Areas of Expertise: Psychiatric Evaluations; Psychology — Clinical; Addiction Psychiatry; Behavioral Sciences; Child Custody, Adoption & Welfare; Child Custody & Welfare; Disabled & Elder Abuse; Spousal Abuse; Domestic Violence; Forensic Psychiatry; Sexual Abuse, Misconduct; Addiction Psychology; Child Abuse; Child Sexual Abuse; Child Sex Abuse; Divorce & Marriage Dissolution; Forensic Psychology; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder — PTSD; Discrimination; Alcohol Abuse; Addiction Medicine & Substance Abuse; Drug Abuse; Harassment; Workplace Violence; Drug Testing; Drug & Alcohol Testing; Sexual Harassment; Wrongful Termination.
I am a 1975 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley where I obtained my doctorate in psychology. I previously had graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from UCLA, with Highest Honors in Psychology, in 1968. I have been a licensed psychologist in California since 1976 and have never been subject to any disciplinary proceeding. I practiced as a clinical psychologist and manager at The Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Clara, California for 27 years, beginning in 1980. At Kaiser, I treated a wide range of individuals, including substance abuse patients, for whom I co-led the intake program for five years. I also specialized in treating “dual diagnosis" patients—individuals who simultaneously suffered from a substance abuse problem as well as another mental health problem. I was chair of the Psychiatry Department Peer Review Committee at that medical center for 11 years, and on the Psychiatry Department management team for another 11 years. For the final three years of my time at Kaiser, I managed the Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program (IOP), a day-treatment program for individuals with severe mental illness.
Since 1993, I have maintained an independent practice in forensic psychology, carrying out evaluations of emotional damages and malingering in civil suits and providing standard-of-care testimony in psychology malpractice matters. I have also carried out numerous evaluations of fitness for duty for license holders practicing under a variety of professional boards in California. I have served as a Billing Monitor for the Board of Psychology and am on the panel of experts for the Board of Registered Nursing and Board of Pharmacy. I am currently a member of the Panel of Evaluators for the Superior Court of California, carrying out evaluations of competency to stand trial and insanity defense in criminal defendants. I was formerly a member of the Forensic Assessment Division, Board of Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where my duties included the psychological evaluation of life-term inmates regarding suitability for parole in terms of violence risk. This work included evaluation of risk of re-offense of sexual offenders, including pedophiles. I have testified in matters involving Sexually Violent Predators and Mentally Disordered Offenders, as well as restoration of sanity hearings. I am a published expert in the field of psychotherapy ethics, having published numerous articles in peer reviewed, professional journals. I am a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, an honorary status attained by only about three percent of the Association's members and requiring a significant contribution to psychology on a national level.
In 2011, I became an Approved Psychological Competency Evaluator, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations, San Francisco Region. I current serve as a consultation to the hostage negotiation team of the Campbell Police Department, and I serve on the Oversight Committee of the State Bar of California Lawyers Assistance Program.