Psychologist in Sonoma County
The decision to pursue neurofeedback training or psychotherapy is an important one. It is helpful to hear what others have to say about their experience when making this decision. Below are some testimonials from former clients in my practice.
"We saw great progress with our 10 year old. He was struggling with sleep, ADHD symptoms, bed wetting and digestion issues. We have seen significant improvement in all areas. Additionally, we really liked working with Sil. He has a very calming and encouraging demeanor, which our son responded to. He checked in weekly before our meetings and thoroughly explained his treatment plans to us."
– Parent of Former Neurofeedback Client
“I came to see Dr. Machado for neurofeedback after years of struggling with anxiety, insomnia, and ‘brain fog’ following a head injury. I knew in our first few minutes together that Dr. Machado was an incredibly sensitive, intuitive practitioner. After our first neurofeedback session, I felt different – immediate results! – I couldn’t believe it. Over the course of about eight sessions, I felt like I was getting my life back. And as we continued, I kept feeling more and more like myself. People in my life are noticing the difference. It is so exciting and I am so grateful!”
– Former Neurofeedback Client
“I would highly recommend Sil Machado for anyone considering neurofeedback. We went to Sil because my 8 year old son was experiencing intense anxiety and behavioral issues exaggerated by his ADHD and a recent trauma. Prior to starting neurofeedback our son was having anxiety about many situations. Nightimes were intense, often filled with tears, fear and the need for us to stay in his room until he fell asleep. He had anxiety about any new activity, trip or unknown. In addition, his ADHD was on hyperdrive and there was a lot of acting out, anger and overall lack of self control, despite being prescribed medication. After seeing Sil once a week for about a month we started to see a shift in the intensity and frequency of the anxiety and extreme behaviors. We continued weekly appts for a few months, seeing continued progress and relief of anxiety and extreme ADHD behaviors. We completed our neurofeedback with my son’s anxiety virtually non existent and some typical ADHD behaviors tha were now easily managed by a very small/low dosage of medication. We are so appreciative of Sil’s work!”
– Parent of Former Neurofeedback Client
“I highly recommend Dr. Sil Machado and the neurofeedback he provides. I am the parent of two adopted children, each of whom arrived to my family with complex traumatic histories. Their ages upon joining our family were 5 and 10 years. Years of abuse and trauma affected their baseline moods, behaviors and ability to socially function, before I began to interact and love them. I would like to describe their respective changes. My daughter (after 14 sessions), now age 10, arrived with a high startle reflex (now gone), aggression that included homicidal behavior, causing her to be removed from FIVE previous families – as well as expelled from a group home she once lived in (now gone), an inability to focus and study so much that I believed she may have dyslexia (now reduced and manageable. She just received her first 100% on a math test, and an A in math on her report card!), and a several hours/even days recovery time following an emotional melt down (now gone). My son (after 17 sessions), now age 11, arrived with aggression that kept me from turning my back on him for years (significantly reduced. No more hurting the walls in our home, nor the inside of my car), an inability to overcome frustration when struggling and/or persistence was necessary, both in sports and schoolwork (he now writes reports with ease, and just signed up for the track team!), a recovery time of several hours/days following an emotional melt down (gone! Now he is able to recover within moments and allows hugs for comfort), and tantrums that were so highly aggressive that we had to clear the home of furniture and people until he was done (completely gone), and a sadness with lack of inner like/love that would cause any parent to have concern (now lighter, friendly, funny, and enjoyable).”
– Parent of Former Neurofeedback Client
“As a trauma survivor, I was anxious, depressed, and suicidal for years until neurofeedback with Dr. Machado. I was plagued with nightmares and rarely got a good night’s sleep. Within a few weeks of neurofeedback session, my suicidal thoughts stopped! I couldn’t believe it. And the strangest part was that I didn’t even notice it at first. It felt normal to feel good! About a month into sessions, my nightmares were gone. In fact, I began to have good dreams. I couldn’t believe it. I’m so grateful. I feel like I’ve gotten my life back.”
– Former Neurofeedback Client
“Before neurofeedback, my daughter’s anxiety was preventing her from doing many things. On bad days, she would even feel anxious being in a crowded store, and might need to leave. She had trouble with anxiety during driving. Neurofeedback “saved her life,” she said. The effect for her was dramatic, and rapid. Medications help and therapy help, but the neurofeedback gave her a significant boost in getting her anxiety ramped down. She is able to drive without feeling as though her anxiety will overwhelm her. Crowded stores don’t have the same effect on her. She feels more comfortable being in circumstances where she has to interact with strangers. I don’t know if she would have been able to work if she hadn’t have done the neurofeedback. Also, it is great that when she has felt herself slipping, she has been able to have a few tune-up sessions and again, she notices a huge improvement in her anxiety. When her anxiety is under control, she is not so moody and our interactions are more pleasant.”
– Parent of Former Neurofeedback Client
“I came to Dr. Sil after many many years of chronic stress, depression, irritability and anxiety. At one point, I was having daily panic attacks and had actually contemplated suicide. I was desperately working all the angles with meds, therapy, meditation, binaural beats, etc.
I had a coworker who recommend Dr. Sil who said that he and neurofeedback had changed her life.
Before I started with Dr. Sil, I was on a daily antidepressant, doing almost daily meditation to try to calm my panic and had done hours of talk therapy with little result. I’d spend many hours sleeping and the rest of the day on constant guard, with high level anxiety.
I was a bit skeptical at first but figured a handful of sessions wouldn’t hurt. After a number of sessions I started to notice that I’d still be anxious but I’d recover quickly, I was no longer sitting in panic and anxiety all day. I would still get irritated but it passed quickly. I would still get stressed but I no longer lived there. My once manic mental to-do list was now quiet and not weighing me down. I actually felt relaxed. I found genuine joy, something that I hadn’t felt in a long long time. I was even able to wean off of the antidepressant at the direction of my doctor.
Neurofeedback is not a magic bullet as it takes time and commitment but after a number of sessions the results are very real and noticeable. The investment is well worth it.
It was so effective with me that I started both my HF ASD children on the treatment with very noticeable results.
I am very thankful to Dr. Sil. He also changed my life and for that I will be forever grateful.”
– Former Neurofeedback Client
"I'm so grateful to have met Dr. Sil. I was referred by my primary care doctor and I'm so glad I was. I was trapped in a cycle of severe depression and anxiety, and no matter what I tried, none of the changes lasted. Then I started neurofeedback with Dr. Sil and within just a few sessions, I began to notice big changes happening in very subtle ways. I wasn't reacting to things in the worried or irritated way I normally did. I just felt more steady. After session 10, I feel like I turned a corner. My friends began to notice the change as well! Then, after 25 sessions, for the first time, out of the blue, I realized I had been symptom free for two weeks. It was miraculous. Now, two years later, I'm still doing well. Sure I still have a bad day here and there, but who doesn't?
I highly recommend Dr. Sil and his neurofeedback practice.
– Former Neurofeedback Client