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Keywords: Thomas Budzynski, neurofeedback, psychotherapy, alpha-theta states, twilight learning
The author provides a personal account of the scientific contributions of Thomas Budzynski, including the conceptualization of a psychophysiological foundation for psychotherapy, the development of a prototype neurofeedback training instrument, and the exploration of the potential therapeutic applications of twilight brain states.
In 1971, after finishing my PhD in biological and clinical psychology, I read two papers that captured my fascination: one was an unpublished manuscript of Tom Budzynski and Johann Stoyva, titled Biofeedback in Behavior Therapy and in Autogenic Training, introducing electromyographic biofeedback as an assessment and treatment for chronic muscle pain. The second was Peter J. Lang's chapter in Allen Bergin's Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change (1971), demonstrating that psychotherapy needs psychophysiological methodology in order to secure treatment success and document side effects and specificity.
Tom's and Johann's chapter marked a historic moment in psychosomatic medicine and clinical psychology: For the first time, a consistent psychophysiological theory (mostly Johann) was rigorously applied (Tom's achievement) in the context of psychological treatment, namely, in systematic desensitization for tension headaches and other muscular pain. Each step in the stress-confrontation procedure was documented with frontal electromyography recordings, and patients observed and voluntary controlled the diminution of the...