Morgan O. Smith Explains the Differences, Complementary Strengths, and Integration of Brainwave Entrainment and Neurofeedback in Mental Wellness Practice
Toronto, Canada — Sept 2025 — As the mental health field embraces new approaches to emotional regulation, focus, and stress reduction, two related but distinct methods are drawing attention: brainwave entrainment and neurofeedback training. In a new report, meditation facilitator and neurofeedback practitioner Morgan O. Smith unpacks what sets these modalities apart—and how they can work hand in hand to support personal growth and healing.
Brainwave entrainment uses external rhythmic stimuli—like binaural beats, pulsing lights, or tactile vibrations—to guide the brain’s electrical activity toward desired frequency ranges. The principle is simple: the brain tends to synchronize with repeated patterns, offering a gentle, noninvasive way to encourage relaxation, focus, or sleep states.
Neurofeedback training, by contrast, is an interactive process where brain activity is measured in real time (typically via EEG), analyzed, and fed back to the user through audio, visual, or tactile cues. This feedback allows individuals to learn to regulate their brain states consciously, supporting self-awareness and long-term change.
Morgan O. Smith comments:
“Think of entrainment as an invitation—it’s an external rhythm you can choose to follow. Neurofeedback is a conversation—a dynamic learning process between you and your brain. Used together, they can become a complete system for self-regulation and personal transformation.”
Entrainment can serve as an accessible, cost-effective introduction to brain-state modulation. It helps users experience relaxed alpha or meditative theta states without complex equipment or training. Neurofeedback, on the other hand, is typically delivered in professional or guided settings with individualized protocols, targeting specific issues like anxiety, ADHD, trauma, or peak performance.
Used in combination, the two methods can reinforce and accelerate outcomes:
- Entrainment as Priming: Gentle audio or light entrainment can relax the nervous system before neurofeedback sessions.
- Between-Session Support: Clients can use entrainment tracks at home to sustain and reinforce the gains from professional neurofeedback.
- Enhanced Self-Regulation: Entrainment familiarizes users with target states, making it easier to recognize and maintain them during neurofeedback.
- Accessibility and Affordability: Entrainment offers a scalable, low-cost practice for daily use, complementing the precision of clinical neurofeedback.
- Broader Integration: Combining both approaches empowers users to develop both passive relaxation skills and active self-awareness.
Morgan O. Smith emphasizes that while each modality can stand alone, their integration reflects a modern, holistic approach to mental health—one that empowers individuals to understand and influence their brain states safely and effectively.
In the corporate world, this combined approach can offer professionals a genuine competitive edge. The high-pressure demands of modern business require not just technical skills but mental agility, emotional resilience, and creative problem-solving. Brainwave entrainment can help employees quickly transition from stress to focus before key meetings or presentations, while neurofeedback develops long-term self-regulation, emotional intelligence, and peak-performance states. Together, these tools give professionals the ability to manage stress on demand, think more creatively, maintain calm under pressure, and lead with clarity—advantages that can transform both individual careers and organizational cultures.
About Morgan O. Smith
Morgan O. Smith is a meditation facilitator, neurofeedback practitioner, and founder of Yinnergy Technologies®. He’s also the co-founder of KeMor Centre for Innovative Development and Executive Director of Bodhi Mental Care & Wellness. For over two decades, he has explored the intersection of contemplative practice, brainwave science, and accessible mental wellness training. His work emphasizes empowering people to understand and transform their mental states using both ancient wisdom and modern technology.
Morgan O. Smith
bodhi@morganosmith.blog
www.bodhicare.org
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