Recovering the Creative Response after PTSD with Neurofeedback

Among clients beginning neurofeedback, one of the earliest and most striking changes is a decrease in emotional reactivity. Many participants remark that they no longer respond as intensely to everyday stressors or interpersonal conflicts. As Dr. Richard Soutar observes, “one of the first experiences arising from neurofeedback that clients especially note is a growing awareness that they are reacting less to things that in the past had been serious triggers.”¹

For those with moderate trauma, this shift may appear within the first several sessions. In more severe cases—where trauma has deeply altered brain function—it often emerges later in training, especially during alpha-theta work. Yet across time and cases, clinicians repeatedly hear similar reports: “I feel calmer,” “I can pause before reacting,” or even “I feel bulletproof.”

Trauma and the Tug-of-War Between Brain Networks

Trauma is not simply a collection of memories—it is a condition encoded in networks of the brain. Research consistently demonstrates that the Default Mode Network (DMN) behaves differently in individuals with trauma.² The DMN, which governs internal reflection and self-awareness, shows irregular activation patterns and connectivity changes linked to the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. This dysregulation often produces what Soutar calls “a tug of war between networks in response to a threat.”¹

Recent findings from JAMA Network Open reveal that trauma-exposed individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience both physiological overreaction and emotional under-reaction.³ This combination represents a compensatory mechanism—an unconscious attempt to control emotional expression by tightening physiological regulation. Over time, this suppression creates delayed emotional responses or, in many cases, emotional numbness.

When neurofeedback restores balance within these networks, clients begin to experience emotional stimuli with clarity and proportion. They report being less hijacked by fear or anger and more able to assess situations rationally. The clinical goal, therefore, extends beyond calming the brain; it is about re-establishing the neural latency—the pause—that allows for deliberate, adaptive responses.

How Neurofeedback Changes the Reactive Brain

Trauma diminishes inhibitory control in the prefrontal cortex while amplifying the amygdala’s alarm system. Soutar emphasizes that “the reduction in frontal inhibitory control is a key feature of the disorder, but training the prefrontal cortex directly is not always the solution to the problem.”¹ Because these symptoms arise from distributed networks, effective intervention must involve coordinated regulation across cortical and subcortical regions.

Studies combining EEG and fMRI show that trauma alters communication between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and precuneus, producing abnormal connectivity within the DMN.⁴ These findings mirror clinical EEG patterns of reduced alpha and increased beta activity at parietal sites such as Pz and P4—regions frequently associated with rumination and anxiety.⁵

Dr. Soutar’s own sLORETA analyses of veterans with PTSD show the same pattern: hyperactive parietal regions, diminished frontal control, and disrupted synchrony between cortical and emotional centers.¹ These changes underscore the importance of tailoring neurofeedback protocols to address distributed networks rather than focusing solely on frontal activity.

For an overview of how neural plasticity enables such targeted retraining, see our post “Brain Plasticity Is the Unlimited Power Behind Neurofeedback”.

Recovering the “Creative Response”

When neural circuits become dominated by trauma, the brain relies on repetitive, fear-based reactions. Soutar writes that “the brain grows into patterns of anxiety and depression that are consolidated in network pathways, and it is necessary to grow new pathways in order to compensate for them.”¹ Neurofeedback encourages this neural reorganization by restoring the client’s ability to generate creative responses—new, flexible behaviors that replace conditioned defensive reactions.

This recovery hinges on emotional latency—the capacity to pause long enough for a thoughtful or intuitive response to emerge. As reactivity subsides, the brain regains access to insight, creativity, and emotional intelligence. Clinicians often observe that clients begin to problem-solve in new ways, express empathy more readily, and handle stress without regression into avoidance or hyper-arousal.

Alpha-theta training amplifies this effect. Originally designed to increase creativity,⁶ it strengthens communication between cortical and subcortical regions, fostering spontaneous integration rather than forced emotional exposure. Clients often describe a sense of renewal following these sessions—less fear, more imagination, and a revived sense of agency.

For clinicians interested in the trauma-specific applications of alpha-theta work, Dr. Soutar’s post “Managing and Integrating Trauma with Alpha Theta Neurofeedback” provides an in-depth exploration.

Clinical Integration: From Map to Method

The NewMind model emphasizes assessment, personalization, and ongoing support. Practitioners are encouraged to integrate neurofeedback data with clinical interviews and symptom inventories before protocol selection. The steps below summarize how Soutar and NewMind clinicians implement the “creative response” model:

1. Map and Measure – Begin with a comprehensive qEEG brain map to identify regions of hyper- or hypo-activity, connectivity irregularities, and symmetry differences.
2. Select Network-Focused Protocols – Address both prefrontal regulation and posterior DMN overactivity, balancing alpha and beta ratios where indicated.
3. Observe Behavioral Markers – Track subtle changes in reactivity during sessions. Many clients minimize progress unless clinicians ask about specific triggers or emotional latency.
4. Integrate Supportive Measures – Supplementation with methyl-folate or magnesium can improve outcomes in clients with depressive or anxious tendencies tied to genetic methylation variants.¹
5. Encourage Community and Reflection – Support systems matter. Healing doesn’t happen in isolation. Clients who engage with supportive communities often make faster and more lasting progress. Peer connection, shared experience, and guided reflection all reinforce the neurological gains made in neurofeedback. This sense of belonging enhances resilience, encourages accountability, and helps the brain consolidate calm as a learned state.

From Reactivity to Resilience

Ultimately, neurofeedback does more than dampen hyperarousal—it restores the brain’s capacity for self-directed adaptation. The “creative response” is a product of this restoration: a client’s ability to respond with awareness rather than reflex. As Soutar concludes, “neurofeedback provides the recovery of the capacity for creative response that is required, as well as providing reduced reactivity to allow that creative response to surface.”¹

For clinicians new to the field, this represents the core value of functional neurofeedback: a means to transform rigidity into flexibility, fear into insight, and reactivity into resilience.

Want to explore the full version of Dr. Soutar’s article, including detailed analysis, brain network data, and practitioner insights? Read the complete article on the NewMind Journal:

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Works Cited

1. Soutar, Richard. “Recovering the Creative Response With Neurofeedback.” NewMind Journal, 2025. https://nmindjournal.com/
2. Thome, J., Terpou, B. A., McKinnon, M. C., & Lanius, R. A. “The Neural Correlates of Trauma-Related Autobiographical Memory in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Meta-Analysis.” Depression and Anxiety 37, no. 4 (2019): 321–45.
3. Korem, N., Duek, O., Spiller, T., Ben-Zion, Z., Levy, I., & Harpaz-Rotem, I. “Emotional State Transitions in Trauma-Exposed Individuals With and Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.” JAMA Network Open 7, no. 4 (2024): e246813.
4. Nicholson, A. A., Ros, T., Densmore, M., Frewen, P. A., et al. “A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Alpha-Rhythm EEG Neurofeedback in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.” NeuroImage: Clinical 28 (2020): 102490.
5. Engels, A. S. et al. “Specificity of Regional Brain Activity in Anxiety Types During Emotion Processing.” Psychophysiology 44 (2007): 352–63.
6. Green, E. E., & Green, A. M. Beyond Biofeedback. San Francisco: Delacorte Press, 1977.