Peniston and Kulkosky (1989, 1990) demonstrated the effectiveness of alpha-theta EEG-Biofeedback (EEG-BFB) in treating inpatient alcoholics noting significant improvements in depression, psychopathology, serum β-endorphin levels, and abstinence rates. The present study is an extension of a previously unpublished replication of the Peniston EEG-BFB protocol with 20 chemically dependent outpatients (Bodenhamer-Davis, Callaway, & DeBeus, 2002). Fifteen subjects were "high risk for re-arrest" probationers. Data for the EEG-BFB group was collected from archival records. Subjects completed an average of 39 sessions (SD = 6.096), with 33 of those being EEG-BFB. Pre/post-treatment MMPI-2s™ (University of Minnesota) were collected and follow-up (4-11 years) data obtained (abstinence rates, re-arrests in some cases). Treatment effects were evaluated by comparing assessment data (pre/post) and documenting abstinence rates. Post-treatment MMPI-2 results were within normal limits, with several scales significantly reduced from baseline suggesting less psychopathology. Results were then compared to 20 subjects receiving standard addiction treatment (OT-CD group), but not EEG-BFB. OT-CD subjects completed a 2-week inpatient program followed by 18 outpatient sessions. Pre/post assessment and follow-up data was collected on the OT-CD group. The OT-CD group's post-assessment results showed three elevations (MMPI-2 scales 4/6/8), suggestive of characteriological problems. Post-MMPI-2 results of the two groups were compared via …

EEG biofeedback (neurotherapy) has been demonstrated as effective in the treatment of alcoholism, as evidenced by Peniston and Kulkosky's research efforts. These neurotherapy pioneers evaluated the efficacy of alpha-theta brain wave biofeedback as a treatment for chronic alcohol abuse, citing 80% abstinence rates as measured by improvements in psychopathology, serum beta endorphin levels, and long-term alcohol abstinence. Most research with alpha-theta EEG biofeedback has addressed alcohol addiction. Cocaine is now considered to be the most common drug problem of patients entering treatment for drug abuse. To date, only one controlled study has been published that researched alpha-theta neurofeedback in the treatment of "crack" cocaine addiction. The present study was an extension of a 4-year EEG-biofeedback treatment outcome project underway at a faith-based homeless mission in Houston, Texas, with male "crack" cocaine addicts. Changes in personality, attention, and impulsivity were measured following 30 sessions of a non-individualized EEG -biofeedback protocol. Experimental subjects received a variant of the Peniston-Kulkosky alpha-theta protocol for 30 sessions while controls received all elements of the experimental protocol except the EEG biofeedback. Assessment measures included the MMPI-2 and the IVA. Although experimental subjects showed greater mean improvement on most MMPI basic scales and all IVA Attention related …

The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between the theory of planned behavior (TBP) and adherence to a multidisciplinary pain center (MPC) treatment program for chronic pain. While the results of several studies have provided support for the efficacy of MPC treatment in chronic pain, the problems of adherence and attrition are important. TPB is a cognitive/social model of behavior that has been used to predict a variety of behaviors, although it has never been used to predict adherence to a multidisciplinary chronic pain treatment program. It was predicted that Adherence would be predicted by Intentions and that Intentions would be predicted by 1) Perceived Social Norms, 2) Perceived Behavioral Control, 3) Attitudes Toward New Behavior (completing the treatment program), and 4) Attitude Toward Current Behavior (maintaining current treatment and coping strategies). It was found that the total Intentions scores did not predict the total Adherence scores. However, Intentions was predicted by 1) Perceived Behavioral Control, 2) Attitudes Toward New Behavior (completing the treatment program), and 3) Attitude Toward Current Behavior (maintaining current treatment and coping strategies). The finding that Perceived Social Norms did not predict Intentions was consistent with results of previous studies with the …

The process by which earned-secures achieve attachment security in adulthood, despite having insecure parent-child relationships in childhood, was the focus of the current study. As internal working models are thought to be formed within relationships, specifically primary attachment bonds (Bowlby, 1969), it was postulated that secondary attachment relationships, specifically those that were positive, had the capacity to revise insecure models of self and other. In the current study, the secondary attachment histories of undergraduates who were earned-secure and continuously-insecure, or insecurely attached since childhood, were compared. A new measure of secondary attachment quality was developed (Questionnaire About Secondary Attachment Figures (Q-SAF)), which was used to measure undergraduates' perceptions of their past and current secondary attachment figures. Findings indicated that in comparison to continuous-insecures, earned-secures perceived their negative secondary attachment figures in adolescence as less mean. Earned-secures also reported being less dependent upon these figures' approval of them for their self-worth and more secure within these relationships. In adulthood, earned-secures reported more trust and intimacy with their positive secondary attachment figures. Compared to continuous-insecures, earned-secures described their peers as being more empathic and altruistic during childhood and more warm during adolescence; earned-secures also reported less dependency and greater closeness with their …