


	Below you can see all upcoming meetings or relevant agenda items. All items will be moved to the Past Meetings section of the website one day after the date they are scheduled for. To sign up for future meetings, please complete this form and follow the email directions. All content of the presentation descriptions on this page, and all content of the presentations themselves, are the responsibility of the presenters themselves and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Program in Psychiatry & the Law or its participants. Wednesday, November 5, 2025 Presenter: Seema Garg PhD Title: Extension of Handling Narcissistic Abuse in the Courtroom Background: This will be an extension of my previous talk on Clinical Aspects of Narcissistic Abuse. I will briefly summarize some key points from that presentation, and then discuss how these characteristics can appear in the courtroom. Then we`ll discuss some methods a victim of this abuse can take, to improve their chances of being taken seriously by the judge or jury. Wednesday, November 12, 2025 Presenter: Ed Bernstine Ph.D., James Wilson Ph.D. Title: Political Upheaval and Public Health Background: Prolonged political upheaval can lead to mental and physical illness through chronic stress-related pathways. Details: Since the election of 2016, American politics has seen differences of opinion between the two dominant parties so bitter that the threat of widespread violence is palpable. What is happening? and what are the consequences of ongoing hostility? Drawing on primate behavior, physiology, and comparative anatomy, we trace the biological roots of stress and aggression back to hard-wired survival mechanisms, particularly self-preservation and rank in a social hierarchy. Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives. Hominins1 diverged from the common ancestor of chimps and humans about eight million years ago. Homo sapiens emerged about 200,000 years ago. Like its precursors, it lived as a hunter gatherer, as chimpanzees do today. It is likely that early human modes of living had much in common with those of chimps. It is reasonable to think that the basic unit of the early human population was the extended family with from ten to 150 members, as it is now among chimps, and that both perceived similar circumstances as threats - for example, predators, territorial violations by other groups, etc. Physiologic conditions for responses to threats were regulated, as they still are, by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). Chronic activity of this pathway is known to have many effects, some of which are harmful. The expansion of the human neocortex and the invention of language made the discovery of relationships and other abstract thought possible. They may have also made possible the connection of new classes of "abstract threats" to the HPA. The "neolithic revolution" (ca.12,000 years ago), introduced sedentary lifestyles centered on agriculture. The need for order and planning in such societies implies that language had been invented before the transition from the hunter gatherer lifestyle could occur. Politics, made possible by language, emerged in the new setting. We next examine how disruptions in social hierarchies and legitimating narratives—what Plato termed the “Noble Lie”—affect both individual and collective well-being. Drawing from evolutionary biology, psychology, and political theory, it argues that the stories societies tell about identity and justice sustain social cohesion by giving members a dignified sense of place within the hierarchy. When these narratives erode—through inequality, corruption, or the loss of institutional trust—individuals experience symbolic indignity, triggering chronic stress responses. The resulting “political hypercortisolism” manifests as inflammation, depression, addiction, burnout, and polarization, reinforcing social fragmentation. The presentation concludes by proposing remedies rooted in renewed social narratives that restore dignity, reduce inequality, and cultivate a secular ethic capable of bridging symbolic divides and stabilizing collective identity. Wednesday, November 19, 2025 Presenter: Bandy Lee M.D., M.Div. Title: Goldwater Rule vs. the Declaration of Geneva: Is There a Need to Redefine Professional Societal Responsibility at this Time? Background: In editing The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President in 2017—and recently The Much More Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 50 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Warn Anew—I have highlighted the ethical tensions between the Goldwater Rule and the Declaration of Geneva. Details: My recent interview with Andy Borowitz of The New Yorker has prompted requests that I revisit the issue in this forum (see: https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/the-psychiatrist-who-warned-us-about). The American Psychiatric Association’s Goldwater Rule discourages psychiatrists from diagnosing public figures they have not personally examined, to avoid politicization of the field,[Editors note: among other reasons including professional integrity]. The APA “reaffirmed” and expanded the Rule in March 2017. By contrast, the Declaration of Geneva—the World Medical Association’s update of the Hippocratic Oath following the Nuremberg trials—places patient and public welfare above technical compliance. It emphasizes medicine’s ethical duty to protect humanity and the humanitarian goals of preventing harm to human life, and of speaking up when silence could endanger others. How exactly to resolve these tensions may warrant discussion that is psychiatrically and ethically relevant for forensic practice. Wednesday, November 26, 2025 Presenter: No meeting today Title: Day before Thanksgiving Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Presenter: Carlos A. Larrauri, J.D., & Diana Vukel Title: A Clinical and Forensic Perspective on Groups of Prejudice and Intolerance Details: The chapter “Groups of Prejudice and Intolerance” looks at cults and persuasive leadership through a clinical and forensic lens. Through detailed case studies and retrospective analysis of well-known antisemites from the 20th century, we focus on how ideology-driven hate groups form and gain influence. It explores how qualities like victimhood, charisma, malignant narcissism, and malignant messianism can attract followers, particularly during times of social or personal crisis. Thus, we provide an overview of the psychological and social factors that fuel these movements. While the examples are historical, the themes are relevant to understanding many forms of modern extremist groups. Wednesday, December 10, 2025 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, December 17, 2025 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, December 24, 2025 Presenter: No meeting today Title: Christmas Eve Wednesday, December 31, 2025 Presenter: No meeting today Title: New Years Eve Wednesday, January 7, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, January 14, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, January 21, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, January 28, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, February 4, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, February 11, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, February 18, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, February 25, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, March 4, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, March 18, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, March 25, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, April 1, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, April 8, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, April 15, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, April 22, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, April 29, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, May 13, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, May 20, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, May 27, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, June 3, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, June 10, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, June 17, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, June 24, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, July 1, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Regular Meeting Wednesday, July 8, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: Last meeting of the summer Wednesday, September 9, 2026 Presenter: Usual Participants Title: First meeting back

FILE LIBRARY

The Program in Psychiatry and The Law meets virtually on Wednesday mornings at 11:00 AM.

Check our meetings page regularly to find out about our upcoming meetings.

Our file library includes copies of the Amicus Briefs to which we have contributed: Althaus v. Cohen (PA) and Citizens for Health v. Thompson (Third Circuit).

Thursday, March 13, 2025
PIPATL Form for Inclusion in the Schedule

Get the form from this link

Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Covid19 led us to virtual meetings - no in person meetings for now

Wishing everybody health and safety during this unprecedented time.