Specialties

I am the founder and Medical Director of Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP, a group of 23 expert consultants in forensic psychiatry and psychology. We provide evidence-based opinions using records, (neuro)psychological testing and independent medical evaluations. We handle mass torts and multi-plaintiff litigation. Our experts hold credentials and board certifications from the top institutions in the country.

Our specialties include:Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry (child custody, child sexual abuse / trauma, juvenile justice, autism spectrum disorders), Personal Injury Law (PTSD, traumatic brain injury, risk assessments), Employment Law (discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, fitness for duty, risk assessment, harassment), Standards of Care (boundary violations, psychopharmacology, psychological and neuropsychological testing), Probate Law (will contests, testamentary capacity, undue influence), Substance Abuse & addiction (professional licensing issues, fitness for duty, criminal responsibility, Medical Review Officer (MRO) assessments), Criminal Law (responsibility, insanity defense, diminished capacity), Civil Law (wrongful death, civil competencies and capacities, NIED / IIED and multi-plaintiff litigation).

Degrees/Licenses

Our group includes triple- or double- board certified forensic psychiatrists (Medical Board, Board of Psychiatry and Board of Forensic Psychiatry), several neuropsychologists, and a forensic autism expert.

Formal Education

Our experts hold credentials and board-certifications from the top institutions in the country, including: Stanford University, Northwestern University, University of California at Berkeley, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Davis, Yale University, University of Texas, University of Arizona, University of Utah, Princeton University, Southern Illinois University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Medical School, Dartmouth College, New York University, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, University of Kansas, Emory University, Duke University, Fielding Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology, Cleveland Marshal College etc.

Registration and Licenses

MD (CA, HI); DEA, QME (currently inactive).

Previous/Current Position

Assoc. Clinical Professor/Psychiatry, UCSF; Faculty UCSF and San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute; Former Chairman San Francisco Foundation for Psychoanalysis; Media Medical Expert.

Honors/Awards

Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association.

Prof. Affiliations

UCSF, Dept. of Psychiatry, Assoc. Clinical Professor; Distinguished Life Fellow of American, California and Northern California Psychiatric Associations; Member of International Psychoanalytic Assn.; former officer & board member, San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute and Society; American Academy of Psychiatry and The Law; Founder and former Chairman San Francisco Foundation for Psychoanalysis; Psych. lecturer to Bar Association of San Francisco.

Publications

18 publications including "The Use of Forensic Psychiatry in Catastrophic Injury and Multi-Party Litigation" BNA (Bloomberg) Insight, (13:23 Dec. 2013). "Stressing The Point: PTSD - What It Is and What It Is Not" For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, Nov. 1995. "Shrink in the Courtroom," (2000) and "Assessing the Truth," (2000), San Francisco Attorney Magazine.

Prior Expert

More than 500 civil cases involving allegations of psychological injury. Defense: plaintiff 65% - 35%. PTSD, ADA, FEHA, Sexual harassment, psychotic states, incest, depression, drug/alcohol abuse, phobias; Psychiatric malpractice: Wrongful death, sexual or financial impropriety. More than 400 depositions; testified at trial in Federal and State Court 60 times.

Specialties

PTSD, Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders, Assessment of PTSD Symptom Validity and Malingering, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Transportation Accidents, Will Contests, Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Employment.

Degrees/Licenses

PhD, Clinical Psychology, CA License PSY5596.

Formal Education

Post-Doctoral Fellow in Clinical Psychology, University of California, San Francisco - Mount Zion Hosp., 1978; Certificate in Psychoanalysis, San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, 1999; PhD in Clinical Psychology, Bowling Green State University, 1975; MA, Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, 1973; BA, Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1968.

Registration and Licenses

Psychologist CA PSY5596

Previous/Current Position

Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco; Private Practice of Clinical and Forensic Psychology; Director, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program, Kaiser-South San Francisco; Principal Investigator, NIMH grant on diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, UCSF-Mount Zion Hospital, San Francisco, CA.

Honors/Awards

Life Member, American Psychological Association.

Prof. Affiliations

American Psychological Association, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Society for Personality Assessment, Society for Behavioral Medicine, National Academy of Neuropsychology, Gerontological Society of America.

Publications

Multimethod Assessment of PTSD in Psychological Injury Evaluations, Society for Personality Assessment, Annual Meeting, 2022. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, 2014, Encyclopedia of Neurological Sciences, M.J. Aminoff & R.B. Daroff, (Eds.), Elsevier; Evidence-Based Forensic Psychological Assessment of Validity and Malingering of PTSD, 2018, Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies; Invited Congressional Testimony on PTSD, U.S. House of Representatives, Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee, 110th Congress; Multi-Method Personality and Psychopathology Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2009, Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality Assessment; Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy for Depression, E. E. Beckham, & W. R. Lieber (Eds.) Handbook of Depression, Treatment Assessment and Research, 1985, Dorsey Press; Assessing Interpersonal Problems in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, 1991, in L. E. Beutler & M. Crago (Eds.). Psychotherapy Research, American Psychological Association Press.

Prior Expert

Approximately 360 civil cases, 210 depositions, testified at trial 20 times. PTSD, Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders, mild TBI, Transportation Accidents, Will Contests, Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Employment.