This article examines biofeedback within the context of American health care, mind-body practice, clinical psychology, technology, and business. American medicine is shifting its emphasis from disease management to health promotion, prevention, and integrative symptom management. This biopsychosocial approach requires the use of clinically and cost-effective behavioral health interventions. Biofeedback is an ideal tool because it harnesses the mind-body connection to help patients improve disease conditions and even achieve optimal health. With its capability to teach self-regulation, to treat a variety of chronic disease conditions, to blend the technical and the humanistic, coupled with its budding research profile, biofeedback can offer clinically and cost-effective, interventions that fit nicely into the primary care delivery system. The push of the American Psychological Association for psychologists to practice in primary care settings along with the extensive training in lifestyle interventions that clinical health psychologists undergo makes them uniquely qualified to integrate biofeedback into clinical health practice. If psychologists routinely included biofeedback in their psychotherapy practices and honed their entrepreneurial skills to market it, they could create a mind-body intervention that increases the demand for behavioral care. Thus, biofeedback offers an opportunity to invigorate American psychotherapy, as the American health care system will benefit from effective holistic mind-body practices.
Public Significance StatementThis article addresses how biofeedback, if routinely incorporated into current psychotherapy practice, could enhance health care by providing clinically and cost-effective behavioral interventions. Biofeedback can help people to make lifestyle changes by teaching them to self-regulate their physiological processes, to handle life stressors more effectively, to cope with and improve chronic medical conditions, and to enhance overall performance. Psychologists are particularly well suited to assume a leadership role in promoting the use of this beneficial intervention which can promote holistic care within the American health care system.