Expert Articles

The American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology (ABPdN) defines pediatric neuropsychology as a specialty within the field of psychology and related health-care sciences. The emphasis in pediatric neuropsychology is the study and understanding ...Read More

Claims of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are made in all types of employment litigation; mental and emotional injuries constitute the bulk of an employer’s exposure. Psychiatric evaluation of PTSD claims in employment litigation often demonstrate ...Read More

As a psychologist I have worked with many individuals suffering from PTSD as a result of warfare, trauma, accidents and injuries. In addition, I have provided expert witness consultation and testimony on a variety of personal injury and workplace involve...Read More

Over 200 individuals confessed to the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby in 1932. They were all rejected as suspects. The man charged with the crime refused to confess—even when offered commutation on the eve of his electrocution in 1936....Read More

There is nothing so tragic as an abused or neglected child. Emotional injuries stemming from this behavior can last a lifetime. Recognizing the signs of abuse or neglect early on can save lives....Read More

Last week I entered a cell-block in Jailtown, USA. The facility was several decades old, a crumbling fortress of concrete and steel. It sorely needed new paint, air conditioning to alleviate the soaring humidity, and a good old-fashioned scrub down....Read More

Dilantin (Phenytoin) has been used for decades to treat seizures in adults and children, primarily for epilepsy as well as during and after surgeries. The Epilepsy Foundation says that over three million Americans have some form of seizure disorder, with ...Read More

The FDA is under fire from Senate members to ban the use of Avandia, the popular diabetes drug from GlaxoSmithKline. It has been speculated that as many as 80,000 heart attacks have been initiated by the use of Avandia....Read More

There has been a great deal of attention paid to Motrin/Advil/Ibuprofen lately and its connection to Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS). Ibuprofen is known to the general public to be a safe anti-inflammatory, even at prescription strengths....Read More

Psychologists can provide a needed service to attorneys and their clients who are involved in the process of immigration. The immigration process presents many challenges to both foreign nationals who seek to settle permanently in the United States and ...Read More

A recent study examined 136 jury cases between 2000 and 2009 involving exposure to toxic chemicals (specifically asbestos, toxic mold and lead poisoning). The jury verdicts show an “indentifiable victim bias” (IVP) causing jurors to make more emotiona...Read More

More and more children are failing to develop secure attachments to loving and protective caregivers. These children are left without the most important foundation for healthy development, and are flooding our child welfare and juvenile justice systems ...Read More

In civil litigation, a mental health expert can serve as a consultant, a treatment provider or a forensic evaluator. For example, a plaintiff sues his/her employer for emotional damages and a mental health professional is sought to treat these emotional ...Read More

Smoking is the most common method of consuming tobacco and consequently it is the most common substance smoked. The World Health Organization reports that ongoing tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide and causes 5.4 million death...Read More

Pain Disorder as a psychiatric condition is diagnosed when a patient's preoccupation with pain is consuming and to some extent disabling. The pain becomes the dominating focus of their clinical presentation. The pain itself causes clinically significant ...Read More

While the word “traumatic” in the term “traumatic brain injury” has been traditionally used to denote a physical trauma, the very nature of a significant accident that leads to brain injury often involves significant emotional trauma as well. It...Read More

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is sometimes difficult to treat; witnessing sexual/physical abuse or injury, or actually suffering from the experience can lead to repeating nightmares, paranoia, sleeplessness, a sense of numbness and flashbacks....Read More

Tardive dyskinesia is a serious neurological disorder, characterized by rapid, continual blinking, grimacing, involuntary movements, as well as impaired mobility of the fingers. Elderly patients, especially women, are at greater risk to contract Tardive...Read More

Claims of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in civil litigation have increased in recent years. These are often supported by a letter or report from a therapist and/or an independent evaluator retained by the Plaintiff’s attorney. However, it is important f...Read More

One of the most controversial, yet persistently disabling injuries involved in litigation is Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). Mild Traumatic Brain Injury is typically defined as an injury to the head resulting in brief-or-no loss of consciousness, pos...Read More

Autism and other autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are increasingly common diagnoses for children throughout the world. A growing number of legal matters, including child custody cases, involve at least one child with such a diagnosis. Children with auti...Read More

Much has been written about the emotional trauma experienced by the sexually abused child. According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, over 85,000 children are sexually abused in America each year. ...Read More

All psychiatric reports evaluate something, but not always the same thing. For example, eligibility for benefits, or fitness to do a job—for HR purposes or wrongful termination litigation. To make sense of the report, the reader must determine what is b...Read More

With few exceptions, many jurisdictions around the country are limiting defense expenditures across the board; creating extraordinarily difficult situations (at best) for attorneys working to assure their clients receive effective representation under th...Read More

Plaintiffs and other petitioners often sue for damages due to reported cognitive or emotional impairment. These impairments are often said to be the result of traumatic brain injuries suffered in accidents, toxic exposures or medical procedures. Such im...Read More

The term "cult" is a widely misunderstood term. Certainly, over the years, "cult" as a descriptor has taken a pejorative cast, and is often used lightly and inappropriately by the media and the average person. However, I will use the term “cult” as a ...Read More

Clinical psychologists may dread treating the patient who is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, often referred to as a “Borderline.” Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder are among the most difficult, provocative, unstable and...Read More

The courtroom is a special place with special rules that must be understood in order for the most effective presentation of the clinical data to occur. The process is adversarial, which is generally contrary to the experience of clinicians or academicians...Read More

Diagnosing, treating, and managing Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) is one of the most complex issues for clinicians and attorneys who deal with this population. It is estimated that 70-90 percent of all treated TBI cases are mild, with approximately 1...Read More

While the word “traumatic” in the term “traumatic brain injury” has been traditionally used to denote a physical trauma, the very nature of a significant accident that leads to brain injury often involves significant emotional trauma as well. It ...Read More

Closed head injury is an extremely frequent occurrence in personal injury cases. According to the CDC, in the United States approximately 1.4 million individuals suffer from this type of trauma each year. By far, the predominant cause of traumatic brain i...Read More

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has its roots in the military and the psychological impact of war on those who endure the trauma of combat. In part due to this history, the diagnostic criteria for PTSD requires that an individual have experienced a ...Read More

Malingering is the intentional (conscious) fabrication or gross exaggeration of symptoms of mental disorders in order to achieve an identifiable goal. Mental health professionals who conduct forensic evaluations should assess the examinee’s response sty...Read More

Forensic psychologists can significantly increase damages and awards in class-action and mass tort cases. This is an area of damages often ignored by attorneys; there is a sense that it will affect little change in the outcome of the settlement and that ...Read More

Forensic psychologists can significantly increase damages and awards in class-action and mass tort cases. This is an area of damages often ignored by attorneys; there is a sense that it will affect little change in the outcome of the settlement, or that ...Read More

The next time you’re at a party, count how many pleasantries you exchange before the topic of work arises. I’d lay some pretty good odds that “what do you do” is a heavy favorite as the question most likely to follow the initial glad-handing and ...Read More

For many individuals that sustain an injury, there is a close correlation between subjective complaints and objective pathology. Since most physicians are trained in treating physical pathology, the outcome of treatment is usually satisfactory for all con...Read More

At first blush, “Psychiatric Autopsy” appears to be a misnomer. The historical mainstay of psychiatric assessment and treatment is the psychiatric interview and psychotherapy. Obviously, a decedent is unable to participate in traditional psychiatric a...Read More

Human Resources/Risk Managers have become increasingly familiar with violence in the workplace and the warning signs of a threat potential for physical violence. However, malicious, digitally-based threats have appeared in the workplace as a new weapon fo...Read More

Since the behavior of stalking was criminalized in California in 1990, we have seen literature on the topic bolstered by dozens of new studies each year. Although definitions of the crime vary, there seems to be a legal consensus that three elements are n...Read More

The perfect storm of insurance restrictions for non-pharmaceutical interventions, combined with the introduction of better-tolerated psychiatric meds, has led to unprecedented use of powerful, prescription drugs among the public. Psychotropics that were ...Read More

The Psychological Autopsy (PA) is used for research; it functions as a medical-legal tool to aid in the certification of deaths. It is also a forensic procedure for both criminal and civil cases. The PA has become an invaluable tool in wrongful death ca...Read More

You may not be familiar with the formal diagnostic term, Personality Disorders, but as a practicing attorney, you undoubtedly have encountered individuals with these conditions. It’s a fair bet that most of those encounters ended unpleasantly. For the...Read More

Sexual abuse cases always hinge on interactions between individuals. Addiction, often unacknowledged, can sometimes provide telltale evidence that changes the outcome of a case. Yet, civil cases of alleged sexual abuse frequently do not consider the imp...Read More

Despite general agreement on the importance of symptom validity assessment in medico-legal contexts, the issue as a necessary practice in the examination of college students who show signs of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was, until 2007...Read More

Forensic psychologists and neuropsychologists regularly give expert opinions about a person’s mental capacity in the criminal, family law and civil courts. The evaluative process involves clinical interviews, psychological/neuropsychological testing, re...Read More

The legal community frequently encounters individuals who are suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Unfortunately, because ADHD is one of the most misunderstood disorders in the psychological system, attorneys don’t always unde...Read More

Almost every state in the United States licenses and regulates the practice of psychology, marriage and family therapy, social work, and counseling. There are hundreds of thousands of practitioners in these fields of non-medical treatment of emotional ...Read More