Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD

Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD is a forensic and clinical psychologist and an attorney.  Affiliated with William James College for almost 30 years, he has previously served as the Associate Vice President for Community Engagement, and he founded the Forensic Concentration and Concentration of Children and Families of Adversity and Resilience (CFAR).  He continues to teach in the Doctoral Clinical Psychology Program where he is a Professor.  Since July 2021, he has served as the Executive Director for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior (CLBB) at Massachusetts General Hospital.  The mission of CLBB is to bring accurate and actionable neuroscience and related behavioral sciences to issues in public policy through activities such as legal and judicial education, filing science amicus briefs in landmark state and federal cases, issuing science White Papers to inform public policy and law, and working with courts, advocates, organizations, and service providers in adopting evidence based best practices.  For example, he currently is a member of the Deferred Sentencing Program for the federal district court of Rhode Island, and collaborating with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office to implement a community-based program for 18 – 25 year olds to engage in community positive youth development activities as an alternative to prosecution and incarceration.  Dr. Kinscherff has previously served as the statewide Director of Juvenile Court Clinic Services for the Massachusetts Trial Court, Assistant Commissioner for Forensic Mental Health for MA Department of Mental Health, and Director of Adult Forensic Services for the Psychiatry and Law Program at Massachustts General Hospital.  In those capacities, he served on multiple governmental commissions and working groups in behavioral and forensic mental health.  For the APA, his service has included Chair of the Ethics Committee, Chair of the Committee on Legal Issues, and Member of the Board of Professional Affairs.  He is widely published, and also teaches and consults nationally and internationally.  His research and practice areas include:  legal and ethical issues in clinical and forensic psychology practice;  complex case consultations; forensic assessment of juvenile and adult violent and sexual offenders, and offenders with special needs (e.g., severe mental illness, intellectual and developmental disorders); mass shootings and gun violence policy; and, the developmental neuroscience of adversity, trauma and resilience in children, adolescents, and young adu