
Biofeedback Rehabilitation Research
At NYU Langone’s Rusk Rehabilitation, Sonya Kim, PhD, CRC, BCB, is considered a pioneer of heart rate variability in traumatic brain injury.
Dr. Kim’s research interests include cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic traumatic brain injury, and mechanisms and interventions that help rehabilitate functioning after sustaining a brain injury.
Board-certified in biofeedback, Dr. Kim is using heart rate variability biofeedback to improve emotional regulation for people with severe and chronic brain injuries. This work integrates psychophysiology biofeedback into behavioral training techniques to improve the lives of individuals with significant, long-term brain injury. By using physical memory to enhance self-regulation, this training technique teaches people with serious learning and memory problems to gain control over emotional dysregulation.
Dr. Kim is also investigating the effects external factors on patient self-regulation. Specifically, Dr. Kim is interested in the family response to a patient’s condition and how that response impacts quality of life for both patient and caregiver. Dr. Kim developed an instrument to quantify post-traumatic growth in caregiving partners of people with MS and is in the process of validating this instrument for other populations, including acquired brain injuries. Dr. Kim recently received a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) under the Switzer Research Fellowship to support this work.
Recent Publications
Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback for Mental Health Treatment: A Policy Brief
Policy insights from the behavioral & brain sciences. 2023 Mar 01; 10:90-95
The Impact of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Scoping Review
Journal of head trauma rehabilitation. 2023 Jan-Feb 01; 38:E33-E43
Perceptions and use of complementary and integrative health practices among rehabilitation professionals: A survey
European journal of integrative medicine. 2022 Oct 01; 55:?-?
An overview of systematic reviews on the pharmacological randomized controlled trials for reducing intracranial pressure after traumatic brain injury
Brain injury. 2022 Jun 16; 1-12
The Utopia of Disability Inclusion in the Rehabilitation Sciences: An Insider's Perspective
Journal of allied health. 2022 Dec ; 51:285-291
Complementary and integrative medicine
[S.l.] : Springer Publishing Company, 2021. p.1185-1206. (5369002)
Measuring personal growth in partners of persons with multiple sclerosis: A new scale
Rehabilitation psychology. 2020 Aug ; 65:219-230
Using a Survey to Characterize Rehabilitation Professionals' Perceptions and Use of Complementary, Integrative, and Alternative Medicine
Journal of alternative & complementary medicine. 2020 Aug ; 26:663-665