Dr. Amsel serves as an expert witness in matters related to psychiatry, with a focus on Malpractice, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Suicide, Grief, Medical Decision Making, Hospital Psychiatric Care, and appropriate Evidence-based Standards of Care. Excellent references from multiple law firms are available on request. Dr. Amsel’s expertise in dealing with the interface of legal and psychiatric issues is based on 28 years of experience in clinical practice, academic psychiatry, research, and public health, as well as his experience as an expert witness. Dr. Amsel studied mathematics at Columbia University before entering Yale University School of Medicine. After completing residency training he joined the Columbia faculty completing two prestigious National Institute of Mental Health research fellowships and obtained an Masters in Public Health (MPH) specializing in mental health statistics, and Child Psychiatry Research. As an expert on the effects of traumatic experiences, especially after 9/11, Dr. Amsel co-directed the Trauma Studies and Services Division at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He has been extensively involved in treating victims of 9/11 and their families, in doing research on the effects of the 9/11 attacks on the survivors and First Responders, and in training clinicians in cutting edge treatments for PTSD and Complicated /Traumatic Grief. This has given him a strong foundation as an expert on PTSD and other psychological effects of various types of trauma. It has also made him an expert on malpractice cases in this area. Dr. Amsel was one of the early champions of the application of Decision Science, Game Theory and Behavioral Economics to psychiatric research, including to suicidal behavior, another important area of his expertise. Dr. Amsel has applied his extensive clinical and research expertise to many different types of complex legal issues involving psychiatry.

Dr. Lawrence Amsel serves as an expert witness in matters related to psychiatry, with a focus on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Personal Injury, Suicide, Grief, Medical Decision Making, Hospital Psychiatric Care, Appropriate Evidence-based Standards of Care, and Malpractice. He provides psychiatric evaluations, consultations and expert witness testimony in criminal and civil cases for both plaintiff and defense.

Dr. Amsel attended medical school at Yale University and completed residency training at Cornell University. He is board certified in psychiatry. His expertise around the interface of legal and psychiatric issues is based on 28 years of experience in clinical practice, as well as in academic psychiatry, research, and public health psychiatry at Columbia University. As Co-Director of the Trauma Studies and Services division there, he treated victims of 9/11 and their families, and ran a training program for thousands of clinicians. He has published research on PTSD, suicide, and suicide prevention, and he is highly experienced in the clinical management of suicidal patients, as well as patients with PTSD.

Dr. Amsel is an expert in Decision Science and Game Theory, including applications to Medical Decision Making. He is on faculty as a master teacher at the REACH Institute, a nationally recognized program for pediatricians and other primary care clinicians on the evidence-based management of mental health issues. Additional areas of specialty include behavioral economics in health care, OCD, family loss, and the psychological sequelae of terrorism.

Personal Injury and Psychiatry
Psychological Sequelae of Terrorism and Disasters
PTSD
Public Health Psychiatry
Psychiatric Malpractice
Product Liability and Psychiatry
Suicide
Medical Decision-Making
Forensic Psychiatry Adult Consequences of Childhood Abuse
Traumatic Brain Injury
Wrongful Death and Grief

Education:

BA, 1979, Columbia University
MD, 1988, Yale University School of Medicine
MPH 1989, Columbia University