Clinical Associates

Laura Brash, MFT

Laura Brash is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who has been with Dr. Shakir’s practice since 2007. She holds an Honors MA in French and German Language and Literature from Glasgow University in Scotland, and an MA in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University. She works with adult individuals and couples and with older adolescents. She has experience of helping people with a broad range of issues, including depression, stress and anxiety, bipolar disorder, substance dependence, relationship problems, trauma, and grief and loss. She integrates techniques from different treatment modalities, and is flexible in her approach. She has advanced training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and combines it with Mindfulness. She is also trained in EMDR.

Born in Scotland, Ms. Brash has lived and worked in a number of countries and cultures, and understands the challenges of immigration and assimilation. Before becoming a psychotherapist, she worked in education and in technology development, which allows her particular insight into work-related issues.

Ms. Brash speaks Spanish, French and German.

Melissa Da Ponte, MFTi

Program Coordinator for Silicon Valley CMWL

Jess Ghannam, PhD, QME, D.O.

Dr. Jess Ghannam is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. He received his PhD, MA, and MSc from the University of California, Berkeley and completed his Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Stanford University. Dr. Ghannam is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and also a Qualified Medical Evaluator for the State of California. He has worked and published extensively with people who are suffering from PTSD and other traumatic events. He is a leader in developing wellness-based, multi-disciplinary treatment programs for individuals with chronic pain and other chronic illnesses. Dr. Ghannam is a certified neurofeedback clinician and provides medication-free treatment for ADD/ADHD, mild traumatic brain injury, PTSD, sleep disorders, anxiety, and some forms of chronic pain. Dr. Ghannam also specializes in performing forensic behavioral evaluations for injured workers and other legal contexts.

 Catherine F. Haas MS, RD 

Catherine is certified by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as a registered dietitian. She received her B.S. from Pepperdine University in Nutritional Science and graduated with honors. As an undergraduate she was recognized as the “Outstanding Student in Nutritional Science” for her graduating cohort. Catherine finished her M.S. degree at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. She also completed her dietetic internship at Tufts Medical Center, a large academic medical center in Boston, Massachusetts. While studying on the East Coast she was recognized as the top dietetic intern in Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Dietetic Association. As a Bay Area native she is excited to be back in California and working with Silicon Valley TMS. 

 Ali Hashemian, Ph.D., CEO 

Ali Hashemian is the President and CEO of American College of Behavioral Medicine, Inc. which owns and operates the five Attention and Achievement Centers located in the San Francisco- San Jose metropolitan markets. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Brain Science International, a leading provider to clinics worldwide of EEG/qEEG/ERP analysis, interpretation and Neurotherapy recommendation as well as educational seminars and workshops teaching QEEG Brain Mapping, EEG Neurotherapy and neuroscience to doctors and clinicians worldwide.

Under his supervision, Attention and Achievement Center has provided diagnostic evaluations, QEEG recording and interpretation and non-medication based interventions including Neurofeedback (EEG Neurofeedback), Auditory Integration Training, Sensory Integrations training and coaching to thousands of clients over the past decade.

He has completed the Hearing Conservation Certification program at Portland State University, and also has completed the Professional Program in Neuropsychological Assessment from the University of California at Berkeley. He has received several hundred hours of continuing education and training in child and adolescent psychiatric disorders from Harvard Medical School, and has completed the intensive course in Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation at Harvard.

He is a Certified Berard Practitioner, as well as a Certified Solisten (by Tomatis) System provider and an Associate of the International Association of Registered Certified Tomatis Consultants. He serves on the Board of Directors of Internationional Society For Neurofeedback Reserach (ISNR) and is President Elect of California Biofeedback Society.

Timothy Weidner, MFT

Tim Weidner is a licensed MFT who has been with Dr. Shakir's office for over 10 years working with and counseling clients. He graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Psychology from James Madison University in 1994 and earned his M.A. in Counseling Psychology in 1999 from Santa Clara University.

He is licensed by the state of California as a Marriage and Family Therapist with a focus on providing psychotherapy to individuals and families. He has a special interest in the treatment of teenagers and the difficulties that they encounter.

Jay Gunkelman, QEEGD

Jay Gunkelman, QEEG Diplomate, is recognized as one of the top leaders in the field of EEG and QEEG, and has processed over 500,000 EEGs since 1972. He has served as president of The International Society for Neurofeedback and Research, as well as a board member and treasurer of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback and is a past-president of the Biofeedback Society of California. Jay was the first EEG technologist to be certified in QEEG (1996) and was granted Diplomate status in 2002. He has conducted, published or participated in hundreds of research papers, articles, books and meetings internationally. He continues to lecture on EEG/QEEG at neuroscience meetings worldwide. He has co-authored the textbook on EEG artifacting (2001). Jay remains busy with current projects and publications related to his seminal paper on EEG endophenotypes (2005, Clinical Electroencephalography). He is co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Brain Science International and is a popular lecturer worldwide on the topic of QEEG and phenotype identification of neurological disorders.

John Misa, Ph.D.

John Misa, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist. He graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from UCLA and earned his M.A. in Psychology from Pepperdine University. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Pacific Graduate School of Psychology/Palo Alto University in 2013. Dr. Misa has training and experience providing individual and group therapy as well as psychological and neuropsychological assessments to the adult population. Dr. Misa also has experience providing behavioral intervention and consultation to patients diagnosed with developmental disabilities such as Autism. In addition, he has worked with elderly patients diagnosed with Dementia and other cognitive impairments. He has been involved in a variety of clinical settings which include working at the Stanford Depression Research clinic, Stanford Schizophrenia clinic, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Portia Bell Hume Mental Health Center and Fremont Hospital. He has a particular interest in working with adults with Depression, Bipolar Disorder and Anxiety. He is very proud to be a member of the integrated clinical Neurosciences team to provide the best care for our patients.

Gregory Alter, Ph.D.

Gregory Alter, Ph.D. is a California-licensed psychologist and marriage and family therapist. He is board certified in clinical health psychology and in general biofeedback and neurofeedback. He has over 30 years of experience in the use of biofeedback to enhance attention and performance, as well as integrating diverse approaches from both biofeedback and the psychology of health and well-being. In addition, Dr. Alter offers educational assessments and psychotherapy. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the National Register of Healthcare Providers in Psychology and the American Board of Professional Psychology. Dr. Alter is also a managing director of NeuroAdvantage, LLC, founded in 2004 and specializing in the clinical integration of light and sound neuromodulation, neurofeedback and biofeedback. He has also worked with the Attention & Achievement Center for over 10 years, providing clinical supervision and training in psychophysiology. He is an interpretative diagnostician for BSI.