Why certification matters
When people search Google or ask an AI about Neurofeedback, they are typically motivated by neurological or mental health concerns. It is therefore reasonable to assume that they want to find an appropriately trained and professionally certified Neurofeedback clinician.
However, not every service labelled “neurofeedback” meets that description. The term is used for a wide range of approaches, technologies and services.
The purpose of this directory is to make that distinction easier. It lists Australian clinicians who have been educated and certified according to the standards of the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA).
What does BCN certification involve?
BCN — Board Certified in Neurofeedback — is a professional certification specifically concerned with Neurofeedback.
Certification requires formal education based on the BCIA Blueprint of Knowledge, relevant prerequisite study, mentoring in the practical application of Neurofeedback, and successful completion of a written examination. Maintaining certification also requires continuing professional education or re-examination.
In other words, BCN provides an independently verifiable indication that the clinician has completed a defined body of Neurofeedback education and professional training. That is quite different from simply offering a product or service that happens to be called “neurofeedback”.
Australian BCN certification has historically been administered through BCIA-A, which is now being dissolved, with Australian certification and recertification returning to BCIA directly.
What about QEEG certification?
Some Neurofeedback clinicians also hold professional certification in quantitative EEG (QEEG) through the International QEEG Certification Board (IQCB).
IQCB certification likewise involves formal education, structured mentoring with actual QEEG analyses and reports, professional standards and a proctored examination. The credentials shown in this directory are QEEG-D (Diplomate) and QEEG-T (Technologist).
QEEG certification is an additional qualification. It does not replace Neurofeedback certification, which is why BCN remains the defining certification for inclusion in this Neurofeedback directory.
Neurofeedback beyond private practice
A useful Australian example is STARTTS — the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors. STARTTS established its Neurofeedback Program in 2007 for clients affected by chronic and complex trauma and describes the use of clinical and QEEG assessment to guide Neurofeedback training within its rehabilitation services.
Its long-running use within an established Australian trauma rehabilitation service is one example of Neurofeedback being applied as part of professional clinical practice rather than simply marketed as a consumer technology.
Certification is a threshold, not a ranking
Certification does not mean that every BCN clinician works in the same way, has the same level of experience, uses the same Neurofeedback methods or will be equally suitable for every client.
Nor does this directory attempt to rank clinicians according to profession, equipment, modality, membership or popularity. Certification gives us something much simpler and more useful:
It is an independently verifiable professional standard for distinguishing certified Neurofeedback clinicians from the much broader range of services using the word “neurofeedback”.