The Yale Psychiatry Expert Network (YPEN) brings together the country’s leading psychiatrists and psychologists to conduct thorough, objective, and evidence-based evaluations in criminal and civil legal matters.
YPEN also provides assessment, consultation, and monitoring of mental health services in secure forensic settings like jails, prisons, and juvenile justice programs.
Yale Psychiatry’s reputation for excellence is an asset to any legal case or system of care concern. It has set standards for forensic evaluations, reports, and testimony nationally, and offers the premier training program in forensic psychiatry.
The YPEN network of experts includes Yale faculty, graduates of the Yale forensic training program, and other outstanding professionals from across the country. Our demanding selection criteria focus on each expert’s education, forensic training and experience, and specialized content knowledge. YPEN formally credentials all its experts and matches a specific expert to the needs of each case.
YPEN experts provide state-of-the-art, tailored assessments for each case. In criminal cases, common assessments focus on state of mind (insanity defense), competency to stand trial, and pre-sentencing evaluations, including death penalty cases. In civil cases, experts often evaluate psychiatric and psychological malpractice (standard of care), disability, child custody, immigration/asylum, psychological impact of trauma, and fitness for duty.
YPEN providers also can evaluate and monitor mental health care in forensic settings such as hospitals, jails, prisons, and detention centers, and consult on their quality improvement.
The influence of reports and testimony of YPEN experts is enhanced by the reputation of Yale Psychiatry, which is ranked in the top 10 departments nationally for clinical care, education, and research.” YPEN draws on the strength of two Yale Psychiatry divisions.
Yale Law & Psychiatry is an international leader in forensic psychiatry, renowned for academic excellence and extensive experience at the intersection of law and mental health.
Yale Behavioral Health has a rich 30-year history of developing and managing behavioral health services for children, youth, and adults, including juvenile justice mental health services, and providing assessments, consultation, and monitoring of mental health and addiction services nationally.