Forensic Psychological Services
Forensic (f 
-r 
n 
s 
k,
-z 
k) Relating
to, used in, or appropriate for courts of law.
Forensic Psychological Services involves assessing and treating
individuals whose behaviors or circumstances leads them into
involvement with the legal system . This includes working with
attorneys and court, jails and treatment facilities, and adult
and juvenile probation.
As a Forensic Psychologist, Dr. Pizitz works with defendants
prior to sentencing and once convicted of drug and alcohol
related offenses, stalking and terrorist threats, and violent
offenders. For the past nine years, he has worked closely with
private and public defense attorneys, family court services,
the District Attorney's Office, and Adult and Juvenile Probation.
Psychological Evaluations
Through Forensic Psychological Evaluations, Dr. Pizitz assists
attorneys and their clients to determine pre-sentence mental
health states and treatment sentencing recommendations.
- Alcohol and Drug Evaluations
- Dangerousness and Risk Evaluations
- Psychosexual Evaluations
- Intelligence/Cognitive Evaluations
- Pre-Sentence Recommendations
Drug and Alcohol Treatment
Dr. Pizitz evaluates and treats clients prior to sentencing
and once convicted of drug-related charges. Examples include
Driving Under the Influence, Possession, Sales, and Under the
Influence of Drugs and/or Alcohol. Through an Intensive Outpatient
Treatment Program, clients are treated on a 1-2x weekly basis,
attend outside recovery meetings, and participate in random
drug testing. Resources to detoxification programs, inpatient
treatment, and psychiatry for medications are part of the intervention
process, if needed.
- Individual and Group Treatment
- Detoxification, Inpatient,
Psychiatry Resources
- In Office Interventions
Drug Testing
- Urinalysis Laboratory and Take-Home Tests
- Hair Follicle
Testing
- Take-Home Kits can be purchased and mailed to
your home
- EtG Testing (
Ethyl Glucuronide
) Measures alcohol
consumption up to 80 hours after use.
Anger Management Treatment
The Anger Management Treatment Program is designed to assist
clients involved in the criminal justice system for aggressive
behaviors to manage and contain hostile impulses and behaviors.
Violent Offender Treatment
In 2004, there were 13,880 violent crimes committed in San
Diego County . This trend has decreased 1% since 2003 (SanDag,
2005). Defendants convicted of violent crimes may be sentenced
to a grant of probation in which they are intensely supervised
by the Violent Offender Program (VOP). To more fully treat
violent offenders, The Violent Offender Treatment Program (VOTP)
was established to reduce recidivism and re-offense and increase
community safety.
The VOTP is a cognitive behavioral comprehensive program with
four separate treatment modules designed to treat clients who
have committed an offense involving violence or who have a
history of violence currently under the supervision of the
Violent Offender Unit. The objectives of this treatment program
are to assess, diagnose, and identify factors contributing
to clients' violent behavior patterns and then teach and implement
cognitive behavioral modification treatment and behavioral
containment strategies. A key component in this treatment program
is assisting clients in achieving sobriety and relapse prevention
from drugs and alcohol.
Stalking Treatment (STOP)
The Stalking Treatment Program provides treatment to both
males and females convicted of stalking or stalking-related
crimes. Stalking-related crimes involve elements of stalking
in which the stalker has harassed, tormented, threatened, and
pursued the victim (s), but have not been convicted of the
actual stalking statue. Examples include Terrorist Threats,
Restraining Order Violations, Trespassing, Peeping, Annoying
Phone Calls, Identity Theft, Animal Cruelty, Arson, and assault
and battery crimes.
The cognitive-behavioral focus of the treatment involves assisting
clients in containing aggressive impulses, taking accountability
for their egregious behaviors, recognizing thinking errors
and the emotional injuries that led them to stalk their victims,
and the development of victim empathy. The STOP program is
designed to assist clients in relapse prevention to reduce
the incidence of future stalking behaviors.
