The gap
Ethics are not a Standard of Care
The field has ethics codes, practice guidelines, voluntary certification, equipment rules, and purchaser credentialing. None of those is a membership-ratified Standard of Care.
Theoretical participant mark for committee discussion. Not a license. Not a BCIA credential or an IQCB credential. Not society endorsement. Not being issued now.
Working Group · Proposed draft
A proposed Standard of Care for neurofeedback.
Ethics codes and guidelines already exist. A field-wide Standard of Care does not. This working group is publishing a draft so the field can adopt one.
The draft
Fourteen domains of practice
The working text covers license and scope, competence, consent, assessment, evidence claims, in-session presence, remote training, equipment, records, advertising, and quantitative EEG.
The invitation
Comment on the working draft
This is a proposal, not an adopted instrument. Email office@altbehtherapy.com or call 360-553-1350. Additional contacts will be posted as people consent.
The structure
A voluntary compact, later
A published floor of practice would live in a nonprofit compact that people opt into. Societies could support a draft without becoming the regulator. The mark on this site is theoretical.
How this would be organized
Fourteen proposed domains
Each card is a one-line summary. Click a domain for the full proposed standard on the Standards page.
Domain 1
Summary
Licensure, scope, and supervision
Treat diagnosed conditions only inside a license, or under documented supervision.
Full standard
Domain 2
Summary
Competence beyond an introductory course
A workshop is not qualification for independent practice.
Full standard
Domain 3
Summary
Representation of credentials
State licenses and certificates accurately. A certificate is not a license.
Full standard
Domain 4
Summary
Informed consent
Document the method, risks, limits, and experimental status before training begins.
Full standard
Domain 5
Summary
Assessment before training
Plan from history, goals, and a pre-training EEG assessment.
Full standard
Domain 6
Summary
Claims about evidence
Distinguish published support from experimental use, condition by condition.
Full standard
Domain 7
Summary
Presence, coaching, and technicians
A responsible practitioner remains with the trainee. Technicians work under direction.
Full standard
Domain 8
Summary
Remote and home training
Home programs are the exception for diagnosed conditions, not the default.
Full standard
Domain 9
Summary
Hygiene, sensors, and equipment
Clean technique, adequate contact, and equipment fit for clinical use.
Full standard
Domain 10
Summary
Records, billing, and privacy
Bill only what was delivered. Keep a complete clinical record.
Full standard
Domain 11
Summary
Public statements
Advertising matches published support. No promised cure.
Full standard
Domain 12
Summary
Training programs and equipment sales
Do not place clinical methods in unlicensed, unsupervised hands.
Full standard
Domain 13
Summary
Quantitative EEG used to guide training
Raw traces must be reviewed before maps may set a protocol.
Full standard
Domain 14
Summary
Research using neurofeedback
Honest design and reporting. Clinical competence, or supervision by someone who has it.
Full standard
Convening Chair Dr. Gary J. Schummer · Project Coordinator Pete Jansons · Founding Working Group Member Joshua Moore, MA, LMHC, BCN