Frequently Asked Questions
Info for Attorneys: I have extensive credentials and testimony experience in litigation involving psychiatric issues and emotional damages claims involving children and adults. Forensic consultations and expert witness testimony, are available for cases of all age groups involving personal injury litigation, including medical malpractice, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, posttraumatic stress disorder/PTSD, and child sexual abuse and other cases with claims of emotional distress; and criminal cases requiring psychiatric expertise. I am an expert consultant for the Califonia Physicians' Licensing Agency, The Medical Board of California. Attorneys may contact me for details, and to obtain attorney references, a complete CV and a fee schedule. There is no charge for the initial telephone call. Please note that I do not accept liens. I also have developed a clinical subspecialty interest in personal psychotherapy for attorneys, and have a depth of experience in the unique stresses affecting attorneys, their employment situations and family issues; if interested please call for furthur information.
Child Psychiatry Services Provided
I subspecialize in Child Psychiatry, and provide combined child psychotherapy and medication evaluation/therapy as needed. Behavior therapy, play therapy, parent training and family therapy are all utilized. Areas of special interest include school and learning problems, school choice, school application interview anxiety and prep, ADHD, child anxiety problems and childhood depression, Asperger's syndrome, and Autism spectrum disorders. Further information is available by an initial telephone consultation at no charge to see how an in-person evaluation would be helpful.
How to Decide on Treatment
Most important in your decision for help is that your treatment is based on a careful and complete evaluation. I specialize in thorough asessments and take care to ensure that you can understand any treatment recommendations and decide on your course of care accordingly, without having to sort through a maze of techno-jargon. Secondly, credentials are important. Psychiatrists are the most highly trained of all mental health providers, and Board Certification is even better. Psychiatrists specialize in both psychotherapy and medication usage. Please contact me for more information and any questions you may have.
Marital & Divorce Issues
I have a special interest in marital and divorce counseling, as an outgrowth of my child psychiatry and forensic experience. I have extensive experience in couples therapy. If you are considering marital dissolution at all, see me first to understand how the emotional issues relate to legal concerns and how such understanding can minimize costs of your divorce. I also have a special interest in the impact of divorce on children and parenting issues of divorcing couples.
Thoughts On Current Events
For a link to the LA Times Magazine article quoted herein, go to the following link:
Kids on the Couch; How Psychotherapists Are Helping Children Succeed at the Difficult Job of Growing Up.
My thoughts on the Virginia Tech tragedy of April, 2007:
The way I see the Va. Tech events, it was truly a "Perfect Storm" just like in the movie, a confluence of factors that came together all at once to cause the events: Cho's simmering and boiling over likely psychiatric illness (not "evil", as many media pundits have mentioned-nothing religious here); then the gun availability; society's failure to help him when called upon, and it's glorification of violence; his culture which disallowed him to get help; his sibling issues which added fuel and transference phenomena-Cho was about to graduate--would he be the success his sister had been? -the pitiful lack of security on campus; and his peers inability and/or lack of assertiveness to reach him. Truly a "Perfect Storm;" all factors of which must be addressed for prevention of similar tragedies.
