LIVE: Advanced Training in Maternal Mental Health Forensics and Courtroom Testimony

April 17, 2024  |  9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Pacific

Presented By Gina Wong, PhD | Diana Lynn Barnes, PsyD
Gina Wong, PhD Diana Lynn Barnes, PsyD

April 17, 2024
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Pacific

4 Hours | 4 CEs

$250 Registration | $200 Early Registration (through 4/10) | Live Virtual Training via Zoom

Diana Lynn Barnes, PsyD, and Gina Wong, PhD present a live virtual professional training program Advanced Training in Maternal Mental Health Forensics and Courtroom Testimony. This is the fourth program in the Maternal mental Health and Its Application to Forensics: Training the Expert Witness series.

This program provides hands-on techniques and strategies for preparing courtroom testimony through analysis of case transcripts and written reports from instructors’ case files. Didactic and experiential learning is emphasized, as well as the significance of educating the judiciary about the fundamentals of maternal mental illness and its psychiatric underpinnings.

This advanced program is practice and experiential-based, including role-play, small group discussions, and didactic learning focusing on preparing expert witnesses for courtroom testimony in maternal filicide cases. All licensed mental health practitioners, including psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, social workers, and MFTs, are suitable for this training.

Maternal mental Health and Its Application to Forensics: Training the Expert Witness

Series Overview: More psychiatric admissions are around the childbearing years than at any other time in the female life cycle. Women’s reproductive mental health is a highly specialized field of study with an increasingly critical role in the arena of criminal justice. This four-program series introduces participants to the foundations of maternal mental health as it applies to forensics and women who are criminally charged for harm to their child/children. Each program furthers the current empirically based understanding of maternal mental health forensics as well as promotes accepted standards and protocols in this emerging specialty. This series advances fundamental clinical, legal, and sociocultural perspectives in addition to encouraging critical dialogue in this evolving field. Basic diagnosis and assessment, the expert witness's role in evaluation and report writing, and advanced training in expert testimony is included. Case analysis and discussion are integral parts of the didactic learning inherent in this program.

Programs in this series include:

  1. Basic Diagnosis and Assessment of Maternal Mental Illness in the Forensic Arena
  2. Role of the Expert Witness in Establishing the Relationship Between Maternal Mental Illness & Criminally Charged Behaviour
  3. Advanced Issues in Maternal Mental Health Forensics
  4. Advanced Training in Maternal Mental Health Forensics and Courtroom Testimony




  5. Program Materials

    The materials listed below are not included with the program purchase and must be purchased separately.

    Strongly Recommended
    Foundational Texts

Presented By

Gina Wong, PhD

Dr. Gina Wong, Ph.D., is a Registered Psychologist in Alberta, Canada, and a professor at Athabasca University. She specializes in perinatal and reproductive mental health and has researched perinatal mood and anxiety disorders from narrative perspectives. She educates, consults, and trains in the f...

Presented By

Diana Lynn Barnes, PsyD

Dr. Diana Lynn Barnes, Psy.D., PMH-C, LMFT practices in Los Angeles, California. She has been a forensic expert in the specialized area of maternal mental illness for over 20 years. She is frequently retained by legal counsel on cases of pregnancy denial and neonaticide, postpartum psychosis, and in...

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program you will be able to:

Describe qualitative research on becoming a maternal mental health expert witness

Identify key elements of qualifying as a maternal mental health expert witness

Discuss how to be an effective perinatal expert witness

Describe how to communicate the life narrative of the accused beyond the index allegation

Describe practical strategies in preparing for direct and cross-examination

Describe the importance of educating the jury in the foundations of maternal mental illness

Describe how to communicate the life narrative of the accused beyond the index allegation

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Event Communications

Event Communications

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Cancellation Policy

Cancellation Policy

Have a sudden change of plans and are unable to attend live? No worries; you will be given access to the on-demand version of the program once available. Please note if you attend live, no access to the recording will be given.

Event Conduct

Event Conduct

Professional conduct is expected during our live programs. Our goal is to make our events as interactive as possible for all participants. We reserve the right to remove any participants who are disruptive, act unprofessionally, or who we are unable to verify their purchase.

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