Forensic Services
Having overseen mental health services in the New Jersey State Prison system for the past eleven years, Dr. Mitch Abrams has unique experience in understanding the criminal mentality, the realities of prison life, and the intricacies of the criminal justice system. Specifically, he has specialized in treating severe mental illness inside correctional settings. This has included developing and supervising inpatient mental health units inside prisons that exceed community standards. Currently, Dr. Abrams is the Clinician Administrator for University Correctional HealthCare (UCHC), the arm of UMDNJ that delivers medical and mental health services for the New Jersey Department of Corrections. He oversees the delivery of mental health services at five of the thirteen states prisons in New Jersey.
In addition, Dr. Abrams has committed himself to the training of young psychologists in correctional mental health. As the coordinator of the Forensic Track of UMDNJ/UBHC's predoctoral internship program, he provides group supervision to the forensic interns, provides ongoing support to the supervisors of the interns, and has developed the Prison Lecture Series - a series of didactic lectures that focus upon mental health issues in the prison domain. In this series, he lectures on Anger Management in Prison, Functional Analysis of Inmate Behavior - Why They Do What They Do, and Complex PTSD and Borderline States.
Dr. Abrams has lectured on the above topics in national and international forums. If you would be interested in having Dr. Abrams lecture at your hospital or facility, feel free to contact him.
Forensic services are a significant part of Dr. Abrams' private practice. Some of the services that he provides include:
- Child Custody Evaluations
- Competence to Parent
- Reunification Therapy (for more information, see below)
- Court Ordered Anger Management Treatment
- Criminal Competence and Responsibility
- Assessment of Dangerousness
- Attorney Consultations (Review of Mental Health Records, Jury Selection, Strategy)
- Personal Injury Evaluations
Reunification Therapy - The link to the left will take you to an article I prepared for parents and attorneys that explains the goals of reunification therapy. This therapy's goal is to reunite a parent from their estranged child. This is often court-mandated and increasingly common as divorcing parents often get so caught up in the adversarial nature of the divorce, they forget that the whole family gets divorced and the children are at risk of being "casualties of war". Dr. Abrams offers reunification therapy and works closely with attorneys in developing reunification plans that are designed to focus on the best interests of the children. It is crucial to understand that what the parents want is not always the same thing as what is in the best interests of the children. When reunification therapy is ordered, it is a result of the parents not being able to resolve these matters without the assistance of a therapist, so it is understood that these cases are often stressful and highly conflictual. Dr. Abrams works to provide a safe and consistent environment for the children to explore and resolve problems they may have with their estranged parent.
It is important for the client(s) to know that, in general, forensic services are not covered by health insurance plans. The evaluations are part of a service required for the courts and not the treatment of a medical/psychological condition.
If you have would like to discuss retaining Dr. Abrams for any of the above services, feel free to have your attorney email: MAbrams589@aol.com or call (732) 738-0900. 
