About Alice Flaherty, MD, PhD
Dr. Alice Flaherty is a neurologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of both neurology and psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
She is the director of the Movement Disorders Fellowship, and treats patients with movement and mood disorders. She was the site principle investigator for the trial of the first successful genetic treatment of Parkinson's Disease. While still a resident she wrote The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Neurology. It received a national award for its innovative approach, and has been multiply translated. She is the author of The Midnight Disease, an award-winning nonfiction book about the neural basis of creativity. The Washington Post and The San Francisco Chronicle named it one of the year's best books. Her work on this subject has been featured in publications ranging from The New Yorker to Brazilian business magazines to a photo-essay in National Geographic. As a clinician, Dr. Flaherty was honored by the Schwartz Center's statewide Compassionate Caregiver program.
A strong media advocate for the abilities of the mentally and neurologically ill, she has appeared as an expert on TEDx and more than 20 TV news and documentary shows, both in the US and internationally. A five-part Radiotopia podcast focused on her role as the neurologist of Pulitzer-winning author William Styron. She is the protagonist of an award-winning short documentary, Bedside Manner, which received a festival nomination for an Academy Award.
Dr. Flaherty completed her AB, MD, internship, residency, and fellowship at Harvard. In an attempt at diversity, she also did a PhD at MIT.
Clinical Interests:
- Deep brain stimulation
- Movement and mood disorders
- Writer's block
Treats:
- Adult
Locations
Mass General Neurology
55 Fruit St.
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 855-644-6387
Medical Education
- MD, Harvard Medical School
- Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital
- Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital
American Board Certifications
- Neurology, American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology
Accepted Insurance Plans
- Aetna
- Beech Street
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare
- Cigna
- Commonwealth Care Alliance
- Coventry
- Fallon Health
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Humana
- Maine Community Health Options
- Mass General Brigham Health Plan
- MassHealth
- Medicaid ME
- Medicaid NH
- Medicaid RI
- Medicaid VT
- Medicare
- Medicare ACO
- Multiplan
- Railroad Medicare
- Senior Whole Health
- TriCare
- Tufts Health Plan
- United Health Care
- Wellpoint
- WellSense
- WellSense NH
Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.
Research
Dr. Flaherty's research focuses on the control of voluntary action and on how our brains represent our bodies. Disorders of these system drive suffering in depression, Parkinson's, and somatic symptom disorders.
Publications
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- Flaherty AW. Homeostasis and the control of creative drive. In R. E. Jung & O. Vartanian (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of the neuroscience of creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018
- Brain illness and creativity: mechanisms and treatment risks. Flaherty AW. Canadian J Psychiatry. 2011 Mar;56(3):132-43. PMID: 21443820
- VIM thalamic stimulation for monoclonal gammopathy-associated tremor. Shields DC, Flaherty AW, Eskandar EN, Williams ZM. Neurosurgery. 2011 Feb 9. PMID: 21311371
- Flaherty AW. Frontotemporal and dopaminergic control of idea generation and creative drive. J Comparative Neurology, 2005;493(1):147-53
- Flaherty AW. The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer’s Block, and the Creative Brain. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin; 2004.
Dr. Flaherty has been a wonderful doctor for our disabled daughter. She's a wonderful doctor and a wonderful human being. We are fortunate to have her caring for little [redacted]. Thanks so much for all you do!
excellent appointment Dr Flaherty was empathetic ,friendly and very Knowledgeable. I m very happy that she will see me again
My health nhad improved from when I scheduled the appointment about 18 months ag0, and I was very happy with the review process Dr. Flaherty conducted.
Dr. Flaherty is incredibly caring. She listens really carefully. I think she is super smart and is evidence-based, but yet she also is able to take into account my preferences for the kind of treatment I want and how I weigh the risks and benefits of each of my therapies. I recommend her incredibly highly. She is the epitome of what a physician ... Read More
Dr. Flaherty is a great listener and she is very attentive to my needs. I always enjoy my appointments with her, as she explains things clearly and gives me new and helpful information about my condition.
Alice Flaherty was very concise, explained things extremely well, was very well-versed, and has a lot of experience with Parkinson's. And I found her very helpful in helping my father, who is hard of hearing. She was patient and kind, and we really appreciated her time that day.
Dr. Flaherty is the best physician I've ever had. I highly value that she knows my medical history well. She listens carefully and is responsive to my concerns. I feel that we are team members when it comes to trying and experimenting with new meds. And she's willing to make changes until we reach the best possible result. When I email her I get a ... Read More
Flaherty is by far the best doctor I've had in Massachusetts. She is so knowledgeable about more than just my movement disorder and does not simply push pills. Getting to mgh downtown from [redacted] is difficult and time-consuming so she meets me in her limited hours in Waltham.
Dr. Flaherty was kind and respectful and a good listener and she had a good sense of humor and she kept the conversation moving forward but always stopped to listen to what I had to say.
Dr. A. FLAHERTY exceeds expectations