Jay Witherell, PhD

Dr. Jay Witherell is a forensic psychologist and the Director of Evaluation Services at the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry (CFP). In this position, he oversees the daily operations of a service responsible for evaluating all defendants referred for evaluations of competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility throughout the State of Michigan. He was previously the coordinator of the predoctoral psychology practicum at the CFP and continues to supervise pre-doctoral students and post-doctoral employees. He is also an adjunct clinical instructor in the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, where he provides supervision and training to psychiatry residents and fellows. Dr. Witherell also contracts with several public safety departments to conduct employment-related psychological evaluations and provide other consultation. Dr. Witherell’s research interests include the use of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF in pre-trial forensic and pre-employment evaluations. He is a native of Toledo, Ohio, and received his bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Detroit Mercy and completed his pre-doctoral internship at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC.