A note before you read on. This page describes how trauma can show up in the brain and where our work fits within trauma-informed care. If reading about PTSD is hard right now, that is OK. You can book a phone consultation instead, or call us on (03) 5593 2934 and we'll talk it through with you.

Who we help · PTSD

PTSD — trauma-informed brain work, alongside primary care.

Trauma changes how the brain regulates threat, arousal, and connectivity between regions. Our work is one piece of a larger puzzle — always alongside trauma-trained psychological care, never as a replacement.

Book a consultation Our approach →

What it is

What is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is what happens when the brain's threat-detection system gets stuck on. After a traumatic event (or a series of them), the alarm doesn't switch off — and a person's day-to-day life ends up organised around staying safe from a threat that may no longer be present.

Around 5–10% of Australians will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, with significantly higher rates in first responders, ADF veterans, and people who have experienced interpersonal violence or childhood trauma [1]. Common features include:

Re-experiencing — intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares.
Avoidance — of places, people, conversations, or internal experiences that recall the trauma.
Hyperarousal — being constantly on guard, easily startled, unable to settle.
Negative cognition and mood — persistent shame, guilt, disconnection, anhedonia.
Sleep and concentration disruption — particularly difficulty falling asleep, broken sleep, and intrusive thoughts during the day.

Complex PTSD (cPTSD), described by Judith Herman and now formally recognised in ICD-11, captures the additional features that often accompany prolonged or repeated trauma — particularly disturbed self-organisation, persistent shame, and difficulties with relationships.

In the brain

What a qEEG can reveal about trauma-related stress.

qEEG cannot diagnose PTSD — that work belongs to a trauma-trained psychologist or psychiatrist. It can, however, give us a structured picture of patterns that frequently accompany trauma-related stress.

Hyperarousal patterns

The most consistent EEG finding in PTSD research is elevated high-beta activity — the cortical signature of an alarm system that won't switch off. We frequently see this across central, frontal, and sometimes temporal sites, and it often correlates with reported difficulty settling, sleeping, or feeling safe in the body.

Altered network connectivity

More recent research has focused on how the default-mode network (involved in self-referential thinking and memory) and the salience network (involved in threat detection) communicate. In PTSD we often see disrupted connectivity between these networks — which is one neural correlate of the experience of being unable to stop scanning for danger, even in objectively safe environments [2, 3].

Reduced alpha

Alpha — the brain's "rest with eyes closed" rhythm — is often suppressed. The brain doesn't know how to coast, because at some point it learned that coasting was unsafe.

What this is and isn't

These are group-level tendencies, not diagnostic markers. The point of measuring is to understand what your particular brain is doing — so a personalised plan can target the patterns actually present, rather than running everyone through the same protocol.

Our approach

How we work with trauma-related stress.

We start with a qEEG to see the brain-activity patterns most often associated with PTSD — hyperarousal across the cortex, altered connectivity between the default-mode and salience networks, suppressed alpha at rest. From there we build a non-invasive plan drawn from five clinician-led modalities, sequenced to what we measure and to the pace your nervous system can handle.

Neurofeedback — supporting self-regulation around arousal, connectivity and sleep.
Biofeedback — heart-rate variability training, breath work, and direct work with the autonomic nervous system.
Functional neurological exercises — vestibular, ocular-motor and balance drills that target specific neural pathways.
Neuro-nutrition — nutritional foundations for nervous-system regulation.
Mind-body work — somatic and breath-based practice that respects how trauma lives in the body.

Sessions are paced. Each begins and ends with regulation work. You stop whenever you need to.

How this fits with your other care. First-line care for PTSD in Australia is trauma-focused psychotherapy (EMDR, prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, or trauma-focused CBT) delivered by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist with trauma training. Our work sits alongside that — we don't do psychotherapy or trauma processing; that work belongs with your psychologist. We coordinate, communicate with your treating clinician, and pace sessions so they reinforce — not interfere with — the work you're doing there.

Care pathway

A typical PTSD pathway with us.

Always alongside trauma-trained psychotherapy. We coordinate, we communicate, and we move at the pace your nervous system can handle.

Step 1 · Conversation
Initial consultation

We start with a phone or in-person consultation to understand where you are in your trauma care, what's been useful, and whether our work is a fit right now. If it isn't, we'll say so and refer.
Step 2 · In-clinic · $1,097
qEEG Brain Map Deep Dive

A 19-channel qEEG, ERP testing, and a 1-hour clinical review with Dr Ash. The recording itself is gentle and trauma-aware. You stop whenever you need to.
Step 3 · Programme · $4,997
Core Integration Programme

20 sessions of swLORETA neurofeedback plus biofeedback, delivered at the pace your nervous system tolerates, with explicit communication with your treating psychologist where you'd like that.
Step 4 · Ongoing
Step down, maintain, or pause

Trauma care isn't linear. Some people benefit from a continued slow drip of brain-rhythm work; others benefit from finishing and stepping out. The plan is always yours, and pausing is always an option.

Evidence & research

What the literature says about trauma and neurofeedback.

There is a growing peer-reviewed evidence base for neurofeedback as an adjunct in PTSD care, including a published RCT by van der Kolk and colleagues. The evidence is not as strong as for trauma-focused psychotherapy, and we don't position our work as primary care.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2022). National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Lifetime prevalence of PTSD in Australian adults estimated at 5–10%; significantly higher in trauma-exposed populations.
van der Kolk, B.A., Hodgdon, H., Gapen, M., Musicaro, R., Suvak, M.K., Hamlin, E., & Spinazzola, J. (2016). A randomized controlled study of neurofeedback for chronic PTSD. PLoS ONE, 11(12).
Lanius, R.A., Frewen, P.A., Tursich, M., Jetly, R., & McKinnon, M.C. (2015). Restoring large-scale brain networks in PTSD and related disorders. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 6(1).
Phoenix Australia (2020). Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Complex PTSD. The standard of care for PTSD treatment in Australia.
Panisch, L.S., & Hai, A.H. (2020). The effectiveness of using neurofeedback in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 21(3), 541–550.

Citations are illustrative for the prototype build. Final references will be reviewed and updated by Dr Ash and the content team before publication.

FAQ

Common questions about PTSD care with us.

Will I have to talk about what happened?

No. We don't do trauma processing. Your psychologist does that work. Our role is around regulation — helping the body feel safe enough that the work your psychologist is doing can land. You'll need to share enough background for us to plan well, but no detailed trauma narratives are required.

I'm not seeing a psychologist. Can I still come?

For PTSD specifically, we strongly recommend having a trauma-trained psychologist in place before adding our work. We're happy to help you find one — Phoenix Australia and the APS both maintain referral resources. We'll have a phone consultation either way.

Is the qEEG itself triggering?

For most people, no — it's a passive recording in a quiet room. We can pause or stop at any point, take breaks, leave the door open, or have a support person with you. We work with you to make the recording as low-activation as possible.

Can my psychologist talk to you directly?

Yes — and we encourage it. With your written consent we'll provide a clinical summary, share session notes, and have direct communication with your treating psychologist throughout the work.

What if a session activates me?

Activation can happen — and we plan for it. Sessions begin and end with regulation work, we move at the pace your nervous system can handle, and we'll pause or modify protocols as needed. After-care plans, including communication with your psychologist between sessions, are part of how we work.

What if I'm in crisis right now?

Please contact your treating clinician, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, the 1800RESPECT line on 1800 737 732, or in an emergency call 000. We are not a crisis service.

Your pace, your plan

Start with a conversation.

Trauma-aware, paced, and always alongside your psychologist. We'll talk through whether our work is a fit for where you are now.

Book a consultation Call (03) 5593 2934

Scope of practice — trauma-informed. Dr Ash Connell (Chiropractor) is registered with AHPRA. We do not provide trauma-focused psychotherapy. We do not do exposure, memory reconsolidation, or trauma processing. Our work is offered as a regulation-supporting adjunct alongside trauma-trained psychological care, in line with the Australian Guidelines for the Treatment of PTSD.

If you need urgent support, contact your treating clinician, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, or in an emergency call 000.