Laurence Hirshberg, PhD
Director | Vielight
Cambridge, MA, UNITED STATES
Dr. Hirshberg is a psychology expert, specializing in autism spectrum disorder, Asperger's, and non verbal learning disorder
Biography
I have been working with kids and adults who struggle with social relationships, attention, anxiety, mood, learning, and behavior for more than 25 years. I provide traditional psychological services like assessment, individual psychotherapy, and family therapy. I also offer cutting edge treatment approaches backed by scientific research. Far too many people continue to struggle and suffer with psychological disorders despite multiple attempts to get help. So I closely follow the research on the most promising new approaches to treatment. We can sit down together and discuss your goals, and consider together what treatment approach is the right one for you.
I specialize in working with children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorder, Asperger's, and non verbal learning disorder. I offer a wide range of services for this group of clients including a summer camp, social groups, live, community-based social coaching, and biofeedback.
Neuroscience has shown that the brain is changeable, especially with repetitive practice. This finding opens new avenues for treatment through brain training. I offer several treatment approaches designed to harness the brain's amazing capacity for change. These include neurofeedback, cogmed working memory training, and our preschool ADHD program.
Industry Expertise (7)
Health Care - Providers
Mental Health Care
Education/Learning
Research
Health and Wellness
Health Care - Facilities
Health Care - Services
Areas of Expertise (3)
Asperger's
Autism
Non-Verbal Learning Disorder
Education (3)
University of Michigan: PhD, Psychology 1987
Stony Brook University: MA, Philosophy 1980
Hampshire College: BA, Social Theory 1977
Affiliations (1)
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School, Brown University: Clinical Assistant Professor
Links (3)
Articles (4)
EEG alpha asymmetry as a gender-specific predictor of outcome to acute treatment with different antidepressant medications in the randomized iSPOT-D study
Clinical Neurophysiology
2016 To determine whether EEG occipital alpha and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) distinguishes outpatients with major depression (MDD) from controls, predicts antidepressant treatment outcome, and to explore the role of gender.
A Pilot Study of Neurofeedback for Chronic PTSD
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
2016 EEG Biofeedback (also known as neurofeedback) has been in use as a clinical intervention for well over 30 years; however, it has made very little impact on clinical care. One reason for this has been the difficulty in designing research to measure clinical change in the real world. While substantial evidence exists for its efficacy in treating attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, relatively little evidence exists for its utility in other disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study represents a “proof-of-concept” pilot for the use of neurofeedback with multiply-traumatized individuals with treatment-resistant PTSD. Participants completed 40 sessions of neurofeedback training two times per week with sensors randomly assigned (by the study coordinator, who was not blind to condition) to sensor placements of either T4-P4 or T3-T4. We found that neurofeedback significantly reduced PTSD symptoms (Davidson Trauma Scale scores averaged 69.14 at baseline to 49.26 at termination), and preceded gains in affect regulation (Inventory of Altered Self-Capacities-Affect Dysregulation scores averaged 23.63 at baseline to 17.20 at termination). We discuss a roadmap for future research.
Optimizing real time fMRI neurofeedback for therapeutic discovery and development
NeuroImage
2016 While reducing the burden of brain disorders remains a top priority of organizations like the World Health Organization and National Institutes of Health, the development of novel, safe and effective treatments for brain disorders has been slow. In this paper, we describe the state of the science for an emerging technology, real time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtfMRI) neurofeedback, in clinical neurotherapeutics. We review the scientific potential of rtfMRI and outline research strategies to optimize the development and application of rtfMRI neurofeedback as a next generation therapeutic tool. We propose that rtfMRI can be used to address a broad range of clinical problems by improving our understanding of brain–behavior relationships in order to develop more specific and effective interventions for individuals with brain disorders. We focus on the use of rtfMRI neurofeedback as a clinical neurotherapeutic tool to drive plasticity in brain function, cognition, and behavior. Our overall goal is for rtfMRI to advance personalized assessment and intervention approaches to enhance resilience and reduce morbidity by correcting maladaptive patterns of brain function in those with brain disorders.
EEG analyses in the assessment of autistic disorders
Imaging the Brain in Autism
2013 Autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) are a heterogeneous group of pervasive developmental disorders including autistic disorder, Rett’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger’s disorder. Children with ASD demonstrate impairment in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and behaviors or interests (DSM-IV-TR; APA 2000). ASD may be comorbid with sensory integration difficulties, mental retardation, or seizure disorders. Children with ASD may have severe sensitivity to sounds, textures, tastes, and smells. Cognitive deficits are often associated with impaired communication skills (National Institute of Mental Health; NIMH 2006). Repetitive stereotyped behaviors, perseveration, and obsessionality, common in ASD, are associated with executive deficits. Executive dysfunction in inhibitory control and set shifting have been attributed to ASD (Schmitz et al. 2006). Seizure disorders may occur in one out of four children with ASD, frequently beginning in early childhood or adolescence (National Institute of Mental Health; NIMH 2006).