Consulting/Public Speaking

Consulting, Public Speaking and Training

I am available to consult and present on a variety of topics related to the complex intersection of psychology and law. As a consultant, I have worked at the systemic level to help judicial districts improve their mental health services, as well as the nature and quality of the assessments that are tendered to court. For example, I worked with the state of Connecticut to adopt the juvenile court clinic model I helped establish in Cook County. I trained Illinois and Massachusetts police officers on mental health issues and adolescent development, and co-authored Education and Training Guidelines for Forensic Psychology for the Council of Specialties in Professional Psychology (2007). More recently, I consulted for organizations such as the MacArthur Foundation, the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ), and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) on issues related to juvenile justice and adolescent development. I have also educated courts in Malawi and Uganda. In 2015, I was invited to present in a U.S. congressional briefing titled, Conditions of Youth Confinement: From Entry to Release – What Really Happens to Youth Behind Bars.

When preparing for a public speaking engagement, I communicate with the client to make sure I understand the goals of the presentation and event. I ask what prompted the interest in the topic and who the audience will be (lawyers, judges, psychologists, social workers, probation officers, etc.) To prepare, I draw from my knowledge of the literature and research findings, as well as my own experiences in the field. During the presentation, I leave plenty of room for questions and dialogue.

Examples of Presentation Topics

  • False Confessions: Obtaining Clinical Psychological Evidence.
  • Preparing for the Challenges of Child Witnesses.
  • Timing and Quality of Mental Health Evaluations: What Judges Should Know About Evaluations and Experts.
  • Life Sentences: Inside and Outside the Justice System.
  • The Challenge of False and Coerced Confessions of Juveniles.
  • Where Do We Go From Here: Mental Evaluation and
    Community Resources in Juvenile Court.
  • Mental Health Diagnosis and DSM IV and V.
  • Understanding Mental Health Assessment: A Basic Introduction for Parents’ Lawyers in Child Welfare Cases.
  • The Science of Brain Development in Young Adults.
  • Adolescent Development and Neuroscience: Why Kids Are Different.
  • Assessment of Psychological Trauma in Forensic Evaluations.
  • Ethical Considerations of Delivering Mental Health Treatment within Juvenile Court Clinics: A Critical Analysis.
  • The Post-Miller v Alabama World: Redefining Juvenile Justice and Life without Parole.