About our Center

The NeuroDevelopment Center is a private multi-disciplinary center dedicated to providing traditional and innovative assessment and intervention options for individuals with neurologically based difficulties in their lives. We work with children and adults who have problems with attention, anxiety, mood, social relatedness, learning, and behavior. Our Center is friendly, fun, and professional.

Neuroscience and Innovation

The last decade has seen an explosion in knowledge about brain function, due primarily to the use of new technologies that permit us to see the brain at work. At the NeuroDevelopment Center, we closely monitor new findings from neuroscience and carefully evaluate new clinical methods arising out of these findings.

The role of scientific research

We recognize the need for scientific proof of the effectiveness of clinical techniques and methods, and carefully evaluate the scientific foundation and validation for the treatment approaches we offer. However, we also realize that conclusive scientific validation of clinical methods is a very time consuming process, and often takes decades to complete. For this reason, we do offer as an option to our clients some innovative methods that have shown unusual promise in preliminary research and clinical trials. We realize that many people do not want to wait until multiple large studies of a new treatment option are complete, as long as the method is safe and initial studies or clinical experience shows benefit. For this reason, when our study of the literature and others' clinical experience persuades us that an innovative method offers significant advantages over existing methods, or that this method represents a valuable option for clients to consider when making choices about intervention, we make it available to our clients.

Our approach to intervention

Decades of research has made it clear that every aspect of our psychological functioning is shaped both by biological factors (genetics, brain function, nutrition, and a variety of other factors) and by our experiences - at home in the family, at school, at work, with friends. These two types of influence interact in complex ways: our experience affects the brain and body and our brains and bodies influence our experience.

At the NeuroDevelopment Center, we are committed to carefully considering all of these factors in understanding the challenges and difficulties our clients face and in devising intervention plans to make for positive change.

For this reason, our approach to intervention is eclectic. We make use of strategies from cognitive behavioral psychology, psychodynamic psychology, attachment theory, systems or family therapy, and other developmental approaches.  We also make use of various forms of biofeedback as an adjunct to psychotherapy, and as a primary form of intervention in some instances.

The NeuroDevelopment Center is located in Suite 210 of the West Exchange Center at 260 West Exchange Street in Providence, RI. Telephone: 401 351-7779.

The Role of Electroencephalographic Biofeedback in Evidence Based Treatment of ADHD

There is a considerable body of research evidence showing the effectiveness of neurofeedback, also called EEG biofeedback or neurotherapy for ADHD. Dr. Hirshberg was recently asked to contribute an editorial to an international neurology journal called Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics on the place of EEG biofeedback in evidence based treatment of ADHD. This editorial was published in April 2007 and is available for download by clicking here.

WE HAVE MOVED!!!

Effective May 6, 2007, we have moved to our new quarters within the West Exchange Center. Our new home is Suite 210. We have a private entrance from the main outdoor courtyard on Cedar Street. Our new facility occupies 3800 square feet and features an expanded biofeedback and mental fitness training center, containing 15 training stations with state of the art biofeedback and computerized mental fitness training equipment. Seven psychotherapy offices surround the central waiting space with exposed structural steel and wood beams overhead and a beautiful two-sided brick fireplace. The waiting room doubles as a multi-media presentation center to host our regular talks as well as occasional special workshops and presentations. A quality sound system will provide an eclectic range of music to enjoy while you wait.