About Us - Gray Matters

About Gray Matters

Anthony Silver

Director, MS, MA, LMFT, BCN, QEEG-D

Anthony Silver is the founder and executive director of Gray Matters. He is a highly experienced psychotherapist, and is board certified in both neurofeedback and functional brain imaging (qEEG). He is one of only a handful of clinicians in the U.S. awarded Diplomate status by the International QEEG Certification Board.

Anthony has played a pioneering role in the integration of functional brain imaging (qEEG) in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, making Gray Matters a regional center for treatment and research. Under his direction, Gray Matters has made over 10,000 brain recordings, showing the distinct functional profiles of a range of issues, including ADHD, Anxiety. PTSD and Concussion – with significant implications for the way such issues can be diagnosed and treated.

He has successfully treated thousands of children and adults with both neurofeedback and psychotherapy. He has been a guest lecturer at various universities, been published in numerous publications and he has made many appearances on TV. He assisted in the development of the Network Injury Index; a revolutionary brain imaging tool that allows for the accurate assessment and tracking of concussion. He is actively involved in Gray Matters’ current research, developing improved technology for concussion baseline and post-injury assessment.

Anthony is the author of Making the Invisible Visible (available mid 2020), which describes how functional brain imaging radically changes our approach to diagnosis and treatment. He is also a contributing author in Dr. Audrey Paul’s 2020 book: Concussion – Your Game Plan to Recovery.

Anthony Silver:

“My goal with Gray Matters is to use neuroscience to transform the way we approach mental health. Modern brain imaging allows us to see and measure brain activity, revolutionizing the way we diagnose and treat mental health issues. Our mission is to use these tools to bring diagnosis and treatment into the 21st century; to make confident diagnoses based on measured brain function, rather than symptoms alone, and to improve brain function to make these diagnoses obsolete.

I am passionate about changing the narrative with mental disorders, especially with children. Too many children are labelled with a disorder, which then becomes part of their identity – and a statement of their limited potential. Our knowledge of neuroplasticity, and our ability to harness it as a force for change, makes such labelling outmoded. I am proud of our success in transforming the lives of thousands of children and adults, empowering them with the possibility of change.”

Dr. Audrey Paul

MD PhD FAAP FACEP
Medical Director and Founder, Advanced Concussion Solutions LLC

Dr. Paul is trained in both pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine. She received her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Harvard College, and completed her medical and residency training at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in NYC. She completed her fellowship training in pediatric emergency medicine at Columbia Presbyterian and is double-boarded in pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine.

Dr. Paul has lectured extensively to youth sports organizations in the tri-state area and has given medical grand rounds regarding concussion diagnosis and management. She is the recipient of a grant from the American College of Emergency Physicians to evaluate the quality of nationwide discharge instructions for pediatric concussion in pediatric and adult emergency departments. She has also served as the past chair of the pediatric emergency medicine section for the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and is currently the chancellor for the ACEP Pediatric Emergency Medicine Committee. Dr. Paul is PALS, BLS, and ACLS certified and a credentialed ImPACT® consultant. On a personal note, Dr. Paul lives in Westport CT with her husband and 2 children, both of whom play ice hockey.

Dr. Paul’s recent publication, Concussion – Your Game Plan for Recovery – For Parents, Practitioners, and Patients provides a detailed discussion of the most current concussion definition, diagnostic testing options, and treatment plans.

James Cooney

MS, LCSW

James Cooney holds a Master of Social Work Degree from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 30 years of experience in the treatment of addictive disorders. Other areas of clinical specialty include Marital and Couples therapy, the treatment of developmental trauma, anxiety and depressive disorders, ADHD, and anger management in adolescents and adults.

He is trained in Schema-Focused Cognitive Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy. He has provided clinical services in both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric clinics, community health centers and in his private psychotherapy practice. He also currently provides supportive counseling services to psychiatrically compromised High School students in a local public-school system.

James entered the field of neurofeedback almost 20 years ago, working with the most experienced and pioneering clinicians throughout this time, honing his expertise as the field evolved. He has served as member of the Executive Board of the North East Regional Biofeedback Society and chaired their education committee. He is an active member of both the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback as well as the International Society for Neurofeedback and Research.

His current research interests include the use of Neurofeedback in the school setting to assist struggling learners and in assisting successful recovery for individuals with substance use disorders.

Corey Toby

MS, LCSW

Corey Toby is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a clinical focus on trauma, anxiety, depression, relational conflicts and life-transitions. He currently holds a Masters of Social Work from Columbia University with a concentration in Advanced Clinical Practice. He also is in pursuit to become a Board-Certified Neurofeedback Clinician having completed his 36-hour BCIA Didactic Course with Stress Therapy Solutions.

His expertise includes adapting Cognitive Behavior Therapy, along with trauma-informed practice to help clients heal from emotional pain, improve symptom reduction and increase total sense of well-being. He has worked with many adults, couples, adolescents, and families to identify and target underlying issues that cause disruptions within relationships, work, school and home. He is also eager to help clients experiencing spiritual declension through Christian Counseling, while remaining respectfully sensitive to clients no matter their religious or nonreligious background.

Corey has clinical experience providing psychotherapy in a number of mental health outpatient facilities, day and residential treatment centers, while collaborating with various treatment providers to increase greatest patient success outcomes. He joined the Gray Matters team in June 2019 and is currently accepting new clients in Westport, CT.

Emma Hart

Emma Hart holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Connecticut. Her coursework focused on physiological psychology, developmental psychology, and abnormal psychology. Emma’s academic interests honed in on the intersection of neuroscience and the developing brain. While completing her undergraduate degree, she was accepted as a member of Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, and graduated as a UConn Babbidge scholar.

Emma has a background in researching the connection between family dynamics and personality. She plans to pursue post-graduate education in Mental Health Counseling, to advance her career using talk-therapy in conjunction with Neurofeedback to enhance therapeutic successes. She finds working with adolescents to be particularly rewarding, and joined Gray Matters in 2019 to begin her career working with clients.

Denise Nelligan

Denise Nelligan MA, MS, graduated from Boston University with honors bachelor’s degrees in psychology and magazine journalism. Before graduate school, she worked as a research assistant at MacLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School exploring personality disorders in individuals whose parent(s) struggle with addiction disorders. While seeking a master’s degree in psychology at Connecticut College, Denise’s thesis research focused on the increased perception of pain levels in individuals suffering from depression. She continued in clinical psychology at Fordham University with research exploring alternative therapies for adolescent girls, and worked with the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in Maine and the Outward Bound program at Thompson Island in Boston to examine the consolidation of core self-concept that occurs during wilderness programs.

Denise is an experienced psychotherapist who worked at several university counseling centers, including NYU, Fordham, SUNY – Purchase, and UMass Amherst, doing individual and group therapy, psychological testing, and supervising graduate externs. She taught psychology for nearly 20 years at colleges in New York City, Boston, and Connecticut, and has more than a decade of experience managing non-profit organizations. She volunteers consulting time to The Youth Mental Health Project™, whose mission she is passionate about, and is a trained facilitator for their Parent Support Network™. Denise joined Gray Matters in September, 2020 to return to direct clinical work.

Clinical Expertise

CBT is a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving. Its goal is to change patterns of thinking or behavior that are behind people’s difficulties, and so change the way they feel.

DBT is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy. Its main goals are to teach people how to live in the moment, cope healthily with stress, regulate emotions, and improve relationships with others.

Trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy or counseling that aims at addressing the needs of children and adolescents with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other difficulties related to traumatic life events. The goal of TF-CBT is to provide psychoeducation to both the child and caregivers and help them to identify and cope with emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

Psychoeducation is an evidence-based therapeutic intervention for patients and their loved ones that provides information and support to better understanding and coping.

Schema-Focused Cognitive Therapy is an integrative approach to treatment that combines the best aspects of cognitive-behavioral, experiential, interpersonal and psychoanalytic therapies into one unified model.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a short-term form of psychotherapy that helps you identify self-defeating thoughts and feelings, challenge the rationality of those feelings, and replace them with healthier, more productive beliefs. REBT focuses mostly on the present time to help you understand how unhealthy thoughts and beliefs create emotional distress which, in turn, leads to unhealthy actions and behaviors that interfere with your current life goals. Once identified and understood, negative thoughts and actions can be changed and replaced with more positive and productive behavior, allowing you to develop more successful personal and professional relationships.