Our Staff
We invite you to meet our staff, the very people that are going to offer you hope for your child.
 Matthew L. Newell
Director - The Family Hope Center
Matthew has traveled and lectured internationally on all phases of brain growth and development. He has been certified at the Developmentalist and Teaching levels in Child Brain Development, and is a certified BodyTalk Practitioner. He is also certified in Koren Specific Chiropractic Technique, and in Craniosacral and Myofascial Release therapy. Matthew has taught and helped well over 15,000 parents in his 25 years of experience. He has personally designed mobility programs for thousands of children, teaching parents how to take their child from paralysis to crawling, creeping, walking, running, and on to physical excellence. He has been awarded many international awards, including 'The Founders Award' from The International Academy for Child Brain Development. This is the highest award of the Academy. Former recipients of this award include Dr. Jonas Salk, Dr. Linus Pauling, Dr. David Krech, Dr. Jeffrey Bland, Glenn Doman, and Dr. Rhea Seddon (Astronaut).
 Carol J. Newell
Vice Director - The Family Hope Center
Carol has over 25 years’ experience instructing and guiding parents of special needs children. She has taught parents to teach their children to go from blindness to seeing, from deafness to hearing, from an inability to read to reading at age level, and from far below average in intelligence and social awareness to above average in both these areas.
Carol was certified with the National Nursery Nurse Examination Board in England, where she worked with healthy children and children with varying degrees of health problems for four years. Like Matthew, Carol has been certified at the Developmentalist and Teaching levels in Child Brain Development, and in Craniosacral and Myofascial Release therapy
Among her many international awards, she has been awarded the highest award given by the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, 'The Leonardo da Vinci Award', and the highest award given by the of the International Academy for Child Brain Development, 'The Founders Award'. Former recipients of The Founders Award include Dr. Jonas Salk, Dr. Desmond Morris, Dr. Linus Pauling, Glenn Doman and Dr. Raymond Dart.
 Bernardo Merizalde, M.D.
Medical Director
Bernardo Merizalde, M.D. has
explored complementary and integrative approaches in medicine since 1979;
starting with acupuncture and herbal medicine, and later integrated in
homeopathy, nutrition and functional medicine. He performed part of his medical
internship in the jungle, and a public health service year in the rural plains
of Colombia.
Dr. Merizalde attended Hahnemann Hospital’s Psychiatry and Neurology
residency program and became Board Certified in that specialty. Hahnemann Hospital was originally a homeopathic
hospital. He found that learning about the mind and mind-body relationships
helped him become a better rounded practitioner and gave him tools to address
the emotional and spiritual components of healing. Dr. Merizalde has also
trained and practice medical hypnosis since 1989.
The Medical Director has given
talks and seminars on homeopathy and integrative medicine to undergraduate and
graduate students, professionals, and consumer groups. He has also presented at
Jefferson University,
University of Pennsylvania,
Hahnemann Hospital,
Medical College of Pennsylvania, Temple
University, the
Philadelphia Psychiatric Society, the American Psychiatric Association, the
International Homeopathic Medical League, and various consumer groups. Dr.
Merizalde has published several articles on homeopathic medicine in clinical
practice, and homeopathic research, in peer review journals. Currently, Dr. Merizalde serves as the president of the American Institute of
Homeopathy, the oldest extant medical organization in the US; the
International Homeopathic Medical League, and a member of the board of
directors of the Greater Philadelphia Society for Clinical Hypnosis.
 Linda J. Baker, M.D.
Medical Director
Dr. Baker comes to The Family Hope Center from a private pediatric practice, where she developed a large and devoted following over a period of 20 years. From 1994 to 1999 she was the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Chestnut Hill Hospital, a highly respected hospital in Philadelphia.
Dr. Baker did a Fellowship in Ambulatory Pediatrics at Albert Einstein Medical Hospital, and a Pediatric Internship and Residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. She received her B.A. with highest honors (Phi Beta Kappa) from UC Riverside, and her M.D. from the University of California at San Diego.
Dr. Baker is a member of the American Board of Pediatrics, and of the National Center for Homeopathy. She is delighted to be working with the special children who come to The Family Hope Center, and with their parents.
 Coralee Thompson, M.D.
International Medical Director
After receiving her medical degree in 1989 from the
University of Washington School of Medicine, and family practice residency at
the Medical College of Virginia, Coralee Thompson, M.D. began her work with
special needs children at the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential
in Philadelphia.
As medical director from 1998 until 2006, the focus of her expertise included
nutritional intervention, Quantitative EEG analysis and neurofeedback, and a
variety of natural approaches to help in the assessment and treatment of brain
dysfunction.
From 1992 until 2006, Dr. Thompson was a board
certified member of the American
Academy of Family
Physicians. Other memberships included The International Academy for Child
Brain Development, American Medical Society, and the Cranial Academy.
She received both the Brazilian Gold Medal and the Leonardo da Vinci Award for
her work in the International
Academy for Child Brain
Development.
In recent years Dr. Thompson has worked with Dr. Philip Maffetone to create
a holistic approach to evaluating and treating the brain, body and mind. She
regularly gives presentations on brain physiology, nutrition, biofeedback and
other topics to both professionals and lay audiences.
 Andrea L. Stevens, M.S.
Nutritionist
Andi has devoted years of study and practice to diet, nutrition, and human wellness. She is a Registered Nurse with an M.S. in Human Nutrition and a B.Ed. in Health Science. She is also a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a Certified Body Ecologist.
Andi comes to The Family Hope Center with years of experience helping people of all ages improve their health through diet, nutrition and a comprehensive approach to wellness. She presents nutrition information through an education-based approach that is easy to understand and implement. One of the highlights of her consultations is the use of an FDA-approved dynamic computerized system. This system provides extremely useful information that Andi uses to develop nutritional protocols for each individual she evaluates.
Family Hope Center considers proper diet and nutrition essential to the healing process for our special children. We are delighted to have a nutritionist of Andi’s experience, professionalism and compassion filling this vital role at FHC.
Gregory G. Fischer
Associate Brain Developmentalist
Greg has extensive experience in hyperbaric oxygen therapy, neurofeedback evaluations, and cranial sacral and fascia release therapies. He joined The Family Hope Center in October, 2004. Greg is certified in Craniosacral and Myofascial Release therapy, and is a certified Body Talk Practitioner.
Greg comes to us with a wealth of experience helping brain-injured children and their families, including a half year supervising and directing the treatment program for a brain-injured young adult. He brings unusual insight and care to all his work with our families, and is constantly seeking new and better ways to help the children who come to the Center.
To learn more about us and our staff.
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