a QEEG, or a brain-mapping scan, because it’s important to see which frequencies in the brain are functioning differently, and which region of the brain these frequencies are in.
• Next comes brain training. From the brain mapping scan, the doctor can now see which regions of the brain need to be focused on.

Keep in mind that neurofeedback not only treats ADHD it also treats depression very successfully, and anxiety is one of my easier conditions to treat … I treat epilepsy, I treat migraines, I treat people with concussions, I treat people that are on the spectrum because everything that occurs that’s behaviorally oriented all sits in the brain! (Dr. Kakaiya)

If all of these different medical aspects are related to the brain, why not go there and work to strengthen it first before you go onto other medication?

Patient benefits of neurofeedback

Patients that are looking for ways to manage ADHD and use neurofeedback as a strategy experience great benefits and positive outcomes, such as:

• Increased mental processing
• An improvement in memory
• An improvement in focus
• Hyperactivity decreases
• Sleep quality improves

How neurofeedback supports better sleep

Neurofeedback, whether you’re treating someone and using it for ADHD, depression, anxiety, Parkinson’s … the number one thing that happens is that the quality of the sleep improves. (Dr. Kakaiya)

Sleep is regenerative and cleansing, so the minute that sleep quality improves, toxins are removed from the brain because the body can effectively cleanse them through glymphatic draining, which occurs during sleep.

When your sleep is regulated, your brain is regulated, which means your mind is regulated, and therefore your life is regulated! And what neurofeedback goes is to bring this regulation to the brain.

Books Mentioned:

Dr. Divya Kakaiya – Healthy Within: Brain Fitness through Neurofeedback

Useful Links:

• Join our FaceBook Page – Empowered and Unapologetic
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• Follow me on Instagram
• Check out the new website! https://veronicacisneros.org/
• Outside The Norm Counseling – 951 395 3288 Call to schedule an appointment today!
• 5 Things that are Killing Your Marriage Free Guide available at www.veronicacisneros.org
• Website: https://healthywithin.com/the-team/dr-divya-kakaiya/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/divyakakaiya/

Meet Veronica Cisneros

Hello, my name is Veronica Cisneros, I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Marriage Coach, Course Creator, Retreat Host, Mother of 3, married for 23 years, host of the Empowered and Unapologetic podcast, and owner of a group private practice called Outside The Norm Counseling.

A lot of couples struggle with setting aside intentional time to connect and communicate. They yearn for meaningful conversations that don’t lead to arguments.

1 month away from divorce, I realized I had to do something different. For years I had compromised myself to meet the needs of my husband and my child, I lost myself and was about to lose my marriage. After years of personal growth and self-reflection, I not only reclaimed my identity, and celebrated 23 years of marriage but also helped hundreds of couples transform their marriage from feeling like roommates to experiencing a deeper love.

I am on a mission to help couples reignite the fire by providing them with the skills to have the relationship they deserve.

Whether you listen to the podcast, join the free Facebook community, or do the Workshop,  you’re in the right place. Let’s do this together!

Thanks for listening!

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