Mental Health & Social Work Expert Witness

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

I am a California Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW #76279) with over a decade of mental health experience across outpatient psychotherapy, acute inpatient psychiatric care, psychiatric emergency settings, and the public/community mental health system. I provide case consultation, medical-record review, and expert testimony on the mental health standard of care for both plaintiff and defense counsel. I own and operate a private psychotherapy practice, providing evidence-based individual therapy, including onsite psychotherapy on corporate campuses. I treat the full range of common mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, trauma, and stress- and adjustment-related disorders. Drawing on this practice, I evaluate whether clinicians met the outpatient standard of care in clinical social work (LCSW and LMSW/MSW) — including clinical assessment and diagnosis, treatment planning and appropriate level of care, the therapeutic relationship, professional boundaries and informed consent, telehealth, and clinical documentation, as well as risk assessment and mandated-reporting duties where relevant. Having previously provided clinical supervision to BBS-registered associate social workers, I can also address the standard of care for clinical supervision. I also have over ten years in acute locked inpatient psychiatric units and hospital emergency settings, treating complex conditions (depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, co-occurring substance use). I have provided care for patients admitted on 72-hour involuntary holds (5150) — including safety planning, complex discharge planning, and psychiatric crisis triage — and have testified at certification hearings (5250/5260/5270) on Danger to Self, Danger to Others, and Grave Disability. I coordinate LPS conservatorships (5350) with County Public Guardian offices and know the full continuum of care — IMD, residential, and outpatient — across private insurance, Medicare, and Medi-Cal. Distinct from private practice, I have direct public/community mental health experience in county-funded and juvenile-justice programs serving Medi-Cal (Medicaid) and safety-net populations, supporting opinions on access to care, service delivery, and the standard of care in publicly funded behavioral health. I am available nationwide for record review, case consultation, and expert testimony. I welcome inquiries from both plaintiff and defense counsel.