Hello Everybody,
My name is Ainat Rogel and I am proud to be the new Secretary of the ISNR Board of Directors. One thing to know about me, is that I welcome collaboration and diversity between people, treatments, ideas, and even hats. I grateful to be able to combine more than one; as a researcher and a clinician, as a scientist and social worker, coming from a different culture, language, country and living in USA.
Along with Dr. Diana Martinez, we founded Boston NeuroDynamics (BND) just over a year ago. Although BND has a strong emphasis on neurofeedback (NFB). we believe in a holistic, empowering and proactive approach to treating clients. We do it by combining NFB with assessments (qEEG and ERP), biofeedback, therapy, body work and other interventions.
We are a diverse center where we work and collaborate with clients, clinicians and researchers from all over the world. We supervise and run trainings for clinicians in NFB and somehow find time to collaborate with researchers in the academia. We specialize in developmental trauma and trauma.
I have always been interested in how the brain functions, having received my BS, MA, and PhD in Computer Science, Math and Neurobiology from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. I came to M.I.T. to continue brain research as a postdoc. When my youngest child was born, I left academia to become a full-time mother for 10 years, during which I was actively involved in math, science and technology (before STEM was a thing) at our local public schools.
As my children grew up, I returned to brain-related research at Harvard-affiliated hospitals. My introduction to NFB was accidental and the result of searching for alternatives to the conventional medicine for a family member. As a brain researcher I was intrigued that NFB training works by actually changing the brain. Then during a two year stay in Israel I was able to study NFB in depth and see it in action first-hand through a collaboration with university and the Mental Health Institute researchers.
Treating people with Neurofeedback requires much more than my computer and technical systems skills, so upon returning to Boston, I went back to school and received my MSW and became a license clinician social worker. With these new skills I joined the research team at the Trauma Center at JRI, where I was introduced to developmental trauma and its impact on the individual, family and society. My research focus was the impact of NFB on both adults and children with developmental trauma.
I continue to live near Boston MA, and now after my three children are grown, I live with my husband and two rescue dogs. In my free time, I enjoy outdoor activities (weather permitted). I especially like to bike, as a daily commute and for trips, and also hike, backpack and canoe camping. For indoor activities I like to do origami, read, and sometimes, at the end of a long and intense work day, to watch chick flick movies and comedy shows.
As a clinician, on a daily basis, I see the strength of NFB in our client’s life, and want NFB to get the widespread recognition it deserves. NFB is a strong and effective tool, but like all tools we need to know how to use it. For this, more research and standardization are necessary and this requires collaboration. My message for you is to get involved and help us in our mission. Every person contributes. It makes a difference to you and to us as the NFB community. Its never too late!
Ainat Rogel, PhD, MSW, BCN, LICSW
Cofounder and codirector of Boston NeuroDynamics
1318 Beacon St. Suite #1
Brookline, MA, 02446