About

About Dr. Mechanic

Dr. Mindy Mechanic is a clinical and forensic psychologist and retired professor of psychology emeritus (CA License #19660; MN License #LP6827).

Mindy B. Mechanic profile image

Dr. Mindy Mechanic received her Master’s degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, completing a minor area of concentration in Law and participating in clinical practica in forensic psychology. During her time as a doctoral student Dr. Mechanic developed and taught a course on psychology and law, available to upper division undergraduate students, graduate students and law students.  She completed her dissertation research on a psycho-legal topic, exploring the impact of expert testimony on battered woman syndrome (BWS) on juror decision-making in a simulated battered woman’s homicide trial.  Dr. Mechanic completed an APA accredited pre-doctoral clinical internship at the University of Virginia and received training in forensic psychology through the UVA Institute for Law, Psychology, and Public Policy (ILPPP).

After receiving her doctoral degree, Dr. Mechanic completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Missouri, in St-Louis (UMSL) and its affiliated Center for Trauma Recovery (CTR), where her clinical, research, and educational work focused on trauma and victimization, with a specialty on interpersonal violence and trauma, e.g., intimate partner abuse and violence, sexual assault, stalking, homicide, and child sexual abuse, in addition to non-victimization types of trauma exposure.  While at UMSL/CTR, Dr. Mechanic developed and taught a course on trauma, violence, and victimization to upper division undergraduate students, conducted federally funded research on trauma and victimization, conducted psychotherapy and assessment with trauma survivors and other client populations, provided research, clinical, and assessment training and supervisions to Ph.D. students, and provided professional trainings and other community outreach to local professional groups and organizations.  After receiving her first license to practice psychology in 1998 in Missouri, Dr. Mechanic continued to pursue training and mentorship in forensic psychology, ultimately leading her to develop a thriving part-time trauma-focused forensic psychology practice, while maintaining full-time employment as Research Faculty at UMSL and CTR, where she worked from 1992-2002.

In 2002, Dr. Mechanic accepted a position as tenure track faculty member at California State University-Fullerton (CSUF), where she was promoted to Associate and then Full Professor, before retiring at the end of October 2019, to pursue full-time work as a forensic evaluator, legal consultant, and expert witness in legal cases involving both interpersonal (e.g., intimate partner abuse/violence, sexual assault, sexual abuse, stalking, homicide, etc.) and non-interpersonal trauma (e.g., accidents, combat exposure, witnessing traumatic events, losing a family member to homicide, natural disasters, etc.)  Prior to her retirement from CSUF, Dr. Mechanic conducted peer-reviewed as well as federally funded research on trauma, violence, and victimization, supervised graduate and undergraduate students conducting research and clinical work, and taught upper division undergraduate courses on Personality Theory, as well as Abnormal Psychology and graduate level courses on Trauma and Victimization; Psychological Assessment; and a course on Legal, Ethical, and Professional Issues in Clinical Psychology.

Although officially retired from academia, Dr. Mechanic continues to engage in scholarly work, such as peer review, scholarly writing, and professional training and consultation.

Dr. Mechanic currently works as an expert witness and consultant in varied legal matters arising out of criminal law (state, federal, and military), civil law, family law, and administrative proceedings (e.g., professional boards, arbitration, military separation boards.).  She has consulted on hundreds of cases and has testified in more than 100 cases, for both prosecution and defense cases in criminal and civil matters.  She has testified in many states and foreign countries (military courts-martials), such as in Korea, Japan, Germany, and Turkey.  Dr. Mechanic has been retained to work on several cases involving high profile and/or high net worth individuals in both civil and criminal matters.  The substance of her expert testimony included general educational (social framework) testimony on trauma and victimization (e.g., counterintuitive victim behavior and brain-based and/or psychological responses to trauma, the effects of trauma and alcohol on memory formation), which may be blind or unblind (i.e., aware or unaware of specific case facts) depending on the jurisdiction.

Dr. Mechanic also provides trauma-focused case-specific expert testimony resulting from her forensic evaluations of individuals who are parties (e.g., defendant or litigant) in criminal, civil, or family law proceedings.  Such testimony also relies on extant social and or biomedical research and data alongside case-specific findings and opinions.

Education:

Degree School
Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996
M.A. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1987
B.A. University of California, Los Angeles (Psychology), 1981

Professional Licenses:

Date License
09/2020 Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ #4712), Association of State and Provincial Boards
03/2019 Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate (IPC # 4712)
05/2004 Licensed Psychologist, California (PSY 19660)
07/2000 Licensed Clinical Psychologist, State of Illinois (071-006086 –inactive)
06/1998 Licensed Psychologist, State of Missouri (PY 01885 -inactive)

Specialized Training & Certificates:

Date Certificate / Training
09/2020 Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ #4712), Association of State and Provincial Boards
01/2020 Danger Assessment Certification
12/2018 Basic FETI (Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview) Certification
10/2018 Strangulation Training Certification (Strangulation Training Institute)
08/2017 APSAC Child Forensic Interviewing Certification
08/2015 APA Training in Disasters and the Media
07/2015 Certificate in Disaster Mental Health Fundamentals, American Red Cross

Memberships:

Association
American Psychological Association
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)
American Psychological Association (Division 56 Trauma Psychology)
American Psychology Law Society (Division 41, APA)
The Psychology of Women (Division 35, APA)
APSAC (American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children)
Society for Personality Assessment (SPA)
Association of Threat Assessment Professionals
Los Angeles County Psychological Association
American College of Forensic Psychology

Academic Honors & Awards:

Honor / Award
Violence Against Women (journal) nominated, Best Research Paper of the year (2008)
American Association of Trial Consultants Paper Competition Award (2000)
American Psychology Law Society Dissertation Award (1996)
American Psychology Law Society (APLS-Division 41)(Grant-In-Aid to support dissertation)
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) (Grant-In-Aid to support dissertation)
Graduate College Dissertation Fellowship, University of Illinois
Department of Psychology Dissertation Grant, University of Illinois
Graduate College Thesis Grant, University of Illinois
Graduate College Travel Grant, University of Illinois
National Institute of Mental Health Clinical Traineeship
President’s Undergraduate Fellowship
B.A., Magna Cum Laude
Psychology honor’s program/award of honor’s on undergraduate thesis
Pi Gamma Mu, social science honor society

Forensic Expertise

  • Interpersonal Victimization
  • Impact of Non-Crime Trauma
  • Risk Assessment
  • Workplace Violence
  • Sexual Assault

  • Child Maltreatment

  • Intimate Partner Abuse

  • Stalking

  • Infanticide

  • Memory Impairment

  • Family & Juvenile Courts

  • Criminal & Civil Courts