Areas Of Expertise
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is a group of characteristic symptoms resulting from exposure to extreme trauma. They include persistent reexperiencing of the traumatic event, persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event and numbing of general responsiveness, and persistent symptoms of increased arousal.
Forensic examination for PTSD shall include an Independent Medical Examination (IME) for Emotional Trauma:
- The clinical examination of the examinee
- The corroborative examination of others and documents
- The clinical assessment for PTSD
- A full five axis diagnosis
- Identification of causal relationships (if any)
- Recommendations for present and/or future treatment
- Clinical justification/rationale for treatment
- Reasonable fees for present and/or future treatment
- Emotional Impairment and Prognosis
Sexually Problematic Behavior in Children, Adolescents, and Adults
There is an accepted continuum of normal sexual behaviors demonstrated by children relative to developmental milestones. Sexually problematic behaviors occur when there has been a disruption of normal sexual development. This disruption can be direct (i.e., genital touching) or indirect (i.e., exposure to sexualized material or behavior).
Forensic Assessment of an Alleged Sexual Abuse Victim includes:
- Follows interview guidelines accepted by The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and The National Children's Advocacy Center
- Utilizes internal testing for the possibility of coached or fabricated statements
- Will focus on determining the source of sexualization as direct or in direct
- Thoroughly reviews historical and collateral information
- Utilizes the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory and anatomic dolls and/or drawings when appropriate
- Interviews alleged perpetrators in context with the assessment*
Forensic Psychosexual Assessment of an Alleged Youthful Perpetrator:
- Follows established protocols to determine levels of sexualization and psychosexual stressors
- Follows treatment standards published by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
- Will focus on determining the intent motivating sexual behavior problem(s) and making individualized treatment recommendations to maintain client and community safety
- Thoroughly reviews historical and collateral information in the case
Forensic Psychosocial Assessment of Alleged Adult Perpetrators and Alleged Sex Addicts:
- Follows established protocols to determine levels of sexualization and psychosexual stressors
- Follows treatment standards published by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
- Will focus on determining the intent motivating sexual behavior problem(s) and making individualized treatment recommendations to maintain client and community safety
- Thoroughly reviews historical and collateral information in the case
- Utilizes the Abel Assessment for sexual interest in pre- and post-test evaluations
- Adult sexual offender treatment incorporates an elective "healthy spirituality" track to aid clients with issues of religiosity
*Adults who have been charged/adjudicated with sexual offense against a child but remains "in denial" can be accepted into individual counseling on a case by case basis. This counseling follows established protocols for working with "non admitters" and offers forensic evaluation of case history.
Personal Injury
The forensic examinations conducted by Dr. Harris seeks only the truth and will be totally objective through accurate determination of the facts involved. He will neither withhold nor omit any findings or opinions discovered during a forensic investigation which would cause the facts to be misinterpreted or distorted. All findings will be reported in an unbiased and objective manner. Any information gleaned during a forensic inquiry is not subject to attorney-client privilege and should be equally and entirely available to both sides of a matter in litigation upon request.
The expert services include:
- General/case consultation
- Litigation preparation
- Documents review
- Assessment/evaluation for traumatic emotional response
- Assessment/evaluation for malingering/feigning
- Expert witness and friend-of-the-court testimony
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Family Therapy & Trauma Center, P.A.