Vivian Chern Shnaidman M.D.

Education:

Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel; New York State Program, M.D., 1988

Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania B.A., Psychology, 1984

Training:

Internship (Internal Medicine and Pediatrics):

Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, New York (1988-1989) 

Psychiatry Residency:

State University of New York at Buffalo (1992- 1993)

Albert Einstein College of Medicine,  Bronx. New York (1989-1991)

Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship:

New York Fellowship Program in Psychiatry and the Law  (1994 -1995)

Licensure:

York State License Number 180183

New Jersey State License Number 63105

Board Certification:

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1994; Recertified, 2004; Certificate # 40303

Added Qualifications in Forensic Psychiatry; 1999-2009

Experience:

Private Practice, Princeton, New Jersey 

JERSEY FORENSIC CONSULTING, L.L.C. (company formed 8/06)

1996 – present

Various private psychiatric activities; primarily forensic psychiatric evaluations for both civil and criminal issues; contracts with the Division of Youth and Family Services, Office of the Public Advocate, Office of the Attorney General, and University Behavioral Healthcare for sexually violent predator evaluations as well as fitness evaluations. 

Clinical Psychiatrist, Ann Klein Forensic Center, Special Treatment Unit, Kearny and Avenel, NJ.  5/04 – 5/07

Responsibilities included primary psychiatric evaluation and treatment for civilly committed sex offenders housed at the Special Treatment Unit Annex in Avenel, NJ; forensic evaluation of these residents for the court, for civil commitment status; and various related responsibilities, including participation in treatment teams, Treatment Progress Review Committee, and various other psychiatric functions. 

Psychiatric Consultant, Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Avenel, New Jersey, 

10/98 to 3/2004

First psychiatrist contracted in NJ for the purpose of compliance with the Sexually Violent Predator Act. Responsible for primary psychiatric treatment of approximately seventy incarcerated sex offenders in the New Jersey State Sex Offender Prison. Further responsibilities included evaluation, treatment, and recommendations for inmates in Restricted Activity Program (closed custody) including rounds and reports; participation with treatment team especially with input toward release dispostion, and pre-release psychiatric evaluation and civil commitment certification for the courts.

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.12/97 – 10/98

Attending Psychiatrist, Psychiatric Emergency Services. New Jersey Medical School/University Hospital, Newark, NJ. Responsible for diagnosis, immediate emergency treatment. and disposition  of all patients brought to PES, and supervision and teaching of residents  and medical students.

Cooper Hospital, Camden, New Jersey, Psychiatric Faculty, University of  Medicine and Dentistry  of New Jersey.

1996 Moved to Newark campus, December 1997.

Rockland Psychiatric Center, Orangeburg, New York,

July 1995 – January 1996

Forensic Psychiatrist Responsible for all psychiatric legal evaluations and legal testimony for all  inpatient units. 

Ward Psychiatrist. In charge of a 30 bed chronic inpatient unit.

Additional Experience:

Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center, 

Carrier Clinic, Belle Mead, NJ (ward psychiatrist)

Princeton House Day Treatment Program and Outpatient Services; Princeton, Hamilton, and Monroe NJ (Consulting Psychiatrist)

Family Guidance Center, Phillipsburg and Washinton, NJ (Consulting Psychiatrist)

Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP), Bellevue Hospital Center, New New York (Supervising Psychiatrist)

Forensic Mental Health Services of Erie County 

(Consultant)

CMG Health, Buffalo, New York Regional Office

(Associate Medical Director)

Jewish Family Services of  Erie County, Buffalo, New York (Consulting Psychiatrist) 

Spectrum Human Services. South Buffalo Counseling Center, Buffalo, New York

(Medical Consultant/Consulting Psychiatrist)  

Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP), Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo, New York. (Supervising Psychiatrist)

National Neighborhood Counseling Center, Brooklyn, New York (Consultant)

Pederson-Krag Continuing Day Treatment Center, St. James, New York (Consultant)

Hospital Privileges:

Princeton Medical Center, Princeton. New Jersey 

Carrier Clinic, Belle Mead, NJ 

Muhlenberg Medical Center 

Specialized Training:

Academy Group, Inc. Violent Crime Behavior I; June 16-27, 2008

Academy Group, Inc. Violent Crime Behavior II; July 21-25, 2008

Professional Organizations:

American Psychiatric Association

Committee activities: New Jersey Psychiatric Association, Forensic Committee, 1996-1998. Served on the panel to generate guidelines for sexually violent predator civil commitment in NJ

Committee on Women, 1997-1999. 

American Academy of Forensic Sciences - 2009

American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 1997 - present

Academic Appointments:

SUNY Buffalo (1992-1994)

New York University (1994-1995)

University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ (1996-1999)

University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ (current)

Presentations:

The Current Status of Women in Psychiatry: The Roles We Play and the Problems We Face. Grand Rounds, SUNY Buffalo, May 1994.

An Overview of Forensic Psychiatry. 

Grand Rounds. Department of Psychiatry. Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center, September 24, 1996.

 Enjoying Later Life. Monroe Village, Jamesburg, New Jersey, February 26, 1997.

Domestic Violence: The Unique role of the Psychiatrist. Treatment of Domestic Violence Perpetrators. New Jersey Psychiatric Association, 23rd Annual Metting, New Brunswick. New Jersey March 21, 1998

Psychiatric Screening in the Community. Grand Rounds, Ann Klein Forensic Center Special Treatment Unit, Kearny, NJ. December 15, 2005

Psychopharmacological Interventions with Sex Offenders. Grand Rounds, Ann Klein Forensic Center Special Treatment Unit, Kearny, NJ. February 22, 2006

How to Use Your Forensic Psychiatrist. The Division of Youth and Family Services Middlesex Central Local Office, Avenel, NJ. April 2, 2008.

A Crash Course in Forensic Psychiatry. Mary Jacobs Library, Rocky Hill NJ. December 11, 2008.

Why do Mothers Abuse and Neglect Their Children? A Four-Pronged Model for Conceptualization, Risk Assessment, and Treatment. American Academy of Forensic Sciences Annual Meeting, Denver Colorado. February 19, 2009.

Publications:

Ethical Issues in Forensic Psychiatry. American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Newsletter;   Vol. 20. No. 3 , December  1995.

Still Searching After All These Years.  Early Career Psychiatrist Column, Psychiatric News, June 5, 1998.

Fiction:

HOMICIDAL INTENT, by Vivian Chern. The first in a series of mystery/suspense novels featuring a New York City-based forensic psychiatrist. Published in 2001 by Dell Books; ISBN 0-440-23720-3.