Elizabeth Laugeson, Psy.D.

Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and is a licensed clinical psychologist. She is the Director of the UCLA Tarjan Center, a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and is the Founding Director of the UCLA PEERS Clinic. As the developer of the PEERS social skills programs, Dr. Laugeson has pioneered evidence-based programs for individuals from preschool to adulthood, focusing on friendship, dating, and employment. She has authored five English-language books on social skills and trained tens of thousands of professionals, educators, and families worldwide. Impressively, her PEERS programs have been translated into dozens of languages, are implemented in more than 150 countries, and are considered one of the few empirically supported social skills curricula for neurodivergent youth across the globe. Impressively, Dr. Laugeson and her work have also been featured in numerous media outlets, including the Emmy award winning Netflix series Love on the Spectrum.