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Composite 3 · Focus
Adult ADHD, a non-pharmacological pathway.
A composite illustration of how we structure care for adults with ADHD seeking a non-pharmacological adjunct or alternative. swLORETA neurofeedback targeted off the qEEG, sleep architecture work, HRV training, attention drills.
AHPRA-registered clinician-led
Clinical-grade qEEG hardware
Co-care with your GP & psychologist
Geelong · Camperdown · Australia-wide
Composite case study. Anonymised, illustrative, built from many similar presentations. Not a single patient. No clinical outcome claims. Individual responses vary.
The presentation
Where the patient typically arrives.
An adult with confirmed ADHD — either diagnosed in childhood and now revisiting as an adult, or diagnosed in their thirties or forties through formal psychiatric assessment. They’re here because the standard pharmacological pathway hasn’t worked the way they hoped. Stimulants help focus but disrupt sleep, sharpen anxiety, or feel like they’re burying the problem rather than addressing it. Or they’ve been advised against stimulants for cardiac or other reasons. Or they’ve simply chosen a non-pharmacological pathway and want to see what’s available.
Their symptoms are familiar: difficulty initiating tasks even on things they want to do, working memory that fails at predictable moments, attention that drifts away mid-thread, executive dysfunction that erodes the day. They’re often high-functioning by sheer effort, but the cost is high.
What the qEEG often shows
Characteristic theta/beta patterns — with caveats.
The neurofeedback literature on ADHD has the strongest evidence base of any modality we use, and the qEEG often shows characteristic patterns — elevated theta-to-beta ratios in frontal regions, reduced engagement of the dorsal attention and central executive networks, sometimes patterns suggestive of arousal dysregulation. None of this diagnoses ADHD — the diagnosis is a clinical decision — but it gives us specific cortical targets for the work.
The 14-network screen typically flags Central Executive, Dorsal Attention, and sometimes Default Mode networks. Severity grading lets us prioritise.
How the plan is structured
Targeted training, not generic ADHD protocols.
- swLORETA neurofeedback designed off the actual qEEG. Standard ADHD neurofeedback uses surface-based theta/beta protocols, which work for many. Where swLORETA-guided z-score training is indicated, we target the specific cortical regions identified on this patient’s map — rather than a one-size-fits-all theta/beta protocol.
- Sleep architecture is non-negotiable. ADHD presentations are routinely worsened by suboptimal sleep. We screen sleep at intake, build a structured sleep plan into the program, and re-check sleep markers throughout. Sometimes the most useful thing we do for an ADHD presentation is normalise sleep first.
- HRV biofeedback for autonomic regulation. The autonomic over-arousal common in adult ADHD makes attention harder to deploy and easier to lose. HRV training builds the foundation for cortical work to land on.
- Working memory and attention exercises — targeted, not generic. Functional drills calibrated to the specific networks the qEEG implicates. Daily home practice in 5–10 minute doses.
A clear note on medication
We work alongside, not instead of, your prescribing doctor.
Patients on stimulants who do this work alongside their medication often find their existing dose works better — the autonomic ground is more regulated, the cortical signature shifts, and the medication has a more responsive substrate to work on. We don’t advise patients to taper or stop medication. Any change to medication is a conversation between the patient and their prescribing doctor.
For patients on a non-pharmacological pathway, we’re honest about what neurofeedback can and can’t do. ADHD doesn’t “go away” from neurofeedback. What it can do, when the picture and the protocol align, is shift the underlying cortical patterns enough that day-to-day function improves — sometimes substantially. The follow-up qEEG at Week 12 is where the real data lives.
Who this composite fits
Who tends to do well in this pathway.
- Adults with confirmed ADHD looking for a non-pharmacological adjunct or alternative.
- Patients whose response to stimulants has been suboptimal or whose side-effects make the cost-benefit difficult.
- People with a long-standing executive-function pattern who want a measurement-led picture of what’s actually happening at the cortical level.
More on this work: ADHD on the Who-we-help cluster · Executive function · Neurofeedback.
Scope & safety
We work alongside — not in place of — primary medical and psychological care. We do not diagnose neurological or psychiatric conditions from EEG, and we do not prescribe or alter medication. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 000 or Lifeline 13 11 14.