Superior Court approved Psychologist in Los Angeles and Kern counties.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Sobel has worked extensively with mentally ill offenders within both state/county facilities and the community. Her experience working for the Los Angeles County Conditional Release Program (CONREP) with Mentally Disordered Offender (PC 2962/72) and Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (PC 1026) patients dates back to 2012, as an extern during her doctoral program training. Dr. Sobel completed her Pre-Doctoral Internship at the Los Angeles County Department of Health, now an APA-accredited internship program. Upon graduation, Dr. Sobel returned to working at the Los Angeles County CONREP as a Forensic Evaluator, beginning what would ultimately become 5 years of working with this population. After a yearlong employment with the Jail Based Competency Treatment Program (JBCT) in the West Valley Detention Center, Dr. Sobel was invited to return to Los Angeles County CONREP as Program Director of the Forensic Community Treatment Program (FCTP) in the community. In this role, Dr. Sobel provided clinical supervision of post-doctoral psychologists, reviewed hundreds of court reports, supervised other clinical and paraprofessional staff, conducted ongoing risk assessment of mentally ill offenders, taught various psychotherapy and report writing techniques, and engaged in a variety of managerial and business-related tasks. In 2019, Dr. Sobel entered private practice, where she applies the skills she learned throughout her training and career.
Additional Training & Credentials
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Received formal supervision and training in clinical and forensic assessment from Annette Ermshar, Ph.D. MSCP, ABPP (https://www.drannetteermshar.com/)
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Received formal supervision and training in neuropsychology from Linda Philpott, Ph.D., then Director of Neuropsychology at the Epilepsy and Brain Mapping and Movement Disorders Program at Huntington Memorial Hospital
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Taught courses and been invited to lecture at University of the West, Alliant International University, and the Canyon Ridge Hospital Training Program
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Presented her dissertation Bridging the gap between test versions: WAIS-III/IV Matrix Reasoning as an embedded performance validity indicator at the 2013 Annual Conference of the American Psychology-Law Society
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Qualified as an expert and testified numerous times for the California Board of Parole Hearings, the Los Angeles Superior Court, and Kern County Superior Court.
Education
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2007 | Bachelor’s Degree | Miami University - with honors
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2014 | Doctorate in Clinical Forensic Psychology | Alliant International University - with honors
Dr. Sobel has been in private practice since 2019 and continues to develop her expertise in forensic/psychological assessment and malingering. Most recently, she co-authored a chapter in Feigned Cognitive Impairment, A Neuropsychological Perspective: Second Edition, released in May 2021.
Approach
Holistic
I believe in taking a whole-person approach to forensic and clinical assessment, with particular focus on the impact of culture, race, socioeconomic status, and developmental history.
In all my evaluations I utilize gold-standard practices and incorporate research findings to explain and confirm my opinion.
Compassionate
As a forensic psychologist, I understand the seriousness of each evaluation and the potential impact on the client’s future and well-being. I consider it a privilege to help each client tell their story or to document their specific treatment needs. As such, I only accept a limited number of appointments each month to ensure I can give each case the attention, sensitivity, and care it deserves.
Notable Clients
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Law Office of Jeffrey D. Armendariz
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Kraut Law Group
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Law Offices of Michael A. Scafiddi
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Office of the Federal Public Defender
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Los Angeles Conditional Release Program
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Los Angeles County Superior Court
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Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office
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Kern County Superior Court
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Kern County Public Defender’s Office