Experts

Dr. Kapoor is a board-certified forensic psychiatrist and internationally recognized expert on the intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system. In almost 20 years at Yale, she has conducted hundreds of forensic psychiatric evaluations in criminal and civil cases, including in high-profile matters, and she directs the country’s largest fellowship training program for forensic psychiatrists. She is also a nationally recognized expert on mental healthcare in prisons, jails, and secure psychiatric hospitals, recently serving as lead editor of the Oxford Textbook of Correctional Psychiatry. She is Vice President of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, the leading professional organization for forensic psychiatrists, and she frequently teaches Yale law students and practicing attorneys about mental health matters.

A clinical psychologist, Dr. Hoge is an expert in the development and management of behavioral health services for adolescents and adults. His forensic experience includes 25 years of managing juvenile justice mental health services; conducting competency and presentence evaluations, and psychological assessment; and expert roles in class action litigation. He is a nationally recognized leader regarding the behavioral health workforce and workforce competencies in delivering care. He has consulted to the National Academy of Medicine and served as the Chair of the Joint Commission Behavioral Health Professional and Technical Advisory Committee, which shapes national standards of care.

A licensed clinical social worker, Scott Migdole is a turnaround specialist and an expert in behavioral health management. He serves as an expert witness in standard of care cases across all levels of care, including expectations for supervisors in a range of different behavioral health, medical, and juvenile detention settings. He has been the lead monitor for hospitals under consent order about quality of care concerns and served as an interim CEO for a major residential facility at risk of losing its license. He has consulted nationally on CMS compliance and has worked extensively with clinical providers to help them meet the range of different payer requirements. He served on the editorial board of the Clinical Supervisor for over a decade.

Dr. Raina Aggarwal is a board-certified forensic psychiatrist. She is on faculty at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, adjunct faculty at Yale School of Medicine, and Director of the NYU Family Health Centers Psychiatry Residency. She completed medical school at the University of Virginia, psychiatry residency at the University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt, and fellowship in forensic psychiatry at Yale. She teaches psychiatry residents and forensic psychiatry fellows, has published and presented nationally on forensic psychiatry, and is an active member of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Dr. Aggarwal has experience working with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, informed by her background in international affairs, academic study of Middle Eastern languages, and international health research in Guatemala.

Shykina Brown, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, Program Director of the Yale Behavioral Health Juvenile Justice Mental Health Program, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. Trained in Yale’s Law and Psychiatry Division, Dr. Brown has extensive experience conducting psychological, neuropsychological, and forensic evaluations, including competency, presentencing, risk, and asylum assessments. Her evaluations and reports inform clinical treatment, risk management, and legal disposition planning. She has experience providing forensic testimony and serves as a resource for providers seeking culturally and linguistically responsive evaluations for Spanish-speaking clients. Her expertise also includes standards of care regarding trauma-informed care and collaborative treatment and discharge planning for individuals with serious mental illness and complex needs.

Paul A. Bryant, MD is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Associate Program Director in the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program, Yale School of Medicine. He serves as the Chief Medical Officer, Whiting Forensic Hospital, the State of Connecticut’s 229 bed forensic psychiatric hospital. He is triple board certified in general, forensic, and child & adolescent psychiatry, and a recognized expert and leader in these fields. Dr. Bryant is past president of the Connecticut Psychiatric Society, has served in various leadership roles within the Connecticut Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and chairs the Developmental Disability Committee within the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. He teaches classes on criminal law, the insanity defense, expert testimony, and various topics related to child forensic psychiatry.

Dr. Vinneth Carvalho is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale School of Medicine, Medical Director of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and is board-certified in general and forensic psychiatry. She has performed hundreds of forensic evaluations, including competency to stand trial, insanity defense, testamentary capacity, parental competency in child custody cases, sentence mitigation, and trauma- and stressor-related disorder assessments. Dr. Carvalho has over ten years of experience with the Connecticut Department of Correction, including oversight of consent decree compliance. She has extensive expertise in mental health care in carceral settings and has served as a psychiatric expert in high-profile prison litigation cases nationwide. Dr. Carvalho supervises and teaches forensic psychiatry fellows in the Yale Law and Psychiatry Division.

Olalekan Olaolu, MD, PhD, is a Clinical Instructor at the Yale School of Medicine and a board-certified general adult and forensic psychiatrist. He has conducted numerous forensic evaluations in criminal and civil matters. At Whiting Forensic Hospital in Connecticut, he manages and supervises care for patients undergoing competency restoration, as well as the stabilization and community reintegration of individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity. He regularly provides expert testimony on psychiatric issues involving individuals in the criminal justice system. As a Yale faculty member and adjunct faculty member at the University of Connecticut, he trains medical students and forensic psychiatry fellows. Dr. Olaolu is a member of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law and contributes regularly to forensic scholarship.

Charlotte M. Schwarz, MD is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and is clinically active as the Medical Director of the Inpatient Adolescent Unit in the Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. She is a board-certified adult, forensic, and child psychiatrist. Dr. Schwarz has expertise in the developmental, legal, and ethical considerations involving systems of care for youth and has conducted forensic psychiatric evaluations in a variety of criminal and civil matters. In addition to her forensic consultative work, she publishes on topics related to child and adolescent psychiatry and presents regularly within professional organizations including the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.