Using the RTS in a neurofeedback session

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Enter session date and ratings at each session 

From the Sessions tab, enter the session date in column A. The date will appear in green to indicate the program recognizes that it is today’s date. You only need to enter the month and day as “3/12” unless you are correcting a date from a previous year. Then you need to enter the year too.  

Ratings are made by having the client (or parent) select with the mouse, or tap with their finger if using a tablet, on the appropriate checkbox. Mistakes can be corrected by just clicking again. You will likely have to scroll to the right to see all the concerns. If you click on two boxes in the same row by mistake, the row will turn red. Correct the mistake and the red will go away. It is important that the client should see their prior ratings as people do a better job rating change from a previous rating than making the rating with no comparison. 

Ratings should not swing wildly from session to session unless there has truly been a drastic change. Usually it is a case of helping them take into account the effect of outside events. For example, if they marked themselves as suddenly much more depressed, ask what things might be contributing to that and to reframe the question as, “Given what happened, how do you think you handled it?” You will find some clients better at self-rating. However, if a client continuously rates things as unchanged and you see obvious improvements, ask them what they would need to see before they rated themselves as improved. You might also point out what you’ve observed.

Record No-shows and Late Cancellations

The program tracks No-shows and Late Cancellations so it is important to make these entries when they occur. If a client No-shows or makes a Late cancellation, enter the date of when the session was supposed to happen and mark the checkbox in the “Late Cancellation/No Show” column to the right. Go to the next line for the next session. What constitutes a No Show or Late Cancellations should be based on your agency’s policy. It doesn’t have to affect whether you charge for the missed visit.

Enter protocols 

At the end of the session, record the protocol you used on the right side of the Sessions tab.  You should not enter the date as this is automatically copied from the session date. Enter the optimal training frequency for each site. If you moved the training frequency around, enter what you thought was the optimal number which is often the training frequency where you left off. If you are repeating a protocol or portion of a protocol, rather than reentering the optimal training frequency, use the “/” symbol to indicate that it is a repeat of the above. This makes it very easy to see when the protocol changes. 

Note that the line for the protocol is one row below the line for the client’s ratings. This way you can see if a change in a protocol resulted in a change in the client ratings by reading right to left across the same row.