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Gary Freedman-Harvey, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist (PSY11419)    

Education
California Graduate Institute, Los Angeles. Ph.D. Clinical Psychology. 1988
Wright Institute Los Angeles. 1982-1983
Doctoral courses in Social-Clinical Psychology.
B.A.  University of California at Los Angeles, Microbiology. 1978

Licensing
Psychologist license #PSY 11419 issued by California Board of Psychology.  March 1990

Professional Experience

•  Psychotherapy, private practice, by appointment in Seal Beach.

•  Conservatorships:  Court-requested evaluations and reports for conservatorship actions.

•  Expert Witness Testimony: geriatrics, cognitive impairment, mental capacity determinations, decision-making and undue influence.

•  Mental Capacity Determinations: Retrospective psycholegal evaluations of mental capacity and undue influence in matters of contested estates, trusts and wills.

•  Psychological assessment and consultation to probate and elder law attorneys, private conservators and fiduciaries, hospitals, and community social service organizations.

Clinical Interests
Elder abuse and elder protection. Undue influence and decision-making.
Chronically mentally ill population.

AFFILIATIONS
Hospitals and Long-term Psychiatric Care Facilities:

  • Allied Professional Healthcare Staff
    Community Hospital Long Beach, Memorial Care Health System
    Pacific Hospital Long Beach
    Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center San Pedro – Bridges
  • Contracted Forensic Services
    La Casa MHRC, Telecare, Long Beach (Traditions Behavioral Health)
    La Paz Geropsychiatric, Telecare, Long Beach (Traditions Behavioral Health)
    Penn Mar Therapeutic Center
    Clearview Skilled Nursing Facility
    Intercommunity Care Center
    Asana Medical Group (Verdugo Hills Hospital, Auerbach Medical Center, San Gabriel Valley Medical Center)
    Landmark Medical Center (IMD)

Selected Organizations, Presentations, Citations

California Psychological Association, Geriatric Psychology Section
Orange County Psychological Association, member
American Bar Association, Elder Abuse Listserve, member
American Society on Aging, member
International Psychogeriatric Association, member
Forensic Expert Witness Association, Orange County Chapter, member
Mental Health Lecturer: Hospitals, Facilities, Community (list of lectures available)
Orange County Psychological Association, Oct. 2011 – Conducting Mental Capacity Evaluations Related to Estate Planning and Elder Abuse
Professional Fiduciaries of California Annual Conference, Apr. 2012 – The ABC’s of LPS (Mental Health) Conservatorships
Cited in: NAELA Journal (National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys) 2:2, 2006.

Qualifications as Expert Witness
Licensed as a Psychologist in California 1990 (PSY11419)
Ph.D. – Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (CGI 1988)

  • B.A., Microbiology, (UCLA 1978)
  • Graduate training in Clinical Psychology in assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.
  • Post-Graduate Continuing Professional Education in areas of neuropsychology, geriatrics (geropsychology), elder abuse assessment, mental capacity assessment, assessment of undue influence, forensic evaluations and professional  ethics.

Focus of practice

  • Primarily geriatric psychology for the past twelve years.
  • Independent assessments for people in crisis, residential evaluations, multidisciplinary team work with psychiatrists, social workers, Adult Protective Services, probate conservators, probate attorneys, Offices of the Los Angeles Public Guardian, County Counsel, District Attorney, and Public Defender.
  • Psychological evaluations for mental capacity; suspicion of undue influence related to contested estates, wills and trusts.
  • Determinations of grave disability due to a mental disorder.
  • Evaluation of disability, issues of chronic illness, issues of quality of life, issues of least restrictive care.
  • Estimate: conducted over 1000 evaluations over the past twelve years.

Hospital patient care

  • Experience as professional staff member of geropsychiatric units in L.A. and Orange Counties ; experience as a hospital Director of Psychological Services.
  • Majority of inpatient care involves providing psychological assessment and treatment services to involuntary elderly patients (those held as gravely disabled under W&I Codes).
  • Emergency Room (ER) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) evaluations for suicide risk.

Expert witness testimony/Forensic settings

  • Expert witness testimony and written reports provided for probate conservatorships in Superior Courts of Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
  • Expert witness testimony provided for mental health conservatorships (LPS conservatorships) in Superior Court, Dept. 95, County of L.A. (500+ appearances).
  • Expert witness testimony provided for Writs of Habeas Corpus hearings requested by involuntary psychiatric patients.
  • Expert witness testimony for retrospective psychological evaluation and opinions related to civil suits: mental capacity to amend a trust, to enter into a contract; testamentary capacity and suspicion of undue influence.
  • Sworn declarations regarding mental capacity and capacity to make informed medical consent, quality of care issues for elderly, need for conservatorship, provided to probate courts at request of the Court, PVP attorneys, proposed conservators, and probate attorneys.

Instructor/lecturer/educator roles

  • Lectures provided to staffs of hospitals, continuing education for attorneys, and public forums. (List of lectures and topics available.)
  • Panelist on Standards of Mental Capacity presentation: Probate and Estate Planning Section, Orange County Bar Association.
  • Supervision of psychological clinical services provided to hospital staff members.

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Last updated: March 2023