Jim Giorgi Biography

Jim Giorgi, M.S.Ed., NCSP, BCIA-C(EEG)

Photo: Michael Sibilia Photography

I was born in Manhattan, New York, in June of 1953, and grew up in the Bronx, the first of four children. I have a brother and two sisters. I attended P.S. 14 (Kindergarten), St. Benedict's School (Grades 1-8) and Cardinal Spellman High School, graduating with a Regent's Diploma in 1971.

I was graduated from New York University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, and from Pace University in 1979 with a Master of Science in Education degree (with distinction) in School Psychology. As a School Psychologist for 15 years (1977-1992), I worked with both regular and special education populations.

In 1979, I developed and implemented the first district-wide Affective Education Program in the Mid-Hudson/Catskill Region (Florida, New York school district). In 1982, I established the first Primary Mental Health Project in the region in the Pine Bush, New York school district.

From 1982 to 1992 I was Chief Psychologist and Coordinator of Clinical Services in the Special Education Department at Sullivan County B.O.C.E.S., specializing in providing counseling and consulting services and developing and implementing innovative therapeutic and behavior management programs for emotionally/behaviorally disordered students.

During my college years, I briefly studied the martial art of Tae Kwon Do, and also learned Transcendental Meditation. Though I was keenly interested in both, other priorities caused my involvement in both these practices to lapse for several years. However, in 1983, as the result of a life-changing series of human potential workshops ("Actualizations"), I was inspired to renew the practice of both meditation and the martial arts.

In my readings of various philosophical traditions and martial styles, the art of aikido and the practice of Zen Meditation had both impressed and called to me deeply. I was seeking an integrated way of life that would involve body, mind and spirit, and I felt that I had found what I was looking for in these two practices. I began the study of Nihon Goshin Aikido in Middletown, New York, under the direction of Sensei Robert B. MacEwen, Jr., and in 2003 was promoted to the rank of San-Dan (Third Degree Black Belt).

I also began the practice of Zen Meditation, and in 1989 I was accepted as a student of Hye Seong, Sunim, a Korean Zen Buddhist Monk of the Chogye Order, and abbot of the Catskill Zen Center (Bak Lim Sa) in Summitville, New York. I have been practicing meditation there since that time, and was ordained as a Dharma Teacher (K. "Bup-Sa") in 2000.  Since relocating to the Fort Lauderdale area in Florida in the summer of 2006, I have been practicing and teaching with the South Florida Zen Group at the Bo Hyun Sa temple, a Korean Buddhist temple near Fort Lauderdale.

I began my specialization in Biofeedback and EEG Neurotherapy in 1993, with my colleague, Dr. Mary Jo Sabo, at the Pain and Stress Biofeedback Center in Spring Valley, New York. In 1996 I became Coordinator of Biofeedback Services at Stone Mountain Counseling Center in New Paltz, New York, where I began my practice using the Low Energy Neurofeedback System (LENS) under the direct supervision of its developer, Dr. Len Ochs.

Concurrently, I was Director of Program Development for Biofeedback Consultants, Inc. of Suffern, New York, and with Dr. Sabo, was responsible for the development and implementation of the Yonkers Public School EEG Biofeedback Project, the first of its kind in the nation, providing EEG training to over 100 academically and behaviorally challenged students each school year.

Presently, I am practicing EEG Neurotherapy and Neurorehabilitation services in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area. I am also an adjunct instructor of psychology at Orange County Community College. My credentials include New York State Licensure as a Mental Health Counselor (L.M.H.C.),  New York State and National Certification as a School Psychologist, national certification as an EEG Biofeedback Therapist and as an EEG Biofeedback Trainer/Internship Supervisor from the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America, and an Advanced Certificate in the use of the Low Energy Neurofeedback System developed by Dr. Len Ochs.

Download Jim's Resume (Word doc)

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