Dr. Paul Beljan
Dr. Paul Beljan is a private practice neuropsychologist in Scottsdale, Arizona. He holds child and adult diplomate certifications with the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology (ABPdN) and the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology (ABPN). Dr. Beljan is a past president of the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology (ABPdN).
Dr. Paul Beljan holds child and adult diplomate qualifications with the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology and the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology. He is the past president of the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology. In 2015, Dr. Beljan completed a post-doctoral master’s degree in psychopharmacology. Dr. Beljan completed two Post-Doctoral Fellowship programs in Pediatric Psychology and Pediatric Neuropsychology. Dr. Beljan’s professional focus is on Alcohol/Drug Related Neurodevelopmental Deficit (A/DRND), Gifted Intelligence, Learning Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, Trauma, and Attention and Executive Functioning Deficit diagnosis and interventions. In May 2013, Dr. Beljan was appointed to the Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners.
Dr. Beljan started the Motor Cognition Squared (MC2) neurocognitive program as a non-medication intervention for ADHD, since most parents are hesitant to use medication with their children. Aside from medication intervention, traditional interventions for ADHD simply include training parents and teachers in behavior management, or working with the child to develop inhibition and sustained attention, as well as executive function skills. The latter intervention is tantamount to attempting to talk the child out of a brain-based disorder, which ensures failure. Both methods, medication and behavioral management, do not develop long-lasting improvement for ADHD and only work when present. The MC2 program was developed as a method to treat and reduce the symptoms up ADHD from a neuro-developmental perspective. The program has evolved over the years and continues to yield positive results, not only for ADHD, but for traumatic brain injury, stroke, fetal drug and alcohol exposure, gifted asynchrony, mild autism, and reactive attachment disorder.
Dr. Beljan is an expert in evaluating and understanding gifted children and their common misdiagnoses. He is a co-author of the book: Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults. The Misdiagnosis book is a Legacy Book Award Winner, ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award Winner, and Arizona Book Award Winner. Dr. Beljan also has authored several chapters and articles in various publications. His hospital based work in pediatric psychology and pediatric neuropsychology has included assessment, pain management and trauma recovery with children suffering from burns, cancer, sickle cell anemia, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, cerebral palsy, cleft palate. He also developed interventions for parents of children diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol/Drug Related Neurodevelopmental Deficit (FA/DRND), traumatic brain injury, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and learning disorders.
Prior to obtaining his doctorate in clinical psychology, Dr. Beljan worked in public school severe behavior handicap (SBH) programs as a behavioral intervention specialist. He also conducted psychotherapy with children and adults in community mental health settings. During that time he graduated from the Kettering Character Disorders Institute.
Beljan Psychological Services draws patients from around the United States. Dr. Beljan has taught gifted education and pediatric neuropsychology at the master’s and doctoral levels. He lectures nationally on numerous topics associated with giftedness and pediatric neuropsychology. Dr. Beljan is a nationally retained expert in forensic neuropsychology within the civil, and juvenile and criminal justice systems. His current professional interests are in psychopharmacology, and developing Beljan Psychological Services into an integrative clinic that offers families comprehensive psychological services, behavioral health services and neurocognitive intervention.