David Medoff, PhD

Specialty Areas

Forensic psychological assessment and consultation, forensic psychological testing, juvenile and adult sex offender risk assessment, admissibility of psychological evidence and expert testimony, criminal responsibility and competency to stand trial evaluations, attorney-mental health consultation, ethics and legal risk management.

My research interests have evolved over time, beginning as a research assistant at the Mailman Research Center of McLean Hospital under the direction and mentorship of Dr. Philip Holzman, a pioneer in bio-psycho-social research of the major psychoses. It was there that we studied and published findings involving associations among obstetrical complications and season of birth in individuals suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This began an interest of psychopathology, particularly formal thought disorder, where we developed and an analyzed the Thought Disorder Index. My interests became more refined in graduate school and during my forensic Post-Doctoral Fellowship where I began focusing on psychological assessment, psychological testing and the combination of the admissibility of psychological evidence in court and expert testimony. My current interests continue to involve factors related to the interface of psychology and the law, including sexual offender risk, forensic psychological testing, and psycho-legal consultation.

Publications

• Shumaker, D. & Medoff, D. (2013). Ethical and legal considerations when obtaining informed consent for treating minors of high conflict divorced and separated parents. The Family Journal, 21(3), 318 - 327.
• Medoff, D. & Sternlieb, S. (In press). Screening for sexual offender risk. In Koocher, G. P., Norcross, J. C., & Greene, B.A. (Eds.) Psychologists’ desk reference (3rd edition). New York: Oxford University Press.
• Deutsch, R., Fee, G., Gould-Saltman, D, Lee, M., Lehr, M., Martindale, D., McCarthy, M., Medoff, D., Melcher, C., Ortiz, P., Paulseth, D., Wittmann, J. & Hunter, L. (2011). Mental Health Consultants and Child Custody Evaluations: A Discussion Paper. Family Court Review, 49(4), 723-736.
• Medoff, D. (2010). Protecting the integrity of forensic psychological testing: A reply to Geffner, et al (2009). Journal of Child Custody, 7, 78 – 92.
• Medoff, D. & Kinscherff, R.T. (2006). Forensic evaluation of juvenile sexual offenders. In S.N. Sparta & G.P. Koocher (Eds.), Forensic mental health assessment of children and adolescents (pp. 342-364). New York: Oxford University Press.