Meet the Doctors

Dr. Gilbert first discovered the field of chiropractic in the 1970s, when he was struggling with the effects of several vehicular, sports-related, and childhood injuries. Because chiropractic care helped him so much, he chose to become a chiropractor. According to Dr. Gilbert, chiropractic care gave him his life back.

While receiving chiropractic care, Dr. Gilbert discovered The Pettibon System and learned about its effectiveness firsthand. He continues to employ the spinal rehabilitative aspects of this system in his own practice. From early in his chiropractic education and career, he also studied under the legendary Dr. Pasquale Cerasoli of Brooklyn, from whom he learned exceptionaal skills and insights, many of which he applies in practice today.

After graduating from chiropractic college in 1979, Dr. Gilbert founded the practice now named Central Park West Wellness. His goal was to help others as he had been helped. His love for chiropractic stems from its basis on the body’s own ability to heal, as well as to prevent health issues and function at an often untapped, very high level of health. He also loves that chiropractic doesn’t take anything away from the body, nor add anything to it. Instead, the goal of chiropractic is to remove interferences that keep the body from healing, and functioning the way nature intended.

Because he has dealt with pain and other physical problems himself, he has a great deal of compassion for each person who comes to our practice.

Dr. Laura's strong conviction is that every body deserves optimal health. She strives to create a safe environment to meet each of her patients exactly where they are, and help them realize their greatest health potential through gentle, specific chiropractic adjustments.

One day, after starting a career in food science, Laura found herself perplexed while working on a breakfast product that was made of more sugar than actual food - she wanted to connect with people in a way that was beyond the box on their breakfast table. Inclined to help people in a more natural way, Laura decided to explore an old urge to pursue the natural whole body benefits of chiropractic.

A few months later, Laura was accepted, and enrolled at New York Chiropractic College where she graduated with honors with both a Doctorate in Chiropractic and Master of Clinical Nutrition. After graduation, she pursued further training in Webster Technique (often used with prenatal patients), International Chiropractors Pediatric Association training (to work with newborns and children), Sacro Occipital Technique (uses specific neurological indicators to assess and treat the entire body), and Cranial Chiropractic (fortifies whole body alignment and especially helps neck, head, and TMJ issues).

Now, Dr. Laura uses her hundreds of hours of advanced chiropractic training and years of clinical experience to create subtle yet powerful shifts in each patient, paving the way for healing and long-lasting optimized function. 

She particularly enjoys caring for newborns, children, and pregnant patients, though her range of chiropractic techniques allow her to work dynamically with the whole family. 

When she's not at her practice, Dr. Laura can often be found in her kitchen cooking & baking, or taking walks with her husband and their miniature dachshund Dexter.

Dr. Shou-An Liu graduated summa cum laude from the Physical Therapy program at New York Institute of Technology and obtained her license in 2012. She was then accepted to the Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency Program at New York University (NYU).

In 2013, Dr. Liu was officially certified as an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist by the American Board Of Physical Therapy Specialties. Aside from practicing as a clinician, Dr. Liu also has taken on the role of teaching the Physical Therapy residents at NYU. She has also taught in the Continuing Education Course for the orthopedic residency program, and is a master clinician for the Physical Therapy students at NYU.

Dr. Liu specializes in manual therapy (trigger point therapy) and believes in treating the musculoskeletal system as a whole. She endeavors to achieve muscle strength in order to restore optimal body function. With her strong listening skills, she quickly identifies her patients' needs and makes them feel heard. A 45-minute, one on one, hands on treatment session includes manual therapy, therapeutic or functional exercises if needed, ergonomic evaluation and patient education.

Jonathan, with his own busy massage practice outside our office, visits our office to see our patients whenever needed. Our front desk is happy to connect you with him.

With extraordinary healing hands, Jonathan’s sensitive massage skills help to dissipate tensions, tightness, spasms, blockages and other fallout from injuries and stresses we all seem to encounter.

Kind, and playful and visiting our practice since 2012, Jonathan has been helping those he cares for to feel so much more comfortable in their bodies.