Faculty

Robert Kinscherff, PhD, Esq.

City University of New York, 1988 (Clinical Psychology)
Harvard University School of Law, 1992 (Law)

Dr. Kinscherff is a forensic and clinical psychologist and an attorney who has been a member of the MSPP faculty since 1999. He currently serves at MSPP as Director of Forensic Studies. In that role, he has oversight and program development responsibilities for the doctoral program Forensic Concentration (Director: Dr. Linda Daniels) and the Master’s Program in Forensic Psychology and Counseling (Director: Dr. Nilda Clark). He teaches courses including Adult Forensic Psychology, Law and Mental Health and Ethics and Professional Practice. He is Senior Associate for the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice and a member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee. Dr. Kinscherff has previously served as Director of Clinical Services for Easter Seals of New Hampshire, Assistant Commissioner for Forensic Mental Health (Massachusetts Department of Mental Health), Director of Juvenile Court Clinic Services (Administrative Office of the Juvenile Court, MA Trial Court), and Director of Adult Forensic Services (Psychiatry and Law Program, Massachusetts General Hospital). For over a decade, he taught Forensic Mental Health Law and Psychiatry and Law at Boston University Law School. He currently serves on the Committee of Professional Practice and Standards (COPPS) for the American Psychological Association, where he has also been a past Chair of the Committee on Legal Issues (COLI) and a past two-term Chair of the Ethics Committee (EC). He is a past member of the Board and the Editorial Board for the Society on Terrorism Research and has been an invited participant on FBI and RAND Corporation working groups involving the intersection of behavioral sciences, law enforcement and national security. His research and professional practice areas include ethical and professional practice issues in clinical and forensic mental health practice, violence risk assessment and management, juvenile and adult sexual offenders, serious delinquency and juvenile homicide, aggressive and sexually problematic behaviors among youth and adults with developmental disabilities, and severe and unusual forms of child maltreatment. His most recent publication is a co-authored book entitled, APA Ethics Code: Commentary and Case Illustrations. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press, 2009.

Updated 7/6/10