Your First Neurofeedback Session at Helix: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Before your first appointment

Your first visit begins even before you arrive. When you book, we'll send you a short intake questionnaire covering your health history, current symptoms, sleep patterns, and goals. This gives your clinician a head start in understanding your situation and helps your QEEG assessment run more efficiently.

Wear comfortable clothing and avoid heavy caffeine intake on the morning of your visit. Other than that, no special preparation is needed.

The QEEG assessment: 30–45 minutes

Your first session begins with the QEEG brain mapping assessment. Your clinician will place a sensor-fitted cap on your head, apply a small amount of conductive gel to ensure good signal quality, and record your brain activity for approximately 20–30 minutes — some of that time with your eyes open, some with eyes closed, and sometimes during a simple cognitive task.

The sensors are completely painless. You'll sit comfortably in a chair, and most people find the experience deeply relaxing — several fall asleep, which is totally fine.

Reviewing your results together

After the recording, your clinician will walk you through your brain map in plain English — no neuroscience degree required. You'll see which areas are showing excess activity, which are showing too little, and how your patterns compare to a same-age healthy baseline. This is often one of the most illuminating parts of the whole process: finally seeing a visual representation of what you've been experiencing.

You'll leave with a clear picture of your brain's current state, a proposed training protocol, and a realistic sense of what improvement might look like.