When Therapy Isn’t Enough: A Conversation About Neurofeedback, Trauma and the Nervous System
- Carlie Byrom
- Jul 7
- 7 min read
With psychologist Dean Smith & Carlie Byrom
There’s a growing conversation happening in mental health care — one that recognises healing isn’t always just about talking through problems.
For many people living with stress, trauma, anxiety, overwhelm or nervous system dysregulation, insight alone doesn’t always create change. Even when people desperately want to feel better, their brain and body can remain stuck in survival patterns.
That’s where approaches like neurofeedback and nervous system regulation are beginning to change the conversation.
I recently sat down with Melbourne psychologist Dean Smith, who has been integrating NeurOptimal® neurofeedback into his practice for over 15 years, to talk about trauma, the brain, therapy, and why approaches like neurofeedback can work alongside — not instead of — traditional psychological support.
“It’s About Growth and Transformation — Not Just Symptom Management”
When asked about his work, Dean explained that his practice has always focused on helping people get to the root cause of their struggles, rather than simply managing symptoms.
Over the years he has worked with clients experiencing trauma, anxiety, grief, depression, relationship difficulties, health challenges and nervous system dysregulation.
“My interest has always been in supporting growth and transformation, not just symptom management.”
That philosophy is ultimately what led him toward neurofeedback.
Discovering Neurofeedback Before It Was Widely Known
Dean first encountered neurofeedback more than two decades ago while attending workshops with trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk — long before neurofeedback became more widely discussed in trauma and nervous system circles.
After initially exploring traditional neurofeedback approaches, he says he quickly recognised the potential of NeurOptimal® within therapeutic work.
But one particular experience stayed with him.
Why Some People Struggle With Traditional Therapy
Dean explained that many of the clients he was supporting had significant trauma histories.
At the time, he was deeply committed to mindfulness-based approaches and genuinely believed in their potential to help people heal.
But he kept noticing something that didn’t make sense.
Despite trying incredibly hard, many of his clients simply couldn’t access the calm, awareness or regulation that mindfulness practices were supposed to create.
“Even though I was such a firm believer in mindfulness, I could not ignore my clients’ experiences.”
The harder some clients tried, the more frustrated, overwhelmed or disconnected they seemed to become.
This was one of the parts of our conversation that really stood out to me personally, because it reflects something I hear often from people struggling with overwhelm or nervous system dysregulation — the feeling that they know what they “should” be doing, but still can’t seem to access the calm, clarity or change they’re searching for.
It was this experience that ultimately led Dean to begin exploring what trauma researchers like Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine and Frank Corrigan were discovering about the role of the nervous system and the brain stem in trauma
He learned that for many people — particularly those with early trauma or chronic stress histories — the nervous system may still be operating in survival mode beneath conscious awareness.
And when that happens, traditional “top-down” approaches that rely heavily on thinking, insight or mindfulness can sometimes feel inaccessible, no matter how motivated the person is.
Dean says this is where many people are misunderstood.
Instead of recognising nervous system dysregulation, clients are sometimes labelled as “resistant,” “difficult,” or “treatment resistant.”
But from his perspective, the issue is often not a lack of effort from the client.
It’s that the nervous system may need a different type of support first.
“I work with my clients to find what works for them, at the particular stage they are at in their healing journey.”
Neurofeedback and Therapy Don’t Have To Be Either/Or
One of the biggest misconceptions people often have is that they must choose between therapy or nervous system support.
But according to Dean, the two can work beautifully together.
He describes neurofeedback as one of several “brain stem interventions” that can help create greater nervous system stability before deeper therapeutic work begins.
Once clients feel safer and more regulated internally, other therapeutic approaches may become easier to access and more effective.
One of the reasons I wanted to explore this topic further is because many people still believe they have to choose between counselling, psychology or nervous system support, when in reality these approaches can often complement each other beautifully.
This is one reason why many practitioners now integrate neurofeedback alongside modalities such as:
* Somatic therapies
* Parts work
* Emotion-focused therapy
* Trauma therapies
* Mindfulness-based approaches
* Counselling and psychology
The Importance of Nervous System Regulation
According to Dean, nervous system regulation plays a critical role in healing — but it’s often misunderstood.
Many people assume regulation simply means “calming down” or reducing symptoms.
But Dean explains the nervous system is much more complex than that.
“When you start using nervous system and emotional regulation from a more holistic and integrated perspective, the results are far more powerful and deeper.”
Rather than simply suppressing distress, the goal is to help the brain and nervous system become more flexible, resilient and adaptive over time.
I think this is also why conversations around nervous system regulation are resonating with so many people right now. For many, it’s the first time they’ve heard stress, overwhelm or emotional reactivity explained through the lens of the nervous system rather than simply “coping better.”
So… What Is Neurofeedback?
One way to think about neurofeedback is to imagine walking on a balance beam with a mirror underneath you.
The mirror allows you to instantly notice when your footing is slightly off, so your body can naturally make small adjustments to regain balance and stability.
Neurofeedback works in a similar way.
Through real-time auditory feedback during a session, the brain is given information about changes in its own activity patterns. The process is based on the idea that when the brain becomes more aware of what it’s doing, it can begin making adjustments more organically over time — supporting greater flexibility, resilience and regulation.
Unlike approaches that attempt to force the brain into a particular state, NeurOptimal® neurofeedback is designed to provide information and feedback, allowing the brain and nervous system to respond in their own way and at their own pace.
What I personally appreciate about this perspective is that it moves away from the idea that people are ‘broken’ or need to be ‘fixed’, and instead focuses on creating the conditions for the brain and nervous system to function more effectively and adaptively.
What Changes Do Clients Experience?
After more than 15 years using neurofeedback in clinical practice, Dean says client experiences are deeply individual.
But one common theme continues to emerge:
“People move towards more growth and transformation.”
He also notes that when neurofeedback is used alongside therapy, clients often engage more deeply with the therapeutic process.
“Therapy is faster, deeper and less painful.”
The Future of Mental Health Care?
Dean believes neurofeedback is one of the most significant developments in mental health care in recent decades — even though awareness in Australia is still growing.
He hopes approaches focused on nervous system support become more integrated into both treatment and prevention in the future.
And perhaps most importantly, he believes people deserve access to approaches that support healing gently, rather than forcing people to push through distress alone.
One of the reasons I wanted to share this conversation is because so many people are quietly struggling with stress, overwhelm, trauma symptoms or nervous system dysregulation — often without fully understanding what’s happening in their body and brain.
For some people, counselling or psychology may be exactly what they need.
For others, nervous system support like neurofeedback may help create the stability that allows deeper healing work to happen. Or even open the door to help get to a place where you can start having the conversations you need to, or making the decisions to support the change you are seeking.
And for many people, the answer may not be either/or — but a combination of supports working together.
Healing is rarely one-size-fits-all.
Sometimes healing starts with simply understanding that your nervous system may be playing a bigger role than you realised — and that support doesn’t always have to look the way you expected it to.
Written By: Carlie Byrom
Special thanks to Dean Smith for generously sharing his expertise and insights, which contributed to this article.
About Carlie Byrom
Carlie Byrom is a nervous system regulation practitioner and the founder of Life Brain Training & Counselling. She is deeply invested in helping people understand the connection between the brain, body and nervous system — particularly in the areas of stress, trauma, overwhelm and emotional wellbeing. Integrating counselling support with NeurOptimal neurofeedback, Carlie’s approach focuses on supporting nervous system flexibility, regulation and resilience in a gentle and holistic way.
Founder of Life Brain Training & Counselling
NeurOptimal® Neurofeedback & Counselling Support | NSW
About Dean Smith
Over the last 30 years I have been lucky enough to be at the forefront of the paradigm shift we are now seeing in the treatment trauma and mental health. Treating mental health and trauma from a holistic spiritually informed approach has always seemed the most logical, respectful, effective, and compassionate way of working with people’s pain and suffering. Over many years now I have been focusing on developing methods or working with mental health and trauma that meet the unique needs of my clients.
Although I was first trained as a psychologist, I quickly sore the strengths and limits of these western psychological approaches. This lead to me studying and working with some of the great masters of our time. This journey included the study of many different modalities, including different types of psychotherapies, body work, hypnosis, herbal medicine, nutritional medicine, martial arts, yoga, biofeedback / neurofeedback, somatic experiencing, and meditation.
Dean Smith Psychologist
Psychologist | Brunswick, Melbourne Vic