Child Development Expert Witnesses

Oakland, California

Psychiatry, Pediatrics - Traumatic Stress Disorders, PTSD, Neurobiology of Trauma, Memory, Child Development, Somatic Symptom Disorders, Functional Pain, Psychological Impact of Medical Illness, Capacity, Mitigation, Sentencing, Sex Abuse, Medical Complications

Holds a joint appointment as an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics. Board Certified in general psychiatry and pediatrics, with additional training in pediatric gastroenterology. Teaching physician at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, with specific interests in somatic manifestations of stress and long-term impacts of traumatic events on basic brain processes.

Centennial, Colorado

Child Abuse, Social Work - child custody, child development, child abuse, neglect, Family separation, Trauma, Best interest, Mental health, Reasonable efforts, Forensic social work, Removal, Foster care, Reunification, Adoption, Attachment, Termination of parental rights, Kinship care, Social work, child protective services, CPS

Jessica Duesler is a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado, Utah, Texas, and Florida with nearly 20 years of experience. Holding certifications in Forensic Social Work and Multicultural and International Social Work Practice, other specialized expertise includes Adoption Trauma, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Complex Trauma, the Harm of Removal, TPR, and Forensic Evaluations. Jessica's primary focus of work is centered around dependent and neglected children and domestic relations matters. She has also worked on juvenile delinquency and guardianship cases. Jessica's scope of work routinely involves legal advocacy, conducting mental health evaluations, child-focused trauma assessments, Parent-Child Interactional Evaluations, facilitating therapeutic out-of-home placement transitions, and serving as an expert witness throughout the country. Jessica is a certified Child & Family Investigator and Parental Responsibilities Evaluator. Jessica’s exp...

Florida

Child Abuse, Social Work - child custody, child development, child abuse, neglect, Family separation, Trauma, Best interest, Mental health, Reasonable efforts, Forensic social work, Removal, Foster care, Reunification, Adoption, Attachment, Termination of parental rights, Kinship care, Social work, child protective services, CPS

Jessica Duesler is a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado, Utah, Texas, and Florida with nearly 20 years of experience. Holding certifications in Forensic Social Work and Multicultural and International Social Work Practice, other specialized expertise includes Adoption Trauma, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Complex Trauma, the Harm of Removal, TPR, and Forensic Evaluations. Jessica's primary focus of work is centered around dependent and neglected children and domestic relations matters. She has also worked on juvenile delinquency and guardianship cases. Jessica's scope of work routinely involves legal advocacy, conducting mental health evaluations, child-focused trauma assessments, Parent-Child Interactional Evaluations, facilitating therapeutic out-of-home placement transitions, and serving as an expert witness throughout the country. Jessica is a certified Child & Family Investigator and Parental Responsibilities Evaluator. Jessica’s exp...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mental Health, Pediatrics - Children, Infant, Early Childhood, child development, trauma, foster care, baby, toddler, anxiety, kids, adoption, attachment

Erin is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in early childhood social emotional needs, particularly attachment, grief & loss, trauma and anxiety. With special attention to issues related to childhood mental health concerns and issues that contribute to that such as foster care, adoption, trauma, divorce etc... Erin Continues to practice in Pennsylvania and supervises multiple providers in their provision of services to children and families as well. Erin has trained in Multiple states on Infant and early childhood attachment. She has spent 20 years in the field with experiences in multiple spaces such as outpatient care, Early Intervention, Partial Hospitalization, non profit programs, child welfare, Intensive Behavioral Health Services. Pa Licensed Professional Counselor Endorsed Infant Mental Health Professional Member of the PA State Advisory Council on Early Education and Care PA Association for Infant Mental Health Board appointment Adjunct Faculty at the Univers...

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania

Human Factors, Safety - Adolescent development, Behavioral science, Child development, Failure analysis, Slip trip & fall, Adolescent safety, Caregiver behavior, Child psychology, Playground safety, Adolescent behavior, Child safety, Children’s products, Pool safety, Adult supervision, Child supervision, Consumer product safety, Safety communication

Dr. Karol Silva is a human factors consultant with interdisciplinary training in child and adolescent development and public health. She holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Temple University and master’s in public health from Brown University and is a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI). A significant portion of Dr. Silva’s work addresses child and adolescent safety, with particular attention to risk behaviors, cognitive and motor development, contextual factors, and the role of caregiver supervision. She also evaluates how factors such as risk perception and hazard awareness contribute to accident patterns across age groups, and how caregiver practices shape health and injury outcomes. She has conducted usability studies evaluating how children and adults interact with products in a range of environments. Her work considers human capabilities and limitations and the implications on product design, labeling, and safety communication. Dr. Silva has extensive expe...

Texas

Child Abuse, Social Work - child custody, child development, child abuse, neglect, Family separation, Trauma, Best interest, Mental health, Reasonable efforts, Forensic social work, Removal, Foster care, Reunification, Adoption, Attachment, Termination of parental rights, Kinship care, Social work, child protective services, CPS

Jessica Duesler is a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado, Utah, Texas, and Florida with nearly 20 years of experience. Holding certifications in Forensic Social Work and Multicultural and International Social Work Practice, other specialized expertise includes Adoption Trauma, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Complex Trauma, the Harm of Removal, TPR, and Forensic Evaluations. Jessica's primary focus of work is centered around dependent and neglected children and domestic relations matters. She has also worked on juvenile delinquency and guardianship cases. Jessica's scope of work routinely involves legal advocacy, conducting mental health evaluations, child-focused trauma assessments, Parent-Child Interactional Evaluations, facilitating therapeutic out-of-home placement transitions, and serving as an expert witness throughout the country. Jessica is a certified Child & Family Investigator and Parental Responsibilities Evaluator. Jessica’s exp...

Utah

Child Abuse, Social Work - child custody, child development, child abuse, neglect, Family separation, Trauma, Best interest, Mental health, Reasonable efforts, Forensic social work, Removal, Foster care, Reunification, Adoption, Attachment, Termination of parental rights, Kinship care, Social work, child protective services, CPS

Jessica Duesler is a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado, Utah, Texas, and Florida with nearly 20 years of experience. Holding certifications in Forensic Social Work and Multicultural and International Social Work Practice, other specialized expertise includes Adoption Trauma, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Complex Trauma, the Harm of Removal, TPR, and Forensic Evaluations. Jessica's primary focus of work is centered around dependent and neglected children and domestic relations matters. She has also worked on juvenile delinquency and guardianship cases. Jessica's scope of work routinely involves legal advocacy, conducting mental health evaluations, child-focused trauma assessments, Parent-Child Interactional Evaluations, facilitating therapeutic out-of-home placement transitions, and serving as an expert witness throughout the country. Jessica is a certified Child & Family Investigator and Parental Responsibilities Evaluator. Jessica’s exp...

McLean, Virginia

Psychology, Forensic Psychology - Trauma, injury, sexual abuse, violent extremism, PTSD, terrorism, informed consent, abortion, pregnancy loss, family, child development, post traumatic stress, white supremacism, violence, work place violence, sexual harassment, dissociative disorder, loss, wrongful death, grief

Anne Speckhard, Ph.D., is Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) and served for over two decades as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine. She is a seasoned expert witness and has testified internationally and nationally in Congress, federal courts, immigration and civil courts on the topics of trauma, loss and dissociation in a wide variety of both civil and criminal cases. She has researched various traumas from pregnancy loss and abortion traumas to Holocaust survivors and has interviewed over 800 terrorists, violent extremists, their family members and supporters in various parts of the world including in Western Europe, the Balkans, Central Asia, the Former Soviet Union and the Middle East. In the past five years, she has in-depth psychologically interviewed over 270 ISIS defectors, returnees and prisoners as well as 16 al Shabaab cadres (and also interviewed their family members as...

Wausau, Wisconsin

Behavioral and Social Sciences - Autism, BCBA, COBA, MA, Behavioral Health, Child Development Specialist, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Clinical Consultant

Melissa Schiefelbein has over 15 years of experience in the field of autism services and provides specialized legal services tailored for cases involving autism. Her expertise ensures that you receive informed and accurate representations in court. As a parent of a child with autism, child development specialist, former educator, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, clinical consultant, CEO of Bloom Health and nation-wide speaker, Melissa provides a comprehensive level of assistance in legal cases.