Licenses, Degrees, Specialized Training & Experience
Dr. Shifrin has extensive specialized training in forensic psychology, and has testified in multiple jurisdictions. He serves on the court-appointed expert panels and conducts risk assessment evaluations of mentally disordered offenders for the State of Missouri. With more than 30 years of experience interfacing with the criminal justice system and holding psychology licenses in two states, he has been retained as an expert in a broad range of criminal and civil forensic evaluations.
CREDENTIALS:
Missouri Psychologist. Licensed (2005- Present)
Illinois Psychologist. Licensed (1992 –Present)
Fellow, American Board of Forensic Examiners (1998-Present)
Illinois DUI Evaluator and Therapist. Licensed (1991-2000)
Illinois Substance Abuse Counselor. Certified (1990-2001)
Illinois Special Education Instructor. Certified (1985-2000)
Senior Analyst, American Board of Disability Analysts (1994-Present)
State Approved Provider of Sex Offender Services for Missouri (October 2007 – present)
EDUCATION:
Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology, Forest Institute, (1983-1989)
M.A. in Special Education, Northeastern Illinois University, (1980-1983)
B.A. in History, Northern Illinois University, (1975-1979)
POST-DOCTORAL RESIDENCY:
Forest Hospital, Des Plaines, Illinois (1990-1991)
Clinical psychology and neuropsychology
Private psychiatric hospital and outpatient treatment clinic
PRE-DOCTORAL INTERNSHIP:
Allendale Association, Lake Villa, Illinois (1987-1988)
Clinical psychology internship
Specializing in child welfare
Residential, day treatment and outpatient treatment settings.
SPECIALIZED CLINICAL AND FORENSIC TRAINING/EXPERIENCE:
- Trained as an expert witness
- Expert witness in both county and federal courts
- Supervised sex offender civil commitment evaluations for state-wide prison program in Farmington Missouri
- Specialized training as a civil commitment forensic evaluator for adult sex offenders
- Civil commitment screenings of adolescent and adult males in Illinois
- Program Administrator of a sexually-reactive child and pre-adolescent residential program (ages 5-12) in Illinois
- Evaluation and treatment of sexually-reactive children and adolescents, as well as sex offender adults and geriatric populations
- Certified in the administration/interpretation of the PCL-R (Psychopathy Checklist –Revised)
- Administration of the ABEL Screening test for sex offenders, the Muliphasic Sexual Inventory for sex offenders, the STATIC-99, the VRAG/SORAG and other actuarial/testing instruments.
- Evaluation and treatment of criminal offenders including children, adolescents and adults
- Lectured for Probation/Parole Departments in Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois on “Dangerousness” issues
- Evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents in child visitation and custody matters
- Evaluation of children, adolescents and adults for the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) in Illinois to determine whether the individual qualifies as being disabled.
- Evaluation of adults for the Department of Family Services Support Division’s medical review team (DFS) to help them make a determination if the individual meets the disability criteria based on a psychiatric diagnosis in order for them to receive temporary or permanent Medicaid services.
- Diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of mentally disabled (challenged) adolescents and adults.
- Evaluation of children, adolescents and adults for the Dept. of Child and Family Services (DCFS) in Illinois and the Dept. of Family Services in Missouri (DFS), as well as parental fitness assessments and bonding/attachment evaluations
- Evaluation and treatment of traumatic brain injury and dementia for the courts and as an independent medical examiner for insurance companies
- Cognitive evaluations for the Railroad Retirement Board
- Conducted substance abuse evaluations for industry, private psychiatric hospitals and outpatient settings to determine current level of addiction
- Conducted pre-screenings for local police departments and determination of fitness to return to work for industry
- Conduct psychological and psycho-sexual evaluations for Missouri Boys and Girls Town throughout Missouri
WORK EXPERIENCE:
Risk Containment Consultants of Missouri, PC (July 2007 to present) formerly known as Diagnostic Psychological Centers, SC in Illinois and Missouri ( May 1993 to July 2007). Clinical/Forensic Psychologist part-time (1993-2007), and later full-time private practice (2007-present) in Illinois and Missouri.
Evaluation/treatment of children, adolescents and adults. Neuropsychological, Psychological, IME's, Disability, Psycho-educational, as well as other types of Forensic Evaluations. Have functioned as an expert witness in both federal and county courts within Illinois and Missouri. Sex offender diagnostician/therapist for the probation/parole departments for 6 contiguous counties in southwest Missouri.
National Anti-Crime Institute of America (N.A.C.I.A.) (April 2008 to present)
Domestic Violence Diversion Instructor, part-time
Teach psycho-educational classes devoted to risk reduction of domestic violence. The class focus is on how to enforce existing laws regarding battering and utilizing anger management, stress management, containment of substance abuse, recognition of road rage and knowing the current laws in regards to ex-parte orders.
Missouri Sex Offender Program (MoSOP) (July 2007-2008)
Clinical Director
Supervised middle-level unit directions and therapists in the state-wide medium security sex offender prison program including civil commitment evaluations. Consulted with Director on sex offender
program policy. Developed evaluation and treatment procedures for both line and middle-level unit staff. Developed curriculum for psycho-educational groups and observed/evaluated therapist groups.
Illinois Sex Offender Sex Offender Evaluation Program (January 2004 – September 2005)
Clinical/Forensic Psychological Evaluator
Conducted sex offender civil commitment evaluations in maximum/medium security level prisons located throughout the state of Illinois. When the offender met the criteria under the law for being considered a sexually violent person (SVP), I then functioned as an expert witness in various county courts for both “probable cause” and trial situations. In the cases I had evaluated, “probable cause” was established in 100% of the cases I had served as the expert witness.
Probation and Parole Department in Illinois (September 2004 –September 2005)
Clinical Therapist and Diagnostician
Ran sex offender adult and adolescent out-groups. Evaluated domestic violence perpetrator’s level of risk utilizing the Strauss conflict tactics instrument and wrote reports for the court in regards to treatment recommendations and level of risk to the community.
Nursing Home Psychologist (June 2003 to August 2004)
Clinical Therapist
Individual psychotherapy and diagnostician utilizing variety of intellectual and neuropsychological tools.
Worked closely with Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Specialists in developing treatment plans for clients within the facility.
Larkin Center (1994-2000)
Clinical Director of Operations
Supervised and managed the clinical staff in a child welfare agency that included: residential, day treatment and outpatient programs. Served on the management team creating policy and procedures for the agency. Consulted with executive and associate director on “best practices” for clinicians and support staff. As head of the program evaluation committee, I created a plan for outcomes measures to be implemented agency-wide in order to determine program effectiveness and client satisfaction. Served as Program Administrator for the Juvenile Sex Offender program (JSO) for sexually-reactive children and pre-adolescents ages 5-12 years old.
Forest Hospital (1990 -1994)
Staff Psychologist in private psychiatric hospital
Psychological assessments for children, adolescents and adults. Group therapist on adolescent unit. Individual, couples, and family psychotherapist in outpatient clinic for wide variety of psychological/psychiatric disorders
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:
American Psychological Association (APA)
National Alliance of Professional Psychology Providers (NAPPP)
Sex Offender Civil Commitment Program Network (SOCCPN)
Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers (ATSA)
The Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence (MCADSV)
American Corrections Association (ACA)
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Springfield Chamber of Commerce (October 2005 – present)
Volunteer, Republic Police Department (Criminal Investigations Division) (November 2005 – June 2006).