Intimate Partner Violence Expert Witnesses

Chandler Heights , Arizona

Forensic Psychology, Law Enf & Criminal Justice - investigative interviewing, false confessions, memory, biases, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, police procedures, power dynamics, abuse, trauma, wrongful conviction

As a 25-year federal agent (still active) and licensed clinical psychologist, my areas of expertise include science-based investigative interviewing, coerced or false confessions, the dynamics of interpersonal crimes and police/investigative practices. As 1 of 7 worldwide forensic science consultants, having completed a fellowship in forensic medicine, I consulted on cases of child abuse, equivocal death, sexual and aggravated assault and arson. My combined experience as a special agent and licensed clinical psychologist provides a unique perspective and I am available to serve as an expert witness in cases involving potentially coerced or false confessions, sufficiency of the investigative interview, establishing consent (or lack thereof), understanding power dynamics in sexual assault and/or intimate partner violence investigations, memory, cognitive biases, and best practices for investigations. I have been teaching science-based investigative interviewing for the past 5 years ...

San Rafael, California

Forensic Psychology, Mental Health - domestic violence, intimate partner violence, IPV, intimate partner abuse, battered woman syndrome, false arrest, battered woman defense, battered person syndrome, battered person defense, family violence, family abuse, psychological abuse, batterer intervention

John Hamel, Ph.D., LCSW, has a Masters in Social Welfare from U.C.L.A., and a Ph.D. from the University of Central Lancashire, U.K., where he is currently a Research Fellow. He has worked with family violence perpetrators and victims since 1992, and is a court-approved provider of batterer intervention programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Hamel is the author of Gender-Inclusive Treatment of Intimate Partner Abuse, 2nd Edition: Evidence-Based Approaches, (Springer, 2014), and other books on domestic violence. He also has had dozens of his research articles published in various peer-reviewed scholarly journals, and is Editor-in-Chief of Partner Abuse, a journal published quarterly by Springer Publishing. A frequent speaker at conferences on domestic violence, he has also trained mental health professionals, attorneys, victim advocates social service organizations, law enforcement, attorneys and family court mediators. He is a founding member of the Association of Domesti...

Newport Beach, California

Behavioral and Social Sciences - domestic violence, collective violence, homicide, gang violence, forensic interviewing, IPV, radicalization, terrorism, hate crimes, stalking, grievances, intimate partner violence, cycle of violence, coercive control, bias-motivated violence, child abuse

Dr. April Gould provides expert analysis, consultation, and testimony in criminal and civil cases involving domestic violence/intimate partner violence, hate crimes, gang violence, and homicide. She is a Criminology Expert at Park Dietz & Associates. She has been retained as an expert witness or consulting expert in more than 20 criminal and civil matters, involving homicides, domestic violence, gang violence, bias-motivated violence, and death penalty cases. Dr. Gould specializes in helping attorneys and juries understand the behavioral dynamics underlying violent crime. Her areas of expert opinion include the dynamics of domestic violence and coercive control, risk and lethality assessment in intimate partner violence, hate crime and terrorism motivation and radicalization pathways, gang violence, and child abuse and neglect. She has developed and presented continuing legal education programs for the National District Attorneys' Association on topics such as lethality risk asses...

Manhattan Beach, California

Psychology, Psychology - coercive control, undue influence, sexual abuse, sexual consent, family abuse, psychological manipulation, grooming, sexual violence, battered women syndrome, financial abuse, coercion, intimate partner violence, parental alienation, stalking, troubled teen industry, false / coerced confession, cult, victim behavior, RICO

Jennifer works on cases of coercive control and identifies patterns of behavior designed to exploit, control, create dependency and dominate another person. This process may initially include tactics of psychological manipulation such as gaslighting and love bombing which are part of a grooming process. These patterns may include coercive control as it relates to child custody, undue influence, sexual abuse, child abuse, domestic abuse, domestic violence, financial abuse, physical abuse, human trafficking, the troubled teen industry, and deprivation of liberties. She is an expert in cults, cultic abuse, and religious and spiritual abuse from the perspective of identifying behavioral patterns and not as a means to diagnose individuals psychologically. Please note: she is not a psychotherapist. She also specializes in sexual consent, date rape, stalking, strangulation, grooming, molestation, reproductive coercion, and the capacity to consent as they relate to tactics and patterns of ...

Daytona Beach, Florida

Nurse, Emergency Medical Services - Forensic Nurse Examiner, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, SANE-A, Emergency Department, Sexual Assault, Intimate Partner Violence, Human Trafficking, Strangulation, Domestic Violence, Sexual Battery, Rape, Paramedic, RN, Workplace Violence, Workplace Safety, Medical Regulatory Compliance, Employee Health, Program Development, TIC

Dual licensed Registered Nurse and Paramedic. Nationally certified as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner- Adult/Adolescent by the International Association of Forensic Nurses. Over 25 years experience in Emergency Medical Services including pre-hospital and emergency room care. Extensive leadership experience including serving as the Emergency Department Charge Nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experience in creating and developing teams. Currently practicing as a SANE-A in Central Florida. Own and operate Vanderhoof Vitality, LLC which is a natural health clinic. I am also the founder of Victim Response Training, Inc. which provides training to those who interact with victims during their continuum of care. I serve as the Secretary for the Florida Chapter of Forensic Nurses.

Baltimore, Maryland

Behavioral and Social Sciences, Social Work - Intimate Partner Violence, Criminalized Survivors of Violence, Women’s Pathways to Prison, Gender-Based Violence, Intimate Partner Homicide Risk, Traumatic Brain Injury from IPV, Coercive Control, Violence Risk Assessment, Prostitution/Sex Work, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, Childhood Maltreatment, LGBTQIA+ Populations

I am a nationally recognized social scientist and licensed master social worker (LMSW) with over 15 years of experience conducting interdisciplinary research on intimate partner violence, gender-based violence, sex trafficking, trauma, and the criminalization of survivors, including work with LGBTQIA+ populations. My work emphasizes trauma-informed, social and behavioral responses to explain survivor behavior, risk trajectories, and decision-making in high-stakes contexts. I have authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on over $9 million in funded research. As a social worker by training with advanced interdisciplinary violence research training at Johns Hopkins University, I bring expertise grounded in both empirical research and practice-informed understanding of violence, trauma, and systems response. My approach integrates social science, public health, and trauma-informed frameworks to examine the health, mental...

ANN ARBOR, Michigan

Forensic Psychiatry, Risk Management - Behavioral threat assessment, Fitness for duty evaluation, Conservatorship, Violent Extremism, Workplace and campus violence, Undue influence, Medical malpractice, Violence risk assessment, Testamentary capacity, Stalking, Psychiatric disability, Guardianship, Intimate Partner Violence

I am a board certified forensic psychiatrist licensed in MI, CA, TX, IA and IL, and participate in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. I specialize in behavioral threat assessment, fitness for duty and psychiatric disability in workplace and higher education settings, working as both an evaluator and consultant. I have assisted a wide range of corporations and public/government agencies, including many Fortune 500 companies, as well as colleges and universities across the U.S., working closely with legal counsel. I have published in forensic psychiatry, threat assessment, workplace and campus violence prevention, extremism, and other subjects, and frequently deliver presentations and trainings on these subjects to academic and professional audiences. I have extensive teaching and supervisory experience and hold an adjunct academic appointment at the University of Michigan. In addition, I have served as an expert evaluator and witness in cases concerning questions of incapacita...

Sterling Heights, Michigan

Behavioral and Social Sciences, Sexual Health - Sexual Assault, Sexual Trauma, Trauma, Intimate Partner Violence, Domestic Violence, Sexual Violence, Sexually Violent Predator, BDSM, Kink, Paraphilias, Fetishes, Sex Crimes, Sexual Trauma, Trauma-Informed Care, Sexual Deviance, Sexual Disorders, Sadomasochism, Bondage, Sadism

Stefani Goerlich is a Clinical and Forensic Social Worker, Board Certified Clinical/Forensic Sexologist and Certified Sex Therapist and an internationally recognized expert on erotic minorities. A multi-award-winning author of five books on BDSM/Kink and mental health, she literally “wrote the book” on working with clients with both clinical and sub-clinical paraphilias. Her work includes: The Leather Couch: Clinical Practice with Kinky Clients Kink-Affirming Practice: Culturally Competent Therapy from The Leather Chair BDSM & Kink: The Basics With Sprinkles On Top: Everything Vanilla People and Their Kinky Partners Need to Know to Communicate, Explore, and Connect. Securing Sexuality: Emerging Issues at the Intersection of Intimacy and Technology as well as several peer-reviewed academic journal publications on the topic of clinical practice related to sexual trauma, BDSM/kink and paraphilias. Stefani lectures at the Universities of Michigan and Minnesota on gender, sexualit...

Livingston, New Jersey

Psychology, Forensic Psychology - Personal Injury, Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence, Testing, Trauma, PTSD, Somatoform Disorders, Munchausen by proxy, Independent Medical Examination

Red Bank, New Jersey

Psychology, Mental Health - Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Trauma, Sexual Abuse, Assault, Emotional Distress, Harassment, Neglect, Vicarious Traumatization, Burnout, Therapy, EMDR, Depression, Anxiety, Intimate Partner Violence

Dr. Sasha Berger is a Columbia-trained, licensed clinical psychologist with over 15 years of experience in clinical practice, supervision, and research, with particular expertise in trauma, dissociation, and posttraumatic stress, including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dissociative Identity Disorder. She is fully licensed in NY and NJ, and a member of the National Registry of Health Psychologists. She has a wide range of experience across multiple settings, including hospital outpatient/inpatient care, college counseling centers, community mental health, and outpatient/inpatient neuropsychological assessment. She has held appointments at Columbia University Medical School, City University of New York, Mount Sinai Medical Center and the National Institute for the Psychotherapies’ Integrative Trauma Studies Program. Throughout her academic roles, she has taught coursework on trauma and provided clinical supervision and consultation to Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) student...

New York

Psychology, Mental Health - Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Trauma, Sexual Abuse, Assault, Emotional Distress, Harassment, Neglect, Vicarious Traumatization, Burnout, Therapy, EMDR, Depression, Anxiety, Intimate Partner Violence

Dr. Sasha Berger is a Columbia-trained, licensed clinical psychologist with over 15 years of experience in clinical practice, supervision, and research, with particular expertise in trauma, dissociation, and posttraumatic stress, including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dissociative Identity Disorder. She is fully licensed in NY and NJ, and a member of the National Registry of Health Psychologists. She has a wide range of experience across multiple settings, including hospital outpatient/inpatient care, college counseling centers, community mental health, and outpatient/inpatient neuropsychological assessment. She has held appointments at Columbia University Medical School, City University of New York, Mount Sinai Medical Center and the National Institute for the Psychotherapies’ Integrative Trauma Studies Program. Throughout her academic roles, she has taught coursework on trauma and provided clinical supervision and consultation to Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) student...

Durham, North Carolina

Emergency Medicine, Education & Schools - emergency medicine, trauma, toxicology, airway, cardiac arrest, simulation, medical education, artificial intelligence, strangulation injuries, intimate partner violence, medical errors, resuscitation, clinical education, diagnostic errors, resident supervision, standard of care, acute care, patient safety

Dr. Christopher J. Nash, MD, EdM, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. He currently serves as the Simulation Director for the Duke Emergency Medicine residency program, where he designs and leads advanced training in resuscitation, airway management, trauma, and acute care. Dr. Nash brings nearly a decade of frontline emergency medicine experience, including residency and faculty practice at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Duke University Hospital. He has managed thousands of high-acuity emergency cases, including trauma, toxicology, cardiac arrest, sepsis, and airway emergencies. His expertise extends to standard of care in the emergency department, decision-making under pressure, and supervision of resident physicians in complex cases. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Nash is nationally recognized for his work in medical education and simul...