Evaluation

• Research support - Davis

  -Investigated efficiency of biofeedback for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

  -Received 13 sessions of EMG biofeedback for 8 weeks. Another group received no therapy and so acted as a control. Then urinary cortisol measures were taken.

  -Those who received EMG biofeedback self-reported a reduction in anxiety and showed decrease in cortisol secretion. This supports efficacy of biofeedback.
• Convenient therapy

  -Its inexpensive as equipment is cheap.

  -recent development of apps and watches utilise biofeedback, provide skills training and feedback for individual.

  -Physiological arousal can be converted into images and objects, easy for patients to interpret so likely to continue with biofeedback.
• Challenging therapy for the patient

  -can be demanding ad challenging for individuals.

  -They need to be aware and understand feedback they are receiving.

  -Must be able to apply relaxation techniques.

  -People who lack motivation may be unable to apply skills training to real life stressors so biofeedback may not be useful.
• Short-term vs long-term stress management

  -Individuals usually see changes after 8-10 sessions.

  -Biofeedback may not be suitable for someone who wants immediate decrease in stress response unlike drug therapies like beta blockers.

  -If an individual successfully learns stress management techniques then may be considered a more long-term way of managing stress.