Paul S. Appelbaum

Paul S. Appelbaum, M.D., the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine and Law, and Director, Division of Law, Ethics and Psychiatry at Columbia, was previously A.F. Zeleznik Distinguished Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, and Director, Law and Psychiatry Program, University of Massachusetts Medical School.

He is the author of many articles and books on law and ethics in clinical practice. Dr. Appelbaum is Past President of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, and the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, and has served as Chair of the Council on Psychiatry and Law for the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

He is currently Chair of APA's Committee on Judicial Action, and a member of the MacArthur Foundation Network on Mandatory Outpatient Treatment. He has received the Isaac Ray Award of the American Psychiatric Association for "outstanding contributions to forensic psychiatry and the psychiatric aspects of jurisprudence," was the Fritz Redlich Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and has been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Appelbaum performs forensic evaluations in civil and criminal cases, and treats patients with a broad variety of problems, including depression, anxiety, and adjustment problems.


Education and Training

 Undergraduate:  Columbia College, A.B., 1968-1972
 Medical School:  Harvard Medical School, M.D., 1972-1976
 Internship:  Soroka Medical Center, 1976-1977
 Residency:  Massachusetts Mental Health Center/Harvard Medical School, 1977-1980
 Post-Graduate:  Harvard Law School, Special Student, 1979-1980
 Post-Graduate:  Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Special Student, 1983-1984
 Board Certifications:  American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
 Subspeciality Certifications:  Forensic Psychiatry