Often, neurofeedback can help people “get out of the groove”; it can help break undesirable established mental or behavioral patterns. A lot of the syndromes above are self-reinforcing: by satisfying an addiction, it becomes stronger, and succumbing to anxiety makes the world seem even scarier, also strengthening the pattern. Neurofeedback can help break such cycles by providing reinforcement for ‘normal’ function.

In the case of depression, there can be a gradual recovery of "affect", or emotional responsiveness, and a reduction in effort fatigue. Clients suffering from panic attacks or anxiety tend to experience a gradual improvement in their ability to regulate or control their attacks. Furthermore, both severity and frequency of anxiety episodes and panic attacks reduces until the condition normalizes.

In ADHD clients, impulsivity, distractibility, and hyperactivity may all respond to training. This can drastically improve school performance for children. Cognitive function, measured as raw IQ score, may improve as well: three controlled clinical studies found average increases of 10, 19, and 23 IQ points for representative groups of ADHD children.

Maladaptive behavior, especially in children, can change in other ways as well. Temper tantrums, aggression, cruelty, or violence are all aspects of behavior that may experience reduction or become better controllable by the child.

Likewise, neurofeedback therapy of epilepsy clients tends to cause a similar reduction in both frequency and severity of seizures. In agreement with the referring neurologist, the dosage of anticonvulsant medication may ultimately be reduced, which in turn usually leads to a reduction of its side effects.