UTMB Forensic Psychiatrist and Training Director

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Rocksheng Zhong, MD, MHS is Associate Professor, Director of Forensic Services, and Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Director in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch, as well as Lecturer in the Law and Psychiatry Division of the Yale School of Medicine. He completed medical school at the Yale School of Medicine, general psychiatry residency at the University of Pennsylvania, and forensic psychiatry fellowship at the Yale School of Medicine. He is board certified in general psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and addiction medicine. Prior to joining UTMB, he served as Medical Director of Northern Arizona for Southwest Behavioral and Health Services, where he supervised the treatment of serious mental illness and addiction and was a court-appointed psychiatric examiner for Mohave County Superior Court civil commitment proceedings. Dr. Zhong maintains a clinical practice in general and forensic psychiatry. He treats patients with mental illness, such as major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, trauma-related disorders, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders. He provides expert consultation to attorneys and courts about cases involving psychiatric disorders, addiction, and behavioral health problems. He has experience and training in a range of forensic topics, including competence to stand trial, criminal responsibility, insanity defense, sentencing mitigation, risk assessment, civil commitment, testamentary capacity, guardianship, psychiatric malpractice, disability, and fitness for duty. Dr. Zhong's research focuses on the intersection of psychiatry, law, and ethics, with particular emphasis on decision-making capacity and competence. He has written, taught, and presented on issues concerning medical ethics and mental health ethics, including informed consent, physician aid in dying, guardianship, and remorse.