March 2010: Linda Daniels, Psy.D.

Dr. Linda Daniels is the Co-Director of the Psy.D. Forensic Concentration at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology in Boston, MA. Her responsibilities include teaching and training doctoral students to become forensic psychologists. She oversees the various forensic concentration components including: core forensic coursework, student placement at forensic field internship sites and forensic psychology doctoral projects. Dr. Daniels was also the former Senior Psychologist in the New York State Juvenile Court system where she discovered her passion for forensic psychology. Dr. Daniels is a current medical-board appointed clinical affiliate of Long Island Jewish Medical Center. She is a licensed psychologist in Massachusetts and New York. She treats children, adolescents and adults in her private practice.

Besides her expertise in forensic psychology, Dr. Daniels also has extensive experience in trauma. She is an American Academy board-certified expert in traumatic stress and Emergency Crisis Management and a former State of Massachusetts Trainer of Behavioral Health Disaster Response to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Professionals. When working as the Chief Psychologist at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, she herself became a trauma survivor. On September 11, 2001, she was working on the 62^nd floor of the North Tower when the first plane hit. She continued working with trauma survivors at Port Authority for the next three years before moving to Massachusetts. Dr. Daniels is also a court-qualified expert witness and is frequently hired by attorneys to provide trauma evaluations in civil court proceedings. She currently serves as a consultant with the Transportation Security Administration for Homeland Security.

Dr. Daniels received her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology at Long Island University, C.W. Post as part of the entering class of 1991. She graduated from the program in 1995. In addition to her other achievements, Dr. Daniels is also a renowned author, consultant and presenter. She has been published in various peer-reviewed journals including: Journal of Psychotherapy Practice & Research, Psychological Reports and the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. She is the author of Healing Journeys: How Trauma Survivors Learn to Live Again (Publishers Group West, April 2004). In her book, Dr. Daniels describes how survivors of 9/11found different paths toward healing. She offers specific coping strategies to utilize during the various stages of recovery including: breathing exercises, use of imagery, journal writing and reaching out to others. She also explains that recovery is very individual and that it does not always take a linear path. Dr. Daniels has also served as a panel expert and featured guest on television and at professional conferences. For further information, Dr. Daniels can be reached at linda_daniels@mspp.edu.

Dr. Daniels will be coming back to Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus, on April 29, 2010. In the morning, she will receive the first Distinguished Alumni Award at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Award Ceremony. In the afternoon, she will give a campus-wide lecture entitled Adolescent brain development and the juvenile justice system: Beyond a preponderance of the evidence.