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THE BRAINMATTERS EXPERIENCE
THE BRAINMATTERS EXPERIENCE
Understanding the impact of brain injury through personalized treatment
Recovery from a brain injury is about more than physical healing. It also means learning skills to rebuild independence, confidence, and connection. Our services and programs provide personalized guidance and practical tools to support daily functioning and meaningful engagement at home, work or school, and in the community.
At BrainMatters, our team-oriented approach to assessment, psychotherapy, managing problem behaviors, and skill-building relies on science-backed strategies proven to work. For complex care needs, we have specialized expertise working with persons who are:
in a coma or have trouble staying awake and/or interacting with their loved ones and surroundings
unable to communicate
in a confused state (for example, delirium)
unable to safely perform everyday tasks without assistance
We also can help address the challenges that may negatively affect relationships and make it difficult to return to school, work or independent living. For these higher-level needs, we have significant experience developing interventions for:
changes in thinking skills such as attention, memory, problem-solving
post concussion symptom management
managing mood-related issues
behavior problems that interfere with daily life
caregivers in need of resources to reduce stress and burnout and to support their own self-care
BrainMatters is committed to helping persons with brain injury recover their thinking and abilities to the fullest extent possible and to making things easier for their caregivers. Our mission is to support each person’s vision of living well with brain injury.
Our Team
Our Team
Amy Shapiro-Rosenbaum, Ph.D., ABPP, FACRM
Amy Shapiro-Rosenbaum, Ph.D., ABPP, FACRM
Amy Shapiro-Rosenbaum, Ph.D., ABPP, FACRM is a clinical psychologist and board certified clinical neuropsychologist who has been helping people with brain injuries and their caregivers for over 20 years. She is director of the inpatient brain injury rehabilitation program at Park Terrace Care Center in Queens, New York. She is also a research investigator for the New York Traumatic Brain Injury Model System and adjunct faculty for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Long concerned about the relative lack of specialized outpatient services, she co-founded BrainMatters Neuropsychological Services with Dr. Jaffe in 2016 to improve access to high-quality community-based care for those affected by brain injury.
Dr. Shapiro-Rosenbaum has helped develop evidence-based practice recommendations for the field of cognitive rehabilitation and to improve care standards for specialty brain injury rehabilitation programs. She has written textbooks and been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Her clinical and research interests include coma and other disorders of consciousness (DoC), delirium and other confusional states, cognitive rehabilitation and psychotherapy after brain injury. Her work has been presented at professional trainings and conferences around the world.
Dr. Shapiro-Rosenbaum also holds leadership roles within the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), serving as Co-Chair of the Cognitive Rehabilitation Training Faculty and of the Brain Injury Special Interest Group Cognitive Rehabilitation Task Force. Within the DoC Task Force, she is responsible for overseeing a range of knowledge translation efforts. For both task forces, she leads global and national initiatives to create educational resources for both consumers and brain injury professionals.
Michelle P. Jaffe, Ph.D.
Michelle P. Jaffe, Ph.D.
Dr. Michelle P. Jaffe is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than two decades of experience working with adolescents and adults across outpatient, medical, and rehabilitation settings. Her approach is collaborative, practical, and evidence-based, drawing on both clinical psychology and neuropsychology to support emotional well-being, cognitive functioning, and adaptive coping across a wide range of life circumstances.
Motivated by a commitment to expanding access to specialized community-based care, Dr. Jaffe co-founded BrainMatters Neuropsychological Services, PLLC in 2016 with Dr. Shapiro-Rosenbaum. BrainMatters is an outpatient private practice established to bridge gaps in neuropsychological services and to provide comprehensive, coordinated, and compassionate care for individuals, families, and caregivers affected by brain injury and related conditions. Dr. Jaffe’s clinical work is grounded in a focus on stress and resilience, mood and anxiety-related concerns, life transitions, and the intersection of cognitive and emotional functioning. She has particular interest in supporting individuals navigating challenges associated with neurological injury and medical illness, including their impact on cognition, adjustment, and overall well-being. Her practice includes psychotherapy, neuropsychological assessment, and cognitive rehabilitation.
In addition to her private practice, Dr. Jaffe consults at Park Terrace Care Center, an inpatient brain injury rehabilitation program, where she works with individuals recovering from neurological injuries. In this setting, she focuses on assessment, treatment planning, and therapeutic interventions that support psychological adjustment, cognitive recovery, and functional independence.
Dr. Jaffe also serves as Senior Psychologist at the United States Merchant Marine Academy through a clinical partnership with North Shore University Hospital, where she provides clinical services, crisis intervention, and mental health education.
Dr. Jaffe’s research and publications focus on psychological recovery, caregiver support, and the impact of brain injury on behavior and quality of life. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the New School for Social Research, holds master’s degrees in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University, and received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Select Publications
Shapiro-Rosenbaum, A. Supporting the Invisible patient: A framework for caregiver education in disorders of consciousness. Brain Injury Professional. June 2026
Shapiro-Rosenbaum A, Jaffe MP. Education, training, and support across the continuum of recovery for caregivers of persons with disorders of consciousness. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2024 Feb;35(1):193-208. doi: 10.1016/j.pmr.2023.06.015. Epub 2023 Jul 19. PMID: 37993189
Dave, S., Jaffe, M.P., O’Shea, D., Fisher, M. (2024). Navigating college campuses: The impact of stress on mental health & substance use in the post-Covid-19 era. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 54 (5).
Shapiro-Rosenbaum, A., Giacino, J., Johnson, S., Hammond, F., Greenwald, B, Murtaugh, B. (2023). A family and caregiver guide to rehabilitation programs for individuals with disorders of consciousness (DoC). https://msktc.org/tbi/factsheets/family-caregiver-guide-selecting-rehabilitation-programs-persons-disorders Developed in collaboration with the TBI Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center
Murtaugh B., Shapiro-Rosenbaum A. (co-first authors) (2023). Clinical application of recommendations for neurobehavioral assessment in disorders of consciousness: an interdisciplinary approach. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Jul 12;17:1129466. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1129466 PMID: 37502093; PMCID: PMC10368884.
Eberle, R. & Shapiro-Rosenbaum, A. (Eds). (2022) Cognitive rehabilitation 2nd edition manual and textbook: Translating evidence-based recommendations into practice.
Shapiro-Rosenbaum, A. M. and Ganci, K. (2022). Principles of cognitive rehabilitation. In: Eberle, R. & Rosenbaum, A. (Eds.) Cognitive rehabilitation 2nd edition manual and textbook: Translating evidence-based recommendations into practice.
Shapiro-Rosenbaum, A.M., Yi, A., Wethe, J. (2022). Rehabilitation for attention impairments. In: Eberle, R. & Rosenbaum, A. (Eds.) Cognitive rehabilitation 2nd edition manual and textbook: Translating evidence-based recommendations into practice.
Giacino, JT, Whyte, J, Nakase-Richardson, R, Katz, D.I, Arciniegas, D.B, Blum, S, Day, K, Greenwald, B.D., Hammond, F.M, Pape, T.B, Rosenbaum, A, et al. (2020). Minimal competency recommendations for programs that provide rehabilitation services for persons with disorders of consciousness: A position statement of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Traumatic Brain Injury Model System. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 101:1072-1089.
Sherer, M., Katz, D.I., Bodien, Y.G., Arciniegas, D.B., Block, C., Blum, S., Doiron, M., Frey, K., Giacino, J.T., Graf, M.J.P., Greenwald, B., Hammond, F.M., Kalmar, K., Kean, J., Kraus, M.F., Nakase Richardson, R., Pavawalla, S., Rosenbaum, A., Stuss, D.T., Yablon, SA. (2020). Post-traumatic confusional state: A case definition and diagnostic criteria. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Nov;101(11):2041-2050.
Rosenbaum, A.M., Gordon, W.A., Joannou, A., Berman, B.A. (2018). Functional outcomes following post-acute rehabilitation for moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 32(7):907-914
Rosenbaum, A., Weintraub, A., Seel, R., Whyte, J., Nakase-Richardson, R. (2017). Severe traumatic brain injury: What to expect in the trauma center, hospital and beyond. https://msktc.org/tbi/factsheets/severe-traumatic-brain-injury#fsmenu9. Developed in collaboration with the TBI Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center
Jaffe, M.P., O’Neill, J., Vandergoot, D., Gordon, W.A., & Small, B. (2002). The unveiling of traumatic brain injury in a HIV/AIDS population. Brain Injury, 14 (1), 35-4.
O’Neill, J., Hibbard, M. R., Brown, M., Jaffe, M., Sliwinski, M., Vandergoot, D., & Weiss, M. J. (1998). The impact of employment on quality of life and community integration after traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 13, (4), 68-79.
Uysal, S., Hibbard, M. R., Robillard, D., Pappadopulous, E., & Jaffe, M. (1998). The impact of parental traumatic brain injury on parenting and child behavior. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation,13 (6), 57-71.
Michener, H. A., & Wasserman (Jaffe), M.P. (1995). Group decision making. In K.S. Cook, G.A. Fine, & J.S. House (Eds.), Social Psychology (pp. 336-361). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
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