Expert Resume/CV

Nationally known psychiatrist/Expert Witness with a winning record in over 200 cases-including many high profile!  A Board Certified psychiatrist, on the Clinical Faculty at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute, with a well-respected record of expert witness testimony -- for plaintiff and defense, in civil and criminal cases. Her unique ability to look far beneath the surface to uncover psychological evidence that makes or breaks a case, makes her invaluable. Her testimony in many hi-profile cases has garnered national recognition, including: the Jenny Jones Talk Show Murder Trial (defense for Jonathan Schmitz), Celebrity divorces (Roseanne, Jim Carrey, Jean-Claude Van Dam), Paternity cases against NBA players, and High school shooting victims' cases against videogame manufacturers.  

Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology. Clinical Faculty, UCLA Department of Psychiatry.

LICENSURE (M.D.)

• New York - #128409          
• California - #A34122 

SPECIALTY BOARDS

Diplomat, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology  

PSYCHIATRIC - LEGAL

Her cases also include: Sexual harassment, Discrimination, Malpractice, Wrongful termination, Custody, Divorce, Child abuse & all child issues, Battered woman, Personal Injury, Media-inspired copy-cat crimes, Sports injuries (incl. Equestrian), Palimony, and more. She thrives on challenging cases.

She is often featured in the media (from Larry King to Oprah), and testifies before Congress. She is currently finishing a book, Descent Into Madness, about the Jenny Jones trial, and writing a book about coping with terrorism. She has a Terrorist Stress help line: 900-860-COPE (2673), from which proceeds are donated to victims of terrorism. She has created a Relaxation Channel for airlines' in-flight entertainment to decrease stress.

Qualified Expert Witness:

• Psychiatry
• Media & Communications

PRIOR High Profile CASES include:

• Florida v. Roman (felony bullying/attorney Jose Baez)
• People v. Redmond O’Neal (drug felony sentencing)
• Plaintiffs v. James Arthur Ray/Sedona Sweat Lodge
• Minor v. Kid Nation (reality TV®emotional distress)
• Terri Schiavo (appeal)
• Nevada v. Floyd Mayweather (domestic violence)
• People v. Jonathan Schmitz (Jenny Jones Talk Show Murder Trial)
• Dickerson Family v. Disneyland (post-traumatic stress)
• Tate v. Larry Johnson/Stacey Augman  (NBA paternity and assault)
• Celebrity Divorces: Roseanne Barr, Jim Carrey, Jean Claude Van Damme
• School Shootings: victims’ families v. media
• Vega, Rodriguez et al v. Catholic Archdiocese of L.A. (priest molestation)
• Jasmer v. Geraldo (emotional distress)

EXPERT REVIEWER for the MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA

EVALUATOR/EXAMINER of parties and Consultant to Attorneys 

EXPERIENCE (18+ years/hundreds of cases) includes: High profile; Criminal; Sexual harassment; Entertainment law; Media-incited copycat behavior; Psychiatric and HMO malpractice; Wrongful death; Child/Adolescent issues; Divorce; Custody; Abuse (sexual, physical, emotional); Battered woman; Wrongful termination; Discrimination; Equestrian and other Sports; Personal injury; Terrorism; Violence; Priest misconduct; Police misconduct; Malingering; Will contestation; Elder abuse; Workers compensation  (QME/IME/AME); and other cases where mental state/emotional distress were at issue

CONGRESSIONAL

• Congressional Hearing of the Subcommittee on National Security, International
• Affairs, and Criminal Justice of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight - "Report from the Front Line: The Drug War in Hollywood"
• Statement at U.S. Senator Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota) Press Conference to announce formation of a Citizens Task Force on TV Violence
• U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Joint Hearing, Constitution Subcommittee chaired by Senator Paul Simon
• House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal Justice
  • "10 Point Plan to Sweep Violence Off TV and Off Our Streets" 

FACULTY

UCLA / NEUROPSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE 

• Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry (ongoing)
• Supervision of psychiatry residents; Psychiatry 101 course for medical students; Tutorials for medical students; Post-play discussions for residents, faculty, staff; Support group for women psychiatry residents; Women & Psychiatry course for undergraduates; Psychotherapy for medical students and residents

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY / BELLEVUE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL 

• Teaching Assistant
• Supervision of psychiatry residents; Post-play discussions for residents and faculty; Reading seminar on Psychotherapy of Schizophrenia; Lecture Series on Theories of Personality; Presentation of Grand Rounds: "Schizo-Affective Illness Defies the Dichotomy"; Lecture Series on "Autistic Children" - Dept. of Child Psychiatry; Clinical instruction and lectures on individual topics

LEGAL ANALYST for MEDIA

Media Outlets have included -- TV: Larry King and other CNN programming, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The O’Reilly Factor and other Fox News Network programming, Nancy Grace, Jane Velez Mitchell and other Headline News programming, ABC, CBS and NBC News, BBC, Sky TV, Canadian TV, German TV, French TV, Celebrity Justice, E!, Court TV, Entertainment Tonight; Radio and Print.

Cases analyzed have included: Ariel Castro/Ohio kidnapping, Oscar Pistorius, Jodi Arias, Christopher Dorner, Manti Te’o, Sandy Hook school shooting, Batman shooter: James Holmes, Dr. Conrad Murray, Casey Anthony, Tiger Woods, Josh Powell, Mel Gibson & Oksana, Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, James Arthur Ray/Sedona sweat lodge, Heene Family (‘Balloon Boy’), Jaycee Dugard, Anna Nicole Smith, Nadya Suleman, Terrorist trials, OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Joran Van Der Sloot, Natalee Holloway, Celebrity Divorce and Custody, Jenny Jones Talk Show Murder, Terri Schiavo, Virginia Tech School Shooting, Priest Molestation, Police Brutality, Sex Offenders, Laci Peterson, Kobe Bryant, Phil Spector, Robert Blake, Menendez brothers, Rodney King, Jon Benet Ramsey and Presidential Impeachment trial of Bill Clinton.

Psychiatric Consultant to nationally syndicated TV show: Paternity Court

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK at STONY BROOK

•             B.A. with Honors in Psychology
•             Pre-Med; Major-Psychology; Minor-English/Creative Writing

UNIVERSITE DE LOUVAIN, BELGIUM - Medical School - M.D.

UCLA / SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

• POST - DOCTORAL SCHOLAR/NIMH FELLOWSHIP - Psychiatric Epidemiology
  • Specialty: Psychiatry and the Media-Using Media for Mental Health Promotion/Mental Illness Prevention
• MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH (M.P.H.)
  • Division: Behavioral Science and Health Education

APPOINTMENTS

Medicine and Psychiatry Training:

• NEW YORK UNIVERSITY / BELLEVUE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - New York City
• Psychiatric Resident (Including Chief Residency at affiliated MANHATTAN PSYCHIATRIC CENTER) 

MAUDSLEY HOSPITAL - London

• Studied under Julian Leff - Expressed Emotion in Families of Schizophrenics
• Learned research techniques measuring "Expressed Emotion" and "Present State Exam"

HAMPSTEAD CLINIC - London   

• Studied under Anna Freud - Psychoanalysis

NEW YORK INFIRMARY - New York City - Straight Medical Intern                

MT. SINAI HOSPITAL - Hartford, CN - Rotating Sub-Intern (including Psychiatry electives at:

• CONNECTICUT VALLEY HOSPITAL
• MT. ZION HOSPITAL, San Francisco)

Past:

GATEWAYS HOSPITAL & MENTAL HEALTH CENTER - Los Angeles

• Director, Day Treatment and Out Patient Depts.
• Attending Staff Admitting Privileges

METROPOLITAN STATE HOSPITAL - Los Angeles - Educational Consultant

• Lectures and clinical instruction for mental health professionals

WESTWOOD HOSPITAL - Los Angeles - Attending Staff Admitting Privileges

MOTION PICTURE & TV HOSPITAL - Consultant - Los Angeles

Current:

CEDARS SINAI HOSPITAL/THALIANS MENTAL HEALTH CENTER - Los Angeles

• Psychiatrist on Staff 

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Beverly Hills, California 

ACADEMIC

• "The Existential 'School' of Thought...A Study of Existentialism and Education," The Clearing House
• "Ambiguity in the Treatment of the Concept of God in Sein and Zeit (Being and Time) as a Reflection of the Early Theological Education of Martin Heidegger" (a psychological profile), Journal of Religious Studies, 9 #2: 34-41
• "Problems of Women Psychiatric Residents," Psychiatric Quarterly, 53 #3: 175-177
• "Schizo-Affective Illness Defies the Dichotomy...And Keeps DSM III Pondering," Schizophrenia Bulletin, 5 #3: 436-440
• “Compulsive Shopping” – Encyclopedia Britannica 

• Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How To Live with Them and When to Leave Them  (Dutton/Signet Publishing)
• Coping with Terrorism: Dreams Interrupted (European Atlantic Publications)
• American Dreams Interrupted: How To Stay Sane and Safe in a Time of Terror (publisher pending)
• Bad Girls: Why Men Love Them & How Good Girls Can Learn Their Secrets (Cogito Media)

Psychiatry and the Media - Projects include:

• Seven Warning Signals of Mental Illness-Media Prevention Campaign
• Effects of TV Programs About Anxiety and Depression: Are Undergrads Who Are Anxious, Depressed or Stressed More 'Tuned In'?
• Who Calls In To TV Programs About Mental Health & Why?
• Detection of Depression via TV: Giving the Audience the Zung Depression Scale
• Sudden Death and Schizophrenia: Etiological Perspectives
• An 'Ideal' Health Care System for the American Schizophrenic

Expressed Emotion in Families of Schizophrenics

            Maudsley Hospital, London; Manhattan Psych. Hospital/Bellevue; UCLA

Correlation of Consultation Requests with Consultee Parameters

• Bellevue Hospital, New York

Assessment of the Effects of the Mentally Ill Upon the Psychiatric Personnel with whom they Interact

• Honors Thesis
• New York

Research Assistant to Dr. Harry Harlow - University of Wisconsin

• Surrogate Monkey Mothers and Peer Deprivation 

SOCIETIES - Psychiatry

Present:

U.C.L.A. NEUROPSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE – Clinical Faculty Association

Past:

AMERICAN ASSN OF DIRECTORS OF PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENCY TRAINING  

AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION

• Southern California Psychiatric Society
  • Public Information Committee & Co-Chair
• New York County District Branch
  • Committee on Residency Training; Assistant Editor of Newsletter; Resident Liaison to Executive Council; Chair and Founder, Committee on Residents

L.A. COUNTY MEDICAL WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION

MALIBU MEDICAL SOCIETY

• Public Information Committee, Chair

NATIONAL INSTITUTES FOR PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION - Board of Governors

N.Y.U./BELLEVUE PSYCHIATRIC SOCIETY - Alumni

THE SOCIETY FOR LIAISON PSYCHIATRY

INVITED BIOGRAPHICAL INCLUSIONS

• Biography International
• Directory of Medical Specialists
• Dictionary of International Biography
• International Directory of Distinguished Leadership
• International Who's Who in Medicine
• Personalities of the Americas
• The Directory of Distinguished Americans
• The International Book of Honor
• The World Who's Who of Women
• Who's Who of American Women
• Who's Who Among Young American Professionals               
• Who's Who Among Human Service Professionals
• Who's Who in California
• 5,000 Personalities of the World
• Who's Who in the West
• Who's Who in Executives and Professionals
• And more….