On clinical efficacy: why biofeedback does--and does not--work

Questions of clinical efficacy are becoming more prominent in this era of diminishing funds for research and clinical care, and new treatment procedures, in particular, are being rigorously scrutinized. This presents a challenge for the relatively recent field of biofeedback and applied psychophysiology. This field has a strong scientific orientation and a rapidly expanding research base, which includes many well-controlled clinical outcome studies. The point is raised, and illustrated with data from current clinical outcome studies, that it is time for a shift in emphasis away from simply piling study upon study and toward more thoughtful interpretation of experimental and clinical findings and the development of a clearer conceptual framework for biofeedback therapy and research.