The History of BANA and its Founders
The Neurotherapy and Biofeedback Certification Board Association (NBCBA) was the immediate predecessor to BANA. Only professionals certified by NTCB and BCIA were allowed full membership in this group. When the Federal Trade Commission ruled that certification boards could not also be associations or be in a captive relationship with an association, NBCB gave their association to BANA.
Dr. John Gilbert was instrumental in forming the Biofeedback Association of North America in 2005 with Rod Ayers the president of Phoenix Underwriting and Bret VanLleuwen, the president of Stratus Insurance. The association was formed to provide insurance benefits for members that could no longer be provided by the Neurotherapy and Biofeedback Certification Board (NBCB).
Dr. Gilbert was previously the founder of NBCB and served as their executive director at the time. He served as the president of the Natural Therapies Certification Board (NTCB) and the Federation of Spiritual Healer Licensing Boards (FSHLB) in 2007. He is currently (2008) serving as the president of the Natural Therapies Research Board (NTRB) and is a director on the board for Envision 4 Health (E4H).
Dr. Gilbert founded the Academy of Certified Neurotherapists (ACN) in 1992 which merged with BCIA in 1995. He also founded the Neurotherapy Certification Board (NCB) in 1994 and the Peak Performance Certification Board (PPCB) in 1996 both of which merged with the Biofeedback Certification Board (BCB) to form NBCB in 2003. In 1995 he founded the QEEGT certification board which was reorganized a year later and still functions as an independent certification body.
Dr. Gilbert was also the founder and publisher of the Journal of Neurotherapy in 1994. He formed the editorial board, peer review board, was the initial managing editor and published the Journal through Eaton Publishing Company with his partner Fred Johnson. Dr. Gilbert donated the Journal to ISNR and Haworth Press two years later. The Journal of Neurotherapy is the leading publication in that industry. He recently founded the Journal of Medical Biofeedback as a peer-reviewed professional journal. He publishes that journal for the benefit of the Medical Biofeedback Association of North America.
Dr. Gilbert, Bret Van Lleuwen and Rod Ayers founded The Natural Therapies Association of North America (TNTANA) in 2008 to provide BANA-like benefits to certified and licensed professionals in acupressure, alternative therapies, aromatherapy, colon hydrotherapy, homeopathy, hypnotism, naturopathy, reflexology and spiritual healing. They also founded the Medical Biofeedback Association and Credentialing Board (MBACB) in 2008 to provide similar benefits for those professionals. It was necessary to form separate associations because of the different coverages required by these professions.
Dr. Gilbert has volunteered to discuss membership benefits with interested parties. He was one of three people who wrote the membership benefit program for the Association. You can contact him by email at drjohngilbert @ charter.net or call him on his private line at 828-669-6234. The Biofeedback Association really appreciates Dr. Gilbert donating his time and energy to answer your questions about the benefits of belonging to the Biofeedback Association of North America. He has no financial interest in any of the above organizations and receives no remuneration from any of them.