Lawrence Belcher, MD
Newport Beach, CA 92663
Lawrence Belcher, MD—board-certified in adult and forensic psychiatry—is a Forensic Psychiatric Expert with Park Dietz & Associates. Harvard-trained and a former faculty member of Harvard Medical School, he is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. He holds a leadership position in forensic psychiatry with one of the country’s largest public mental health agencies and maintains medical licenses in New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio. He is an active member of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, where he serves on several committees and task forces.
Dr. Belcher has been qualified as an expert numerous times by courts in Ohio and New York and has given testimony in multiple cases. In his clinical and teaching work, he specializes in severe mental illness (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder), and in his public sector role he is an expert in the treatment and monitoring of insanity acquittees.
- Competency
- Forensic Psychiatry
- Malingering
- Mass Torts
- Medical Malpractice
- Psychiatry
- Psychopharmacology
- Sanity/Competency to Stand Trial
- Suicide
- Testamentary Capacity
- Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:
- A:
• The University of Chicago
Bachelor of Arts, Department and College Honors, in Political Science
Phi Beta Kappa
• The University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine
• Massachusetts General Hospital / McLean Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Residency in Adult Psychiatry
• Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute
Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
• University Hospitals Cleveland / Case Western Reserve University
Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry
Medical Licensure: Massachusetts, Ohio, New York
Board Certification: Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry)
- Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?
- A:
Dr. Belcher has completed more than 85 cases in forensic psychiatry, including:
• Competency to stand trial, with experience in contested and post-restoration cases
• Sanity, including for homicide and sexually violent crimes
• Other criminal competencies such as competency to self-represent and waive Miranda rights
• Assessment of malingering
• Suicide and violence risk assessments
• Competency to refuse medication and other decision-making capacities
• Sentencing mitigation
Dr. Belcher has additional training and experience in conducting standard of care assessments, psychological autopsies, testamentary capacity, psychological damages, allegations of sexual abuse, and fitness for duty evaluations.
- Q: What services do you offer? (E.g.: consulting, testing, reports, site inspections etc.)
- A: Consultation, Evaluations, Reports, and Testimony
Available Upon Request