Consultations for School Districts, Attorneys, and Physicians

     Advances in psychometric and computer technology now permit rapid, cost-effective, and psychologically non-invasive means of providing organizations, attorneys or physicians with a wealth of information concerning individuals’ psychological functioning, level of stress, reliability, tendency to somaticize, ability to reality test, as well as current levels of anxiety, depression, alcohol and substance abuse, and related disorders.

For Schools

     In our increasingly litigious and highly regulated school and business settings, second opinions as well as outside evaluations and consultations are becoming routine in many situations and automatic when Impartial Hearings or litigation is likely.  Traditionally, second opinions have involved costly time-consuming psychiatric and/or psychological evaluations which are often criticized for being at minimum  subjective and non-scientific and at most, self-serving for the referring agency and/or individuals.  In contrast, Dr. King's credentials and extensive experience provide valuable options which can prevent or avoid problems and save money.

                                                For School Districts and Private Sector Organizations 

     School districts and corporations in the private sector are increasingly facing very difficult human resource situations involving substance abuse, attendance problems, harassment and other forms of inappropriate behavior across all staff levels.  Those organizations which do not have on-site Employee Assistance Programs (EAP’s) often require consultation services, comprehensive psychological evaluations as well as treatment services in order to deal with these difficult cases and avoid costly litigation.  Using a variety of traditional projective and more innovative actuarial/objective assessments, Dr. King offers diagnostic assessment and consultation when assessments, mediation and recommendations are required. 

     Dr. King also offers Independent Educational Evaluations for both School District Committees on Special Education, 504 Committees, parents and parent advocates.  These “second opinion” evaluations with recommendations include a full cognitive, academic achievement, personality and ADD assessment, are often helpful in avoiding Impartial Hearings and facilitating cooperative planning and mediation between parents and School Districts.  Dr. King attends C.S.E. and "504 meetings" to review and discuss findings and recommendations, and improve communication between the parties.

For Attorneys

                                                     In over 30 years of clinical practice in private, outpatient and hospital settings, Dr. King has consulted with attorneys on a wide variety of matters pertaining to the psychological functioning of child, adolescent, and adult clients.  He has seen the negative impact of legal system’s lack of familiarity with diagnosis, psychological needs, and functioning of clients and families.  He knows referrals for psychiatric evaluations, psychological testing, and other related services can be needlessly time consuming, costly, or unacceptable to many clients or their families; elicit claims of lack objectivity or scientific rigor; criticized for being scientifically “soft,” unduly subjective, or even self-serving.  Attuned to these challenges, Dr. King is able to overcome such obstacles and bring objectivity, clarity, and essential information for forensic cases.

CONSULTATION

For Physicians

     For many years, referring patients for a second opinion or for “lab work” in order to clarify a diagnostic impression has been a routine part of good clinical practice.  However, this methodology has not been as well developed when psychiatric, psychological, social, or emotional factors and symptoms interact with physical phenomena.  Physicians have not always had the resources for timely, cost-effective and scientifically sound psychodiagnostic evaluations for non-physical symptoms.  Psychiatric evaluations, psychological tests, and general mental health consults can be time-consuming, expensive, and often lack the scientific clarity necessary for adequate patient care. Dr. King's extensive experience with psychological assessment enables him to provide cost-effective evaluations that help physicians with diagnostic decisions involving psychosocial factors.