Biofeedback Clinic & Certification Center

Biofeedback is a safe, non-invasive technique that teaches people how to monitor and control various body functions such as heart rate, muscle tension, blood pressure, and skin temperature.

Research has shown that biofeedback is a clinically effective tool for children, adolescents, and adults who experience a variety of conditions, including stress, pain, headaches and migraines, panic and anxiety disorders, sleep difficulties, TMJ and teeth grinding.

Biofeedback functions as a tool to assess and monitor dynamic physiological processes within the body. Electronic sensors are applied to specific areas of the body that correlate with stress responses such as muscle tension and skin temperature. This information is relayed to the therapist through auditory and visual cues. Ultimately, with help from the therapist, patients learn how to successfully detect and control the actions of the nervous system during and after periods of stress.

An assessment session costs $80 and treatment/training sessions are $50 for the general public. Student sessions are $25. A sliding fee scale is available. The clinic does not take insurance; however, you will receive a receipt to submit to your insurance carrier for possible out-of-network reimbursement.

After the initial three-session assessment, many people find 10 sessions very helpful in significantly reducing or eliminating their symptoms. Of course, this will depend on the length and severity of the symptoms, as well as the frequency of home practice.

We assist individuals in completing the following requirements for certification in general biofeedback:

• Didactic Training: Based on what BCIA calls “The Blueprint of Knowledge,” our web-based course fulfills the 42-hour didactic educational requirement for certification in general biofeedback. https://lifelonglearning.widener.edu/
• Practical Experience: BCIA requires 50 patient/client biofeedback sessions, 10 sessions of personal training, and 10 case studies. We will assist you in selecting equipment (both rental and purchase options), provide you with a lab log to guide you through the 50 sessions, and give you hands-on equipment training at our Biofeedback Center. Arrangements can be made to complete this work at our Biofeedback Clinic if you do not have a facility of your own.
• Mentoring Guidance: BCIA requires 20 hours of mentoring by a BCIA-certified professional. The mentor will oversee your practical experience requirements. We will provide this mentoring, which can be completed either face-to-face or online.
• Exam Preparation: We host the BCIA exam each January. We conduct review sessions just before each exam.

No. Student status is not required. While you will not receive any academic credit for this course, it is the same course that Widener students take (with the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance exam as their final exam), and it meets the didactic requirement for certification in general biofeedback through BCIA.

Graduate students complete all of the requirements in one academic year. For professionals, it is self-paced and may take up to two years to complete. We recommend that people complete a large portion of the didactic training before beginning the skills training.

Widener students start the course in the fall semester. Professionals can start at any time during the year since it is self-paced. Professionals may order the course here: https://lifelonglearning.widener.edu/ 

The certification course costs $900. The course consists of 10 self-paced PowerPoint lectures with audio, with a syllabus for additional readings and quizzes to be completed after each lecture. The one-on-one mentoring fee is $140/hour and the group fee is $55/hour (more than one). The certification exam costs $450 for professionals and $350 for students with an acceptable undergraduate degree and enrolled in an advanced degree-granting program in a BCIA-approved health area field at a regionally accredited university. There is an additional $20 online proctor fee. Group exam preparation fee is $70/hour per person or $140/hour one-on-one

The Biofeedback Clinic and Certification Center is open by appointment on Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.