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 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.

Alisa Pillai is a licensed master social worker with a degree from New York University. Her career as a social worker was predicated by her role teaching in New York City, working with children and young adults on the Autism Spectrum. Through her work in the school setting she decided to pursue social work after realizing she wanted to better serve families and the community outside of the school setting.

At NYU Alisa was accepted into the competitive Adaptive Leadership Fellowship Program where students learn how to bring needed change to organizations and communities. Alisa’s focus was on macro and non profit social work, and interned at the New York City Department of Education.

Alisa is a certified DIR Floortime practitioner, a specialized treatment for children with ASD, and trained in Dialectical & Cognitive Behavioral therapy. She has provided clinical services in both inpatient & outpatient settings, schools, and clinics throughout the tri-state area. She continues to be involved with Fast Feet NYC, a non-profit bringing athletics and health and wellness to the ASD community in NYC.

Alisa hopes to combine her knowledge and experience with the proven success of Neurofeedback and qEEG diagnostics, to better support the ASD community.

Jason joins Gray Matters as an expert in sports medicine and published researcher on concussion. He serves as an adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University, where he teaches courses specific to the neuropathology of head and spine injuries. Jason is the founder of the Fairchester Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, sits on the Advisory Board of Pink Concussions, and serves on the board of the New England Private School Athletic Conference Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

Jason started the first formal Concussion Management Programs in Connecticut. He has been involved in various aspects of concussion research, including the introduction of QEEG baselining for student athletes. Subsequent to his research, Jason published numerous papers on concussion, especially his work related to gender differences in sports-related concussions.

As an experienced QEEG and neurofeedback clinician, Jason plans to lead Gray Matters’ efforts related to QEEG and the athletic community.

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.

Hope Burnaman holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science from the University of Connecticut. Her main focuses in school were cognitive psychology, cognitive anthropology, and neuroscience. After graduation Hope joined the Peace Corps and lived in Madagascar as a health volunteer. She spent time working with the Malagasy communities, with a focus on their developmental and mental health.

With her return to the United States, Hope worked as a sensory motor and cognitive coach for Brain Balance. Hope joins Gray Matters to broaden her understanding of physiological psychology and as a neurofeedback clinician.

Oakley is an aspiring therapy puppy, hoping to graduate top of his class (canus cum laude). Oakley loves everyone (especially children) and is often the first member of the team you will meet. When not licking faces, he is generally asleep.

Oakley’s hobbies include swimming, fetching balls and sticks, and sleeping. He is currently eating his first book.