The Emergence Team
Healing and transforming communities and organizations
This work became real because real people committed to it.
They recognized themselves in it—and now help others do the same.
These are the professionals who have brought to life the truth that we can’t manage our nature.
Our Leadership
-
Matthew Braunstein, PhD
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR EMERGENCE
(Also Founder, Institute of
Vedic Psychology)
Learn more about Dr. Braunstein's journey below. -
Samantha Stein, PsyD
DIRECTOR OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING
- 30+ years in psychotherapy—addiction, sexuality, grief
- Author of 3 books including Evil at Our Table; 1M+ reads
- Forensic psychologist & clinical consultant -
Spencer Carlson, PsyD
PROGRAM DIRECTOR & LEAD COORDINATOR
- 8+ years leading program development with the founder
- Instructor in SF community mental health programs
- Former business & consulting professional -
Graeme Browne, MBChB
DIRECTOR OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY & CLINICAL INTEGRATION
- Physician-educator in diagnostic - medicine, neurophysiology & Ayurvedic integration
- Led physician training across Europe, Asia, and Australasia on consciousness and adjunct therapies
- Founding faculty head at research university, MVU, Netherlands -
John Butler
DIRECTOR OF TRAINING PROGRAMS
- 8+ years developing programs and refining training with the founder
- Led international teacher training courses and meditation retreats
- Vedic Science expert with experience from Wall Street to India -
Parvathy Devi, MD (Ayu)
DIRECTOR OF AYURVEDIC PSYCHIATRY & PROTOCOLS
- 25 years as Chief Physician at India’s only Govt. Ayurvedic psychiatric hospital
- Clinical leader of 14+ public initiatives incl. depression, ADHD & transgender mental health -
David Braunstein, MBA
STRATEGIC ADVISOR, BUSINESS & ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Former NASA Space Shuttle chief overseeing 200,000+ personnel
- 40+ years leading public & private orgs including CMTC & ARPA
- President, Long Beach Housing Coalition (400+ families served) -
David O'Connell, PhD, MS, DABPS
DIRECTOR OF PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND APPLICATION
- 45+ years in addiction, forensic & medical psychology
- DEA-registered prescribing psychologist; 9 books & journal publications
- Former Clinical Director, Caron Foundation; U.S./Europe trainer -
Emily Carlson, AMFT
DIRECTOR OF COUPLES THERAPY & CONFLICT RESOLUTION
- Clinical work with youth, adults, couples & families
- Advocate in IEP/student success systems; school-based therapy
- Manages client outreach & professional development initiatives -
Allen Remnick, PhD
SENIOR ADVISOR FOR VEDIC INTEGRATION
- 40+ years creating market models rooted in cycles & systems
- Advisor to 25,000+ clients; former professor & trading consultant
- Bridges Vedic systems with quantitative forecasting & algorithmic design -
Jim Meuer, MS
DIRECTOR OF AI APPLICATIONS & THERAPEUTIC TECHNOLOGY
- Designed his first calculator at age 6; now builds AI systems for human insight
- 40+ years in robotics, security tech, gaming & deep learning
- Expert in NLP, algorithm design & therapeutic technology integration -
K. Sundaran, MD (Ayu)
FOUNDING ADVISOR, AYURVEDIC PSYCHIATRY & INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
- Pioneer of modern Ayurvedic psychiatry; broke ground on sexuality & mental illness
- 40+ years in mental health; Professor & former Superintendent, Kottakkal Institute; author of 3 books, 100+ papers
- Recipient of numerous awards including Charaka & Bhishak Ratna for national leadership in psychiatry -
Steve Brittingham
SENIOR FACILITATOR & TRAINER
- 7+ years managing program operations and development at the Institute
- Directed training programs and facility operations across the U.S., South America, Europe & India
- Core faculty for student practice and technique integration -
Ella Perlmutter
GRADUATE INTERN & CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT
- Clinical research assistant at Weill Cornell in NIH-funded psychotherapy studies
- Trained in diagnostic techniques & therapeutic writing at the Institute for Emergence
- 100+ hours of active listening & early curriculum design in global settings -
Steven Sklar, PT
HEALTHCARE INTEGRATION SPECIALIST FOR ALLIED PROFESSIONS
- 20,000+ client sessions across acute, rehab & long-term care settings
- Former Director of Rehabilitation overseeing PT, OT & speech therapy teams
- Brings decades of clinical and training leadership to allied health integration
Those Carrying It Forward
Trained professionals. Real outcomes.
This approach isn’t theoretical—it works in the field.
All of our practitioners complete a rigorous, multi-phase certification process before practicum. They are trained to identify and engage the full range of human Drives, addressing the deeper forces behind procrastination, disorder, stagnation, and disconnection.
Clients consistently report transformation—reclaiming their passion, clarity, and capacity for growth.
Our Founder: The Origins of the Institute
Soon, we’ll share the full story of Dr. Matthew Braunstein—his journey, how the Institute began, and what it’s become.
Dr. Braunstein is trained in psychology and consciousness and holds a doctorate in Vedic Science. His academic and clinical background includes work in personality research, group counseling, conflict mediation, and supporting individuals and communities navigating identity, social marginalization, stigma, or exclusion. Drawing on a deep understanding of neurochemistry and consciousness, his work integrates decades of cross-disciplinary insights, including groundbreaking research by Dr. Tony Nader (MD, PhD) in neurophysiology and consciousness. He has led programs and institutions across the U.S., Europe, and India.
Twenty-five years earlier, he participated in a rare series of private meetings with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, internationally regarded as the foremost authority on the nature and mechanics of consciousness. These meetings focused on how psychological growth and healing are related to the inner mechanics of consciousness.
But what shaped his work most wasn’t institutional. It was what few can imagine doing: nearly 20 years in silence and solitude in the Himalayas. That experience revealed what no clinical setting or spiritual tradition could: the rawness of being alone with one’s own nature—and with existence itself. The realization that, no matter where we go, we cannot escape who we are. That we are moved—consistently and intelligently—by innate Drives that are never unhealthy, but essential to both psychological and spiritual development.
In 2014, a group of psychologists reached out during a growing crisis—seeking Dr. Braunstein’s insight to help develop a new kind of program. How that call led from Himalayan silence to a psychology that could hold the reality of heroin withdrawal, Netflix binges, sexual shame, and unspoken grief—alongside the precise Drives of consciousness that move every breakdown, breakthrough, and longing for wholeness—is a story we’ll soon share.
The artwork featured on this site is by Terry Braunstein, whose collages—assembled from cutouts of magazines and media—reveal universal themes by placing ordinary people in surreal, evocative settings.
We chose her work for our site because it reflects a powerful truth: our lives, in all their complexity, transcend gender, ethnicity, and surface differences.
This is us—caught in a moment, trying to push a boulder out of our path, catching sight of light beyond the hole we’ve been in, or measuring ourselves with a pencil, against Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.
