Civil Courts

Dr. Reed has had extensive training in conducting child custody evaluations starting in 2009, both with local experts (Karen Irvin, Ph.D., and Jennifer Joseph, Esq.) and national experts (e.g., Ph.D. psychologists Jonathan Gould and David Martindale). In 2021, Dr. Reed was also trained by Dr. Irvin as a Rule 114 Neutral able to provide Family Mediation Services. She also provides parental competence evaluations for Family and Juvenile/Child Protection Courts.

Dr. Reed’s expertise in development over the lifetime, developmental psychopathology, and clinical psychology, as well as her expertise in stress and trauma can play a central role in tort litigation. For instance, she can make use of the well-researched lifelong impact of perinatal and childhood adversity on the brain, physiology, physical health, mental health, and social, academic, and work competence to help assess damage, causation, and damages throughout the life course, or for individuals at various stages of development and their families. She addresses complex causation issues by factoring in individuals’ previous histories (e.g., trauma, stress, risk and protective factors, and development and functioning in various domains) and the extent to which they may interact with a litigated injury. When assessing damage or injury, Dr. Reed evaluates claims of psychological hurt and symptoms, and psychiatric conditions (such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) along with their truthfulness and accuracy, and their functional impact. She can therefore assist the plaintiffs or the defendants.

 Dr. Reed also provides civil commitment evaluations.

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Types of Services Rendered:

• Trial consultation
• Reviews and evaluations addressing psycholegal questions
• Expert reports
• Expert testimony
• Reviews of other professionals’ evaluations

Specific Services:

• Commitment Evaluations for all except the sexually dangerous/psychopathic.
• Forensic Evaluations for Family Courts:
  • Child Custody/Parenting Time Evaluations
  • Privately-Funded Parenting Competence Evaluations (with psychological evaluations of parents included)
  • Expert opinion reports with review of the relevant literature on any topic of importance for the Court. For instance:
    • The needs of children at specific developmental stages or with certain developmental or mental health conditions, following parental separation or divorce, or following their placement away from the parental home, taking into account multiple factors that are present for a particular case.
    • The appropriateness of the forensic investigative processes (including child forensic interviews) that were used following allegations of child maltreatment (see the Criminal/Juvenile Courts page of this website for more details).
• Forensic Evaluations for Children in Need of Protection Services and their caretakers:
  • Parenting Competence Evaluations (including psychological evaluations of parents).
• Torts in Civil and Military Courts:
  • Personal Injury Evaluations for children and adults. For instance:
    • Wrongful death or physical/psychological injury related to accidents or medical malpractice, and impact on individuals directly affected and their family members (such as children and partners)
    • Institutional abuse (e.g., in schools, foster care, religious institutions, treatment centers, group home, prisons and juvenile detention centers)
    • Workplace discrimination
  • Abusive practices and other trauma in the Military, and Honorability of Discharge
  • Environmental Torts