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, which provides parent and caregiver assisted social skills programs for individuals from preschool to adulthood.
Dr. Laugeson has held numerous leadership roles, including Program Director for UCLA’s Predoctoral Psychology Internship Program in Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (2016–2024), Program Director for the Dissemination, Outreach and Education Core of the UCLA Autism Center of Excellence (2017-2022), Training Director for the UCLA Tarjan Center (2014–2021), Founding Director of The Help Group–UCLA Autism Research Alliance (2007–2017), Director of the UCLA Early Childhood Clubhouse Program (2007–2010), and Associate Director of the UCLA Parenting and Children’s Friendship Training Program (2007–2010). She earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University, completed her predoctoral internship at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, and is a two-time recipient of the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award.
As the developer of PEERS, one of the only evidence-based and globally recognized social skills programs for neurodivergent individuals, Dr. Laugeson has trained tens of thousands of professionals, educators, and families worldwide. Her programs are used in over 150 countries, translated into dozens of languages, and focus on improving social functioning across the lifespan.
As principal investigator of numerous nationally funded studies, Dr. Laugeson has authored five books in English, including the critically acclaimed The Science of Making Friends, with her books translated into more than a dozen languages. Her work has received widespread media attention, with features in People, USA Today, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times, as well as appearances on major television networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. She has also appeared in the Emmy Award-winning Netflix series Love on the Spectrum.