Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP
Accurate, Reliable and Evidence-Based Forensic Psychiatric Assessments and Expert Opinions
Offices Nationwide
415-388-8040
email hidden; JavaScript is required
© Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
The Neuroscience of Real Life Monsters: Psychopaths, CEOs, & Politicians
/in Interviews, Neuroscience, Psychopathy, VideoWhy do some people live lawful lives, while others gravitate toward repeated criminal behavior? Do people choose to be moral or immoral, or is morality simply a genetically inherited function of the brain? Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Octavio Choi explores how emerging neuroscience challenges long-held assumptions underlying the basis—and punishment—of criminal behavior.
Off-Label Prescribing & Malpractice
/in Standard of Care, Psychiatric, NewslettersIs Off-Label Prescribing Malpractice? By Dr. Steven H. Berger, MD fpamed Forensic Psychiatrist Off-label prescribing is malpractice if (1) the prescription does not comply with the standard of care and (2) the prescription causes harm. The standard of care is unique for each patient’s situation. A prescription being on-label or off-label is irrelevant to the […]
A Case of Biopharmaceutical-Induced Catatonia and the Implication of a Novel Mechanism
/in Articles, Publications & QuotesCatatonia can be described structurally as a motor dysregulation syndrome with a concomitant behavioral component. However, despite its initial recognition nearly 150 years ago, the exact pathophysiological causes underlying this syndrome are still somewhat unknown and are potentially variable. This report reviews a case of a patient with multiple catatonic episodes precipitated by the use […]
Risk of suicide after discharge from inpatient psychiatric care: a systematic review
/in Articles, Publications & Quotes, SuicideThe findings of this review suggest that significant suicide predictors both common and unique to those established for suicide in the general population exist and can be utilised in a clinically meaningful way, despite the difficulties inherent in studying this population.KEY POINTSThe risk of suicide after psychiatric hospitalisation is high.Factors that predict suicide after psychiatric […]
Telepsychiatry Standards & Practices – Understanding & Mitigating Liability Risks
/in Telepsychiatry, WebinarsTelemedicine and telepsychiatry have been used routinely for the past decade, but during the COVID-19 pandemic these services are needed more than ever. Telepsychiatry is being used in sub-practices including addiction counseling. Some physicians are not aware of potential missteps and are opening themselves up to liability claims.
Sanity Evaluations: The relationship between the mental state and the criminal behavior.
/in Newsletters, Criminal Law & Mental IllnessThe insanity defense is a traditional affirmative defense that dates back to biblical times with more relevant application dating back to English common law. Simply defined, the insanity defense determines whether a defendant is capable of being held criminally responsible for his or her actions. How sanity is more specifically defined differs between states and in Clark v. Arizona, 548 […]
Pseudologia Fantastica: An Elaborate Tale of Combat-related PTSD
/in Articles, Publications & Quotes, Posttraumatic Stress DisorderPseudologia fantastica (PF), also known as mythomania or pathologic lying, is a well-known yet controversial phenomenon in psychiatry. There is no firm conceptualization of PF, nor are there any widely accepted diagnostic criteria for PF. The condition may be related to low self-esteem, and it shows some overlap with narcissistic personality disorder and other Diagnostic […]
Virtual Forensic Psychiatric Practice: A Lawyer’s Guide
/in NewslettersJust because we’re housebound, doesn’t mean we’ve stopped working. January 18,2023 Post-Pandemic Update: This article was originally written early in the Covid-19 Pandemic. Since May 5, 2020, much has changed. Many temporary and experimental adaptations to restrictions imposed by the pandemic have become normalized and adopted by lawyers, the courts as well as by forensic […]
Video: The Criminal Brain
/in Neuroscience, Neuropsychiatry, VideoWhy do some people live lawful lives, while others gravitate toward repeated criminality? Do people choose to be moral or immoral, or is morality simply a genetically inherited function of the brain, like mathematical ability? Research suggests certain regions of the brain influence moral reasoning. Dr. Octavio Choi explores how emerging neuroscience challenges long-held assumptions underlying the basis—and punishment—of criminal behavior.
Video: Dr. Octavio Choi presents Brain Basics: An Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
/in Neuropsychiatry, Neuroscience, VideoNeuroscientific evidence is increasingly being encountered in the United States criminal justice system. This session will provide a concise and readily accessible introduction to human brain structure, brain function, and how structure and function are studied through modern neuroimaging techniques.
Psychological and Neuropsychological Assessment of Children and Adolescents
/in NewslettersPsychological and neurocognitive assessment can provide empirical data that can be very valuable to the trier of fact in determining the presence, severity, and absence of psychological and neurocognitive damages in children and adolescents. Testing provided by psychologists who are highly trained and experienced with forensic assessment can be extremely helpful for plaintiff and defense […]
Indications for Psychotherapy in Adults in Later Life
/in Articles, Publications & Quotes, PsychotherapySince its inception more than 100 years ago, theories and techniques of psychotherapy have experienced tremendous growth and diversification. There has been a gradual increase in our knowledge of aging as well as in our experience conducting psychotherapy with older adults. Although the core principles of psychotherapy are mostly similar to those pertaining to younger […]
Video: Can Neuroscience help us eradicate psychopathy? Octavio Choi – TEDx Talk, Portland State University
/in Video, Forensic Psychiatry, Neurocognition, PsychopathyDr. Choi digs into the psychopaths brain, literally. He examines how their brain reacts and thinks compared to an average brain, hoping that we do our part to guide the psychopaths to a better life.
What Neuroscience Can and Cannot Answer | Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
/in AAPL (American Academy of Psychiatry & the Law), Articles, Publications & Quotes, Forensic Psychiatry, Neurocognition, Neuroscience, PsychopathyWe truly live in the golden age of neuroscience. Advances in technology over the past 20 years have given modern neuro-researchers tools of unprecedented power to probe the workings of the most complex machine in the universe (as far as we know).
HB Webinar: PTSD in Mass Tort & Multi-Plaintiff Litigation
/in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Mass Torts, WebinarsWatch the FREE video recording of this webinar. Everything You Need to Know About Assessing PTSD Claims In Mass Tort Litigation: The “Team” Approach. Get up to speed on the medical and scientific aspects of PTSD in mass tort and multi-claimant cases. With Mark I. Levy, MD, DLFAPA and Sarah A. Hall, PhD.
PTSD Claims Brought by Facebook’s ‘Graphic Content’ Reviewers Goes to ADR, Putting Civil Action on Pause
/in Posttraumatic Stress DisorderFacebook can be great fun. How else would I have seen a video of an eight-year-old drummer-girl utterly thrashing Led Zeppelin’s Good Times Bad Times? Or a dog running away with a lit skyrocket as his human friends run, duck and ditch for their lives? Or what your cat looks like in a tuxedo?
Check out the upcoming HB Webinar
HB Webinar: The Opioid Addiction Story – What Tort Attorneys Should Know About Opiates & How This Epidemic Came to Be
/in Addiction, Opioids, WebinarsAs opioid addiction continues to claim lives and litigation continues to expand, attorneys who may have potential clients – as plaintiffs or defendants – will benefit from this 95-minute session with Dr. David Kan, who has been retained by plaintiffs in the opioid MDL in Ohio.
Mass Tort Litigation
/in Mass Torts, NewslettersThe Team Approach to Forensic Psychiatric Assessment in Mass Tort or Multi-Plaintiff Complex Litigation There are key advantages to employing a “Single Team Approach” to assessing emotional damages claims in a mass tort population. Whether part of a class action, consolidated individual claims, multi-district litigation, or another procedure, a large population of claimants seeking emotional […]
Current Regulation of Mobile Mental Health Applications
/in Blog, Articles, Publications & QuotesJames A. Armontrout, MD, John Torous, MD, Marsha Cohen, JD, Dale E. McNiel, PhD, and Renée Binder, MD — The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law — In recent years, the availability of software that is targeted toward the general public and designed to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of […]
“I Hurt but They Think I’m Faking!” What Are Somatic Symptom & Related Disorders & What Is Their Importance in Civil Litigation?
/in Blog, Newsletters, SomatizationA passenger vehicle is rear-ended by a commercial vehicle traveling at 30 mph on a state road. The driver of the passenger vehicle is seat belted. The airbags deployed, and the vehicle suffered moderate rear end damage. Ambulance personnel note that the driver exited the vehicle without assistance, is awake, standing by the roadside and talking […]
6-13-18 NARTC Webinar – mTBI Claims in Litigation
/in Articles, Publications & Quotes, TelepsychiatryTopics To Be Covered: 1. Asessing Emotional Disorders 1. Definitions – what is a TBI? – what makes a mild TBI “mild?” 2. 3-legged stool assessment: neurology, neuropsychology & psychiatry. 3. Neurology – Imaging Studies and Structural Assessment. • MRI. • DTI. • Tractography. 4. Problems with correlating imaging studies with mTBI studies. 5. Neuropsychology […]
mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and Imaging Studies in Forensic Psychiatry
/in Neuroimaging, Blog, MRI, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)By Forensic Psychiatrist Mark I Levy, MD, DLFAPA Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (“mTBI” or “concussion”) is a frequent claim in civil litigation where the plaintiff has sustained a head injury. The best evaluation of these claims is performed by a 3-part team of forensic neurologist, neuropsychologist and psychiatrist. The neurologist addresses and structural damage to […]
Addiction and Mental Health
/in AddictionThe cannabis landscape changed in 2016 with the passage of Proposition 64 in California, which legalized recreational use of cannabis and possession of less than an ounce, as Prop 215 legalized medicinal use in 1996. Dr. Kan noted that experience has shown that medicinal use of cannabis decreased opioid mortality among patients, dropping by 5% […]
The Problem of Wearing Two Hats: 10 Reasons Why Using the Treating Doctor as a Forensic Psychiatric Expert May Be a Bad Idea
/in Newsletters, BlogMany attorneys, when working on a case in which the mental health status of one of the parties is a significant issue, consider relying solely on a treating psychiatrist to serve as an independent expert psychiatric witness. Engaging the treating psychiatrist may seem efficient, cost-effective, and simply seeking expertise from the professional who knows the individual […]
Substance Use Disorders: It’s a Tough Row to Hoe
/in Addiction, Blog, Newsletters, Opioids, Substance Abuse, UCSF PsychiatryThis is a slide show presentation and subsequent webinar presented to NARTC by David Kan, M.D., D.F.A.S.A.M., a Diplomate Am. Bd. Psychiatry & Neurology in Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Associate Clinical Professor Psychiatry, UCSF School of Medicine, an original member of Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP and current President of the California Society of Addiction Medicine. Click […]