Audiovisual stimulation

Audiovisual stimulation (ABC) is a special method of psychotherapeutic work with the patient. It is actively used as part of the rehabilitation program after a stroke. The aim of the method is to create an individual light and sound space which is structured according to objectives of therapy. A pulsing sound and light tunnel, headphones and glasses with built-in LEDs are used to activate such sound space.

When performing AVS, the patient is in his/her own psychological space, which is created by a combination of flickering light and music. AVS completely loads both auditory and visual channels of perception of the patient based on his/her own experiences and impressions, but not on the world around them. The patient has to be completely relaxed and allow the rhythm of pulsations to capture his/her imagination, captivate themselves.

Some patients consider this task extremely difficult in view of the fact that the idea of changing their own biorhythms under the influence of a program is considered by them as blasphemous. Such people are accustomed to excessive self-control, as a result of which they resist the action of AVS. After the first seconds of the program, these patients develop tension that does not go away during the therapy. Such a reaction should tell the doctor about the need to talk with the patient about this strain and the psychological factors that provoke it. If this work fails, the effectiveness of AVS will be close to zero.

The AVS procedure is designed for the patient to help to learn therapeutic suggestions. The very fact of the patient's presence in such an unusual light and sound environment is so shocking, that the preformed setting for reducing the symptoms is substantially enhanced. As a result, the patient's motivation directed at the removal of painful symptoms and reinforced by the friendly and confident support of the therapist, becomes an effective therapeutic factor.

Treatment procedure

First, the therapist conducts a session of rational psychotherapy, i.e, explains the patient the psychophysiological principles AVS. Then, the patient is asked to put on headphones and glasses to make sure that the light flickers exactly as the doctor described, while very realistic color pictures that spontaneously appear in the field of view correspond to what was discussed in the conversation.

Over time, the patient is convinced that the doctor's words about pleasant experiences and unusual impressions obtained during the AVS are confirmed by his/her own personal experience. This is the reason that the patient begins to believe in the rapid disappearance of painful symptoms also promised by the doctor. This is the key to the effectiveness of this therapeutic device.

To deepen the useful suggestions of this kind, special AVS programs created with a predominance of rhythms related to the theta range can be applied. This program is used to provide access to a trance state, in which sanogenic suggestions are assimilated as best as possible. The strengthening of theta activity is accompanied by drowsiness, decreased muscle tension, suppression of vivid images. A theta condition is also accompanied by the development of hypnagogic effects.

AVS in the theta range enhances the patient's creative abilities, removes emotional obsession, increases the production of beta-endorphins and creates an analgesic effect. The use of the theta range is ideal for uncritical acceptance of external psychotherapeutic suggestions, since its rhythms weaken the action of protective mental mechanisms and allow the transforming information to penetrate deep into the subconscious.

The doctors who practice hypnotherapy know how much time it takes to immerse a person in a hypnotic trance. The availability of a device designed for AVS makes it possible to significantly reduce the participation of the therapist in the procedure. The doctor only needs to take advantage of the patient's greatest openness to suggestion giving them the necessary settings. Such therapy is a kind of sensory deprivation technique that enables immersing in a trance state even those patients who are less susceptible to hypnosis.

Efficiency

The use of AVS allows to achieve functional improvement of the nervous system, eliminate vegetative imbalance, as well as increase the patient's mental and physical activity. The contraindications to the procedure are epilepsy, increased photosensitivity, increased convulsive readiness, as well as the presence of mental disorders and implanted pacemakers.

Here you can also learn more about other methods:

• Darsonvalization
• Physiotherapy
• Brain-Gym

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