Faculty

David Shapiro

PhD
Professor Emeritus
Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology

Dr. David Shapiro is a Professor Emeritus of the College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University. He has previously taught at the John Jay ,College of Criminal Justice, University of Maryland,Baltimore County, Towson University, and American University. He has a lengthy history of contributions to the field of forensic psychology, including research, teaching, consultation, and writing; he is the author of twelve textbooks in the field of forensic psychology as well as many peer reviewed articlesand also in the areas of professional liability and malpractice; he regularly teaches online webinars in areas having to do with professional ethics, risk management in psychotherapy, assessment of violent behavior, forensic assessment, and " the duty to warn". He has been awarded several distinguished contribution awards including two in psychology and one in forensic psychology. He has served as the Chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Board of Professional Psychology, as well as a member of the Ethics Committee of the American Psychological Association, and has also served on the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is also a risk management consultant for the American Insurance Trust.

2024 Sessions

Medical Errors: Risk management in Psychotherapy

The past two years during the COVID pandemic has created situations that may inadvertently result in unanticipated medical errors. Using the standard model for analyzing “root cause analysis” to identify active and latent systemic errors, we will look at some of these types of problems. Our presentation avoids individual blame but rather focuses on the problems with laws, rule, financial constraints, systemic racism, and diagnostic issues. We will deal with various aspects of record keeping for psychotherapists, newer telehealth and social media. A number of "high risk" areas will be highlighted along with principles of risk management that can help avoid claims of negligence and malpractice.

Moderator

Presenter

Thursday, December 15 9:45–12:00 PM
Room Citrus Ballroom
Faculty

Tobi Goldfus

LCSW-C, BCD
Psychotherapist/Clinical Social Worker
Private Practice

Tobi B. Goldfus, LCSW-C, BCD is a therapist, author and national/international speaker. She has over 30 years of clinical hypnosis training/teaching and is a certified Ego State Therapy therapist, (EST North America and EST International. In her book, From Real Life to Cyberspace and Back Again: Helping Our Young Clients Develop a Strong Inner Selfie (2017), she focuses on predicating factors that make young people on social media/gaming sites more vulnerable to negative or traumatic experiences and those that build strong social networks, and provides assessment and psychotherapy techniques to promote balance between online and real life. She is a member and has presented frequently as faculty that include the Milton H. Erickson Foundation conferences, ASCH (American Society of Clinical Hypnosis), ISH (International Society of Hypnosis), ESH (European Society of Hypnosis), MEISA (MHE Institute of South Africa), SCEH(Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis), and faculty and key note speaker at NPHTI (National Pediatric Hypnosis Training Institute). She is a member of NASW and GWSCSW, and a Board Certified Diplomat. Tobi is in private practice in Germantown, Maryland.

Faculty

David Shapiro

PhD
Professor Emeritus
Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology

Dr. David Shapiro is a Professor Emeritus of the College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University. He has previously taught at the John Jay ,College of Criminal Justice, University of Maryland,Baltimore County, Towson University, and American University. He has a lengthy history of contributions to the field of forensic psychology, including research, teaching, consultation, and writing; he is the author of twelve textbooks in the field of forensic psychology as well as many peer reviewed articlesand also in the areas of professional liability and malpractice; he regularly teaches online webinars in areas having to do with professional ethics, risk management in psychotherapy, assessment of violent behavior, forensic assessment, and " the duty to warn". He has been awarded several distinguished contribution awards including two in psychology and one in forensic psychology. He has served as the Chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Board of Professional Psychology, as well as a member of the Ethics Committee of the American Psychological Association, and has also served on the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is also a risk management consultant for the American Insurance Trust.

Faculty

Lenore Walker

EdD
Professor Emeritus of Psychology
Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology

Dr. Lenore Walker is a professor emerita from Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology where she was the Coordinator of the Forensic Psychology program for the doctoral and master's students. Currently she maintains a small independent practice of forensic psychology assisting attorneys representing those who killed their abusive partners in self-defense or other cases requiring evaluation of the client's state of mind after experiencing trauma. She continues her research on domestic and gender violence with the recent publication of the Survivor Therapy Empowerment Program (STEP) for incarcerated females. Walker has lectured around the world on various issues impacting victim/survivors of interpersonal violence especially using feminist psychology approaches. She has published over 25 books and numerous professional book chapters and journal articles on these topics. She has been appointed the Chair of the American Psychological Association Working Group on Professional Guidelines for the Practice of Psychology. Her passion is writing mystery novels and has published “Madness to Murder” on Amazon. More can be found on her website, www.drlenoreewalker.com.

Telehealth

In recent years there has been a growing emphasis on the use of telehealth in psychological assessment and psychotherapy. The recent COVID pandemic forcing people to shelter-in-homes has forced psychotherapists to use video and other digital technology to conduct psychotherapy with patients. To many psychotherapists’ surprise, this overcame much resistance and satisfaction surveys showed preferences by both psychotherapists and patients to this mode of delivery. This presentation will review some of the resistance and ways it has been overcome. Protocols and Guidelines will be discussed to facilitate its use in diagnosis and treatment of various mental health issues. We will describe use of social media and APPs as adjuncts to psychotherapy. Despite some changes in the laws and third-party payors, there are still many problems with interjurisdictional practice that we will discuss and suggest some ways to practice telehealth in a safe and ethical manner.

Moderator

Presenter

Friday, December 16 9:45–12:45 PM
Room Citrus Ballroom
Faculty

Saundra Jain

MA, PsyD, LPC
Adjunct Clinical Affiliate, University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing;
Private Practice, Austin, Texas

Saundra Jain, MA, PsyD, LPC, is an Adjunct Clinical Affiliate in the School of Nursing at The University of Texas at Austin and a psychotherapist in private practice. Dr. Jain is a co-creator of WILD 5 – A Proven Path to Wellness and co-author of The Science and Practice of Wellness: Interventions for Happiness, Enthusiasm, Resilience, and Optimism (HERO). She is the co-creator of the Psychedelics and Wellness Survey (PAWS), exploring the intersection between psychedelics and wellness. She is the co-host of the newly launched podcast Happy Human 3.0, which explores how modern humans can move beyond merely surviving 21st-century stressors and begin to flourish by integrating neuroscience, positive psychiatry, and compassionate, human-centered care.

In addition, Dr. Jain serves on the Psych Congress Steering Committee, helping guide educational priorities and identify emerging needs in mental health practice. She also teaches with Fluence Training, a leading provider of psychedelic education for mental health professionals, where she serves as faculty in their certification programs in Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI) and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP).

Faculty

David Shapiro

PhD
Professor Emeritus
Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology

Dr. David Shapiro is a Professor Emeritus of the College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University. He has previously taught at the John Jay ,College of Criminal Justice, University of Maryland,Baltimore County, Towson University, and American University. He has a lengthy history of contributions to the field of forensic psychology, including research, teaching, consultation, and writing; he is the author of twelve textbooks in the field of forensic psychology as well as many peer reviewed articlesand also in the areas of professional liability and malpractice; he regularly teaches online webinars in areas having to do with professional ethics, risk management in psychotherapy, assessment of violent behavior, forensic assessment, and " the duty to warn". He has been awarded several distinguished contribution awards including two in psychology and one in forensic psychology. He has served as the Chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Board of Professional Psychology, as well as a member of the Ethics Committee of the American Psychological Association, and has also served on the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is also a risk management consultant for the American Insurance Trust.

Faculty

Lenore Walker

EdD
Professor Emeritus of Psychology
Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology

Dr. Lenore Walker is a professor emerita from Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology where she was the Coordinator of the Forensic Psychology program for the doctoral and master's students. Currently she maintains a small independent practice of forensic psychology assisting attorneys representing those who killed their abusive partners in self-defense or other cases requiring evaluation of the client's state of mind after experiencing trauma. She continues her research on domestic and gender violence with the recent publication of the Survivor Therapy Empowerment Program (STEP) for incarcerated females. Walker has lectured around the world on various issues impacting victim/survivors of interpersonal violence especially using feminist psychology approaches. She has published over 25 books and numerous professional book chapters and journal articles on these topics. She has been appointed the Chair of the American Psychological Association Working Group on Professional Guidelines for the Practice of Psychology. Her passion is writing mystery novels and has published “Madness to Murder” on Amazon. More can be found on her website, www.drlenoreewalker.com.

Laws

In this session Dr. David Shapiro and Dr. Lenore Walker will review the legal privileges and constraints under which Florida-licensed psychologists are licensed to practice in the State of Florida; as well as ethical limitations and responsibilities when applied in specialized problem-solving courts. Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren, pioneer of America's first specialized mental health court.

Presenter

Saturday, December 17 1:30–4:30 PM
Room Osceola CD
Faculty

Ginger Lerner-Wren

JD
County Court Judge, 17TH Judicial Circuit
Broward County Mental Health Court

Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren was elected Broward County Court Judge, 17th Judicial Circuit, Florida (1997); where she pioneered America’s first specialized Mental Health Court. The court is dedicated to the safe diversion of persons arrested with mental illness and neuro-cognitive disorders through the application of therapeutic jurisprudence and a trauma-informed approach.
The Court is a national and global model; and has diverted over 23,000 people out of Broward County’s jail with linkage to individualized community-based care and psychosocial services.
Special recognitions include:
• National Model for Congressional Legislation piloting 100 Mental Health Courts in the U.S, 2000.

• Appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on The President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. (2002).

• Top Finalist: 2013 “Innovating Justice Awards” by The Hague International Institute for Innovation of Law Foundation (HIIL Foundation), The Hague, The Netherlands,

• Excellence in Advocacy Award for Elected Service, National Center for Behavioral Health, 2015.
Judge Wren is an Adjunct Professor at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) College of Psychology and Neuroscience and NSU Criminal Justice Institute.
She is an author, A Court of Refuge: Stories from the Bench of America's First Mental Health Court; Beacon Press, 2018. Judge Wren is a global speaker on mental health & criminal justice, problem-solving Justice, therapeutic jurisprudence, trauma informed courts, and leading cultural change.

Faculty

David Shapiro

PhD
Professor Emeritus
Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology

Dr. David Shapiro is a Professor Emeritus of the College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University. He has previously taught at the John Jay ,College of Criminal Justice, University of Maryland,Baltimore County, Towson University, and American University. He has a lengthy history of contributions to the field of forensic psychology, including research, teaching, consultation, and writing; he is the author of twelve textbooks in the field of forensic psychology as well as many peer reviewed articlesand also in the areas of professional liability and malpractice; he regularly teaches online webinars in areas having to do with professional ethics, risk management in psychotherapy, assessment of violent behavior, forensic assessment, and " the duty to warn". He has been awarded several distinguished contribution awards including two in psychology and one in forensic psychology. He has served as the Chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Board of Professional Psychology, as well as a member of the Ethics Committee of the American Psychological Association, and has also served on the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is also a risk management consultant for the American Insurance Trust.

Faculty

Lenore Walker

EdD
Professor Emeritus of Psychology
Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology

Dr. Lenore Walker is a professor emerita from Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology where she was the Coordinator of the Forensic Psychology program for the doctoral and master's students. Currently she maintains a small independent practice of forensic psychology assisting attorneys representing those who killed their abusive partners in self-defense or other cases requiring evaluation of the client's state of mind after experiencing trauma. She continues her research on domestic and gender violence with the recent publication of the Survivor Therapy Empowerment Program (STEP) for incarcerated females. Walker has lectured around the world on various issues impacting victim/survivors of interpersonal violence especially using feminist psychology approaches. She has published over 25 books and numerous professional book chapters and journal articles on these topics. She has been appointed the Chair of the American Psychological Association Working Group on Professional Guidelines for the Practice of Psychology. Her passion is writing mystery novels and has published “Madness to Murder” on Amazon. More can be found on her website, www.drlenoreewalker.com.

Back to top