Case Report: Prism for PTSD in severe traumatic brain injury with psychiatric comorbidities: two cases
Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is treatment-resistant, with conventional psychotherapy showing limited efficacy due to neurocognitive impairments. Case Summary We report two patients with severe TBI and psychiatric comorbidities treated with Prism neurofeedback. Case 1 44-year-old female, 35 years post-childhood TBI, with agoraphobia and hyperacusis, achieved 42% PTSD reduction and substantial functional gains (social reintegration, independent driving) sustained through 4-month follow-up. Case 2 40-year-old male, 3.5 years post-adult TBI with bipolar II disorder and severe PTSD (PCL-5 = 62), achieved 90% PTSD reduction with complete remission sustained at 1-month follow-up, enabling return to work and family system transformation. Both patients developed personalized regulatory strategies and maintained gains without relapse. Conclusions Prism neurofeedback demonstrates clinically meaningful outcomes in severe TBI-PTSD where traditional psychotherapy shows limited efficacy. The intervention’s circumvention of cognitive processing demands may explain the favorable outcomes. Controlled trials are warranted.
Authors
- Tal Harmelech
- Diana Ghelber
- Aron Tendler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8587-7335)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Psychiatry
- Published
- 2026-04-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1804685
- Primary Topic
- Traumatic Brain Injury Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00