|
◄ CapnoLearning® EFFICACY Does
CapnoLearning work? In regard to efficacy,
four separate questions emerge: (1)
Have changes in respiratory chemistry been clearly demonstrated to regulate
the appearance and disappearance of physical and mental symptoms and
deficits? Yes. The answers abound in pulmonary and
acid-base physiology textbooks everywhere (e.g., Levitsky, 2007). (2) Are the behavioral techniques utilized
for assessing behavior, extinguishing behaviors, and learning new behaviors
supported by the research literature?
Yes. The answers abound in
behavioral psychology textbooks everywhere (e.g., Miltenberger, 2008). (3) Are these same behavioral techniques
successful when applied to breathing behavior? Yes (e.g., Ley, 2001). And, (4) does restoring good respiration in
clients with compromised respiration ameliorate specific symptoms and
deficits? The answer is always, “it
depends.” It depends on how
compromised respiration may be playing a role in a specific client’s
presenting complaints. And thus,
learning new breathing behaviors may not help, help a little, help some of
the time, help a lot, or eliminate the problem altogether. Millions of people, worldwide, teach and learn about breathing,
but unfortunately, little of what is practiced is rooted in the textbook
sciences of pulmonary physiology (e.g., Levitsky, 2007), acid-base physiology
(e.g., Thomson, Adams, & Cowan, 1997), behavioral analysis (e.g., Leslie
2005), behavior modification (e.g., Kazdin, 2001), cognitive learning (Freeman, 2005),
biofeedback (e.g., Schwartz & Andrasik, 2003), and the psychology of
respiration (e.g., Fried, 1987, 1993).
Unfortunately, misinformation, misconceptions, pseudoscience
prescriptions, and ignorance about breathing and how it affects respiration
have predominated with little attention, if any, paid to these immensely rich
literatures and their relevance to breathing behavior. Failure to directly address breathing as
learned behavior, and how it regulates fundamental body chemistry, means
leaving out the most fundamental, practical, and profound factors that account
for (1) the far-reaching effects of maladaptive breathing habits, as well as
for (2) the surprising benefits of learning breathing behaviors that optimize
respiration. CapnoLearning represents
an effort to address this opportunity. Freeman, Arthur (Editor-in-Chief) Encyclopedia of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. New York: Plenum, 2005. Fried, R. The hyperventilation syndrome: Research
and clinical treatment. Baltimore:
John Hopkins University Press, 1987. Fried, R., & Grimaldi, J.
The Psychology and Physiology of
Breathing in Behavioral Medicine, Clinical Psychology, and Psychiatry. New York: Plenum Press, 1993. Kazdin, Alan E. Behavior Modification in Applied Settings
(Counseling). Belmont: Wadsworth
Publishing Co, 2001 (6th edition). Leslie, Julian C. Principles of Behavioural Analysis. New York: Psychology Press, 2005. Ley, R. (editor).
Respiratory psychophysiology and the modification of breathing
behavior. Behavior Modification, Special Issue (2001); 25(4): 491 - 666. Levitzky, M. G. Pulmonary Physiology. New York: McGraw Hill, 2007 (7th edition). Miltenberger, R. G. Behavior Modification: Principles and
Procedures. Pacific Grove CA:
Brooks/Cole, 2008. Schwartz, Mark S. (Editor) & Andrasik, Frank (Editor) Biofeedback: A Practitioner's Guide. New York: Guilford Press, 2003. Thomson, W. S. T., Adams, J. F., & Cowan, R. A. Clinical
Acid-Base Balance. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1997. Copyrighted by Behavioral Physiology
Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico USA |