Our Team

Thomas M. Brod, M.D.

Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
Voluntary Clinical Faculty to Associate Clinical Professor (Psychiatry), UCLA Geffen School of Medicine (1976-2023)

Thomas M. Brod, M.D. graduated from the University of California, Berkeley (English), and received his medical degree from the University of Southern California. After serving in the Indian Health Service of the U.S. Public Health Service, he was selected into the National Institute of Mental Health Career Development Program, and was sponsored by NIMH during his residency and fellowship at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute (Psychiatry).

Trained in classical and contemporary psychoanalytic models, and Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, Dr. Brod is a graduate of the Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Institute. Dr. Brod was an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA until 2023. Board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology, is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Sr. Fellow of the Biofeedback Certifying Institute of America, and he maintains professional membership in national and local societies for medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, hypnosis, biofeedback and neurofeedback. Dr. Brod is also a certified yoga instructor and has been a volunteer teacher at his local YMCA.

About My Practice

As a psychiatrist with a specialty practice in both psychoanalytic treatment and neurofeedback I am dedicated to upholding the ethical ideals of the many professional organizations to which I belong.  In essence, I strive to keep my knowledge of the fields I am involved with up-to-date; every patient has the privilege of privacy and confidentiality; the fee-for-service arrangement is an implied contract that makes clear what the doctor is paid and that no patient will be exploited in any way.  Fees often have psychological complexity and may need to be discussed together on more than one occasion. Boundary issues are important for all practitioners, particularly in psychological treatments; I bear the primary responsibility for ensuring that healthy boundaries are maintained so that the treatment will remain protected especially when complex emotional, sexual, and psychological issues emerge.

For more information regarding the full range of my practice visit my site at UCLA by clicking here.

Petra Schwarzwald

Petra Schwarzwald is a specialized biofeedback trainer.  She has studied multiple forms of self-regulation training including heart-rate variability, yoga breathing, biofeedback and several forms of EEG neurofeedback.  She has been associated with Dr. Brod since 2005.  She is a certified yoga instructor (kundalini) and has taught in Europe and the United States since 1995.

Laura DiBiagio

M.A. Transpersonal Psychology

Laura DiBiagio is a biofeedback and neurofeedback therapist who specialized in applied psychophysiology.

She offers brainwave training sessions based on EEG patterns of activation, integrated with heart rate modulation and enhanced by magnetic/visual stimulation.

She is experienced in Quantitative Electroencephalogram (QEEG), Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Neuromodulation, and certified by the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance in EEG. She has been a yoga practitioner for over 20 years and taught traditional Sivanada yoga at the Advaita Yoga Ashram.

As a graduate of the ‘School for the Work’ of Byron Katie, she is a facilitator of the self-inquiry process for groups and individuals.