The Neurofeedback Field at a Crossroads: Pioneer Insights from Peak Brain Institute
The neurofeedback field is experiencing a fascinating paradox. As brain optimization enters mainstream consciousness—from Olympic athletes to Silicon Valley executives—the community of expert practitioners is actually shrinking. This was one of the key revelations from a recent conversation with Dr. Andrew Hill, founder of Peak Brain Institute, whose perspective illuminates both the challenges and opportunities facing the field today.
A Field in Transition
"The field of neurofeedback is pretty small and a little bit self-referential," Hill observed. "I doubt there's even five thousand people in the US who are at a high level clinically doing this anymore. From my perspective, the field has been shrinking the whole time I've been in it."
This isn't just about numbers—it's about the loss of institutional knowledge. The passing of foundational figures like Joe Kamiya (alpha feedback pioneer), Michael Thompson (heart rate variability researcher), and most recently Joe Castellano at just 49, represents more than statistical loss. These were the bridge-builders between laboratory research and clinical application.
Jay Gunkelman, a legend in the field himself, captured this transition poignantly: "The F1 generation of the field is long in the tooth... I've been fostering students as best I can for the last 20 plus years." His commitment runs deep—he's literally auctioned off his beard multiple times, raising $17,000 for student funds.
Beyond the Therapy Room: Functional Neuroscience
Hill's approach represents a significant departure from traditional neurofeedback practice. Unlike most practitioners who operate within therapeutic frameworks, Peak Brain Institute occupies what Hill calls "functional neuroscience"—a space between fitness, medicine, and psychology.
"I'm not a psychologist unlike almost everyone in the field," Hill explains. "I felt like a lot of what we do is closer to fitness." This isn't just philosophical positioning—it changes everything about how clients engage with brain training.
Instead of the traditional medical model ("Here's what's wrong, I'll treat you"), Peak Brain operates more like a performance lab: "Here's a brain map, here's what it can show. What do you think? Where are your goals?"
This shift has practical implications. Peak Brain provides free ongoing brain mapping after the first session—treating it as educational data rather than billable diagnostics. Clients range from elite athletes and actors managing stress to parents with 17 special-needs children seeking relief. The common thread isn't pathology—it's optimization.
The Home Training Revolution
Perhaps most significantly, Peak Brain has pioneered virtual neurofeedback delivery at scale. Even before the pandemic, 50% of their clients trained from home with leased equipment and live remote staff. That number has jumped to 75%.
"We send out brain mapping amplifiers, we have live staff do your maps with you at home, we use portable devices for training," Hill explains. They're using clinical-grade software (BioGraph) with home clients, creating what Hill calls "a very seamless process" comparable to in-office training.
This model addresses a critical access problem. Traditional neurofeedback requires dozens of sessions over months, often at considerable expense and travel burden. Home training with professional oversight maintains quality while dramatically expanding access.
The Mental Health Crisis and Peak Performance
The timing of this accessibility expansion matters. Hill notes seeing "a huge amount of post-COVID brain stuff these days," reflecting the neurological aftermath we're only beginning to understand. The pandemic didn't just create new mental health challenges—it revealed the limitations of traditional treatment approaches.
Meanwhile, high-profile cases like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka have brought mental performance into public discourse. "Is your peak performance business getting an uptick from inquiries?" the interviewer asked, touching on this mainstream awareness.
The question reflects a broader cultural shift. Peak performance isn't just for Olympic athletes anymore. Knowledge workers, executives, students, and parents are recognizing that brain state optimization isn't luxury—it's necessity.
The Science-Practice Integration Challenge
Hill's background illustrates another field challenge: the gap between academic research and clinical application. With a PhD in neuroscience and experience across addiction, autism, seizure disorders, and peak performance, he bridges multiple worlds that don't always communicate effectively.
Academic neurofeedback research often focuses on narrow protocols with specific populations under controlled conditions. Clinical practice requires adapting these protocols to individual brains with complex, overlapping challenges. Hill's approach—"I've stopped trying to specialize, instead I'll help you work with whatever brain goals you want to work with"—reflects this reality.
Looking Forward: Field Resilience
Despite the challenges—aging pioneers, shrinking practitioner numbers, ongoing skepticism from parts of mainstream medicine—the neurofeedback field shows signs of evolution rather than decline. Hill's model suggests several promising directions:
Democratization through technology: Home training with professional oversight makes neurofeedback accessible to populations previously excluded by geography or cost.
Performance focus over pathology: Framing brain training as optimization rather than treatment aligns with how people increasingly think about health—preventive, personalized, performance-oriented.
Individual-centered approaches: Moving from standardized protocols to personalized brain training based on individual goals and neurophysiology.
Integration across disciplines: Drawing from fitness, medicine, and psychology rather than operating in therapeutic silos.
The Bigger Picture
The conversation with Hill reveals a field at an inflection point. The pioneer generation established the scientific foundation and clinical frameworks. Now, a new generation is adapting these tools for a world where brain optimization is becoming mainstream necessity rather than specialized intervention.
The question isn't whether neurofeedback will survive—it's how it will evolve. Hill's model at Peak Brain Institute suggests one answer: making brain training as accessible and normalized as physical fitness, while maintaining the scientific rigor that distinguishes effective protocols from wellness trends.
As Hill puts it, "We operate outside of the therapy context... it's your lab, it's your gym, it's your spa to come check your brain out." This reframing—from medical intervention to performance resource—may be exactly what the field needs to bridge the gap between scientific potential and widespread adoption.
The pioneers laid the groundwork. The next generation is building the infrastructure for a world where brain training becomes as common as going to the gym. Given the mental health challenges we face and the performance demands of modern life, that infrastructure can't come soon enough.