Neuroscientist and Nobel Laureate Eric R. Kandel has written a compelling op-ed article in the New York Times responding to a recent article that suggested “psychiatry is a ‘semi-science’ whose practitioners cannot base their treatment of mental disorders on the same empirical evidence as physicians who treat disorders of the body can.” Dr. Kandel’s thoughts […]
Sarah A. Hall, Ph.D. Adult & Pediatric Forensic Neuropsychologist Oct. 28, 2013 The Rorschach Performance Assessment System, or R-PAS (Meyer, G. J., Viglione, D. J., Mihura, J. L., Erad, R. E., & Erdberg, P., 2011) provides a long needed update to the administration and scoring of the Rorschach Inkblots. Originally assembled by the late John […]
Thomas Insel, MD, the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, has written in his a blog a very interesting article about new research into the nature of Infantile Amnesia – the fact that adults cannot accurately retrieve memories of events and experiences (i.e., autobiographical memory) that occurred before age 4 years. As this […]
This article by attorney Eric B. Meyer posted on the DRI (Defense Research Institute) LinkedIn page states that a federal court, remarkably, has recently held that the anxiety symptoms arising from fear of losing one’s job qualifies as a “disability” under the ADA (American’s With Disabilities Act). This certainly has relevance for forensic psychiatrists who […]
This article by Mark L. Rosenberg, MD from Emory University in the October issue of JAMAPsychiatry discusses the need for politicians to both work aggressively on gun control legislation while taking account of gun owners constitutional rights.Download pdf of article JAMAPsychiatry Firearm Injuries –
by Sarah Hall, PhD fpamed forensic neuropsychologist, Sarah Hall, PhD, explains in this comprehensive article the important role of psychological testing when conducting forensic psychiatric assessments of plaintiffs who allege emotional distress in litigation. All testing in medicine, including blood tests, imaging studies and psychological testing, merely answers a membership question: based upon the examinee’s […]
Comment by Mark Levy MD forensic psychiatrist & Medical Director at Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP This is an excellent, comprehensive and balanced review of the behavioral issues pertaining to security clearance and how many of these were either missed or overlooked in the case of Aaron Alexis.One point I would add as a forensic psychiatrist […]
According to the New York Times, 34 year old heavily armed Aaron Alexis shot and killed 12 people working at the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard this morning, injuring others. As will happen once again, national hand-wringing ritual follows, trying to make “sense out” of the irrational. Pundits, including psychiatrists, will be asked to speculate on […]
The 2000 Nobel Laureate in Physiology & Medicine, Eric Kandell, MD, responded in an Op Ed piece in the New York Times to columnist David Brooks’ ignorantly referring to modern day psychiatry as a “semi-science.” Although the practice of medicine is, and has always been since Hippocrates’ time, a mixture of art and science, the […]
David Y. Kan, MD, MRO gave this Powerpoint slide presentation on “Ethics & Confidentiality” at the California Society of Addiction Medicine conference on October 29, 2010. Dr. Kan is a Board Certified Forensic Psychiatrist with additional specialty expertise in addiction medicine and substance abuse. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF School […]
David Y. Kan, MD, discusses the topics of “Stimulants, Psychosis & Treatment” in a Powerpoint slide presentation. Dr. Kan is anAssistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCSF School of Medicine and is also the Medical Director of the ORT Clinic, San Francisco VA Hospital.
Forensic Psychiatrist Mark Levy MD was interviewed by NBC news concerning serial kidnapper and sexual predator, Ariel Castro’s, rambling statement in Court on August 5, 2013. By Jeff Black, Staff Writer, NBC News August 5, 2013, 11:22 am NBCNews.com Ariel Castro’s rambling 20-minute statement in court Thursday, in which he repeatedly said, “I am not […]
The Montreal Convention, the successor international treaty to the Warsaw Convention, governs damages claims from injury on international carrier flights. Passengers who suffer severe emotional distress from an aircraft disaster cannot claim damages consisting of emotional injury alone – the psychological injury must “flow through” a physical injury. Ironically, relatives or the estate of a […]
Amicus Briefs Amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs are approved by the Board of Trustees and present to the court the views of the American Psychiatric Association on matters of mental health, patient care, psychiatric practice, and other forensic issues. Older briefs are being added as library staff time permits. 2012 Delling v. […]
Doyle v Caldwell Balancing the discovery rights of the Defendant against the privacy rights of the Plaintiff, California’s Sixth Appellate Court ruled, in an employment law suit, that the Defendant, Caldwell, could not compel the Plaintiff, Cindy Doyle, to undergo a forensic psychiatric independent medical examination (even thought she put her mental status at issue) […]
San Francisco Attorney Magazine, summer 2012. In this article Dr. Levy compares and contrasts the different Missions, Methods and Ethical Duties of Forensic Psychiatric (and Psychological) Experts with Treating Clinicians.
State of the Art Course To Meet October 12th -15th, Hyatt Regency Long Beach, Long Beach, California This is a link to the California Society of Addiction Medicine 2011 State of the Art Conference. fpamed forensic psychiatrist and addiction specialist, David Y. Kan, MD, is the conference chair. http://www.associationinternet.com/csam/csam.html The Conference will be featuring some of the heaviest hitters […]
Assessing Emotional Damages
Our primary skill is explaining complex medical and behavioral information in a readily understood and accurate manner. In the legal arena, as in our clinical practices, teaching, and scholarship, clear communication is our central goal. We reach our opinions and offer testimony based on evidence, not simply our authority. Integrating the data from medical records, […]
The 9th circuit federal appeals court majority said Tuesday that a previous ruling, and an earlier Supreme Court decision, allow an emotonal damages suit alleging Posttraumatic Stress Disorder by a seaman who was in a negligently operated vessel’s “zone of danger.”
A slide show accompanying a lecture for Attorneys by Dr. Meffert discussing the issue of working with traumatized clients.
It is unknown whether anger is a risk factor for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, arises as a consequence of PTSD, or both. Two hypotheses were tested in 180 police recruits: Greater trait anger during training will predict greater PTSD symptoms at one year; greater PTSD symptoms at one year will predict greater state anger at one year. Both hypotheses were confirmed, suggesting that trait anger is a risk factor for PTSD symptoms, but that PTSD symptoms are also associated with an increase of state anger. Increased anger is important not only because of the impact it has on individual distress and physical health, but also because of its potential public health impact.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided the case of United States v. Cope, 506
F.3d 908 (9th Cir. 2007), on November 5, 2007. At issue were the imposition of a lifetime of supervised
release and the special conditions of release.. Dr. Meffert discusses this case and the underlying issues.
Hundreds of thousands of Darfur people affected by the Sudanese genocide have fled to Cairo, Egypt, in search of assistance. Collaborating with Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), the authors conducted a mental health care needs assessment among Darfur refugees in Cairo. Information was collected using individual and focus group interviews to identify gaps in mental health care and develop understandings of emotional and relationship problems. The refugee mental health care system has a piecemeal structure with gaps in outpatient services. There is moderate to severe emotional distress among many Darfur refugees, including symptoms of depression and trauma, and interpersonal conflict, both domestic violence and broader community conflict, elevated relative to pregenocide levels. Given the established relationships between symptoms of depression/traumatic stress and interpersonal violence, improving mental health is important for both preventing mental health decompensation and stemming future cycles of intra- and intergroup conflict.
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