The 51st Annual FMHAC Conference

 April 2-4, 2026 | San Diego, CA

Schedule

Main Page

Thursday

• 12:00-12:30pm Opening Remarks & Awards
• 12:30-2:00pm Opening Presentation 1
  
• 2:30-4:00pm Opening Presentation 2 
• 4:30-6:00pm Keynote Presentation 
• 6:00pm Welcome Reception

Friday​

• 9:00-10:30am Breakout Presentation 1 
• 11:00am-12:30pm Breakout Presentation 2 
• 12:30-2:00pm Lunch Break (purchase separately)
• 2:00-3:30pm Breakout Presentation 3 
• 4:00-5:30pm Breakout Presentation 4 
• 5:45-6:45pm FMHAC Business Meeting

Saturday​

• 9:00-10:30am Closing Presentation 1
• 11:00am-12:30pm Closing Presentation 2

Opening Presentations

• Treating Substance Use Disorders for Justice Involved Clients with Mental Illness 
  ​Brian Hurley, MD, MBA, FAPA, DFASAM

• The Processes and Consequences Associated with False Confessions: From Risk Factors through Contamination 
  Kyle Scherr, PhD
  

Keynote Presentation 

• Conspiracy Theories Gone Wild: Belief, Ideology and Intervention 
  ​Joseph Pierre, MD

Breakout Presentation 1

• Managing the Impact of Trauma on Clinicians in Forensic Practice
  Rogelio Serrano, PsyD, LMFT

• Preparing to Testify: Interacting with Lawyers and Assembling the Tools to Write Reports and Prepare Testimony
  ​John Philipsborn, JD, MEd, MAS
  MCLE

• The OYCR Ombudsman Division: Fostering Safe, Lawful and Equitable Conditions for System-Involved Youth
  ​Alisa Hartz, JD

• Beyond Legislative Containment: Leading Peer-Facilitated Community Aftercare for Individuals Convicted of a Sex Offense
  Caprice Haverty, PhD
  Cindy Mataras, PsyD; Elijah Morrow, PsyD, JD; Anne Weisberg, PhD

• Introduction to Malingering – Performance and Symptom Validity Testing
  ​Rachyll Dempsey, PsyD, ABPP, QME
  MCLE

• Contingency Management: An Evidence-Based Behavioral Intervention for Treating Stimulant Use Disorder
  ​Grant Hovik, MA

Breakout Presentation 2

• The Impact of Intimate Partner Abuse on Female Offending and Rehabilitation
  Jessica Mueller, PsyD
  Kiyana Dailey, LMFT; Aada Romero, EdD, LCSW

• Meeting the Court’s Expectations of Mental Health Professionals Addressing Competence to Stand Trial
  ​Judge Ronald Kaye
  MCLE

• Development Factors in Youth with Problematic Sexual Behaviors
  ​Norbert Ralph, PhD, MPH

• Conducting Spanish Language Psychological Evaluations in High Stake Legal Cases
  ​Carmen Velazquez, PhD

• Identifying, Diagnosing and Treating Justice-Involved Individuals with Cognitive Disorders: An Alternative Model for Criminal Justice
  Noah Cox, JD
  Enrique Lopez, PsyD; Diomaris Safi, PsyD
  MCLE

• Beyond the Headlines: Understanding & Addressing Emerging Drug Trends
  ​Grant Hovik, MA

Breakout Presentation 3

• ​The Challenges of Caring for Elderly and Medically Fragile Patients with Serious Mental Illness
  Christy Mulkerin, MD
  Ambar Faizi, DO; Daniel Lance, PsyD; Shelise Muzio, JD
  MCLE

• When Extreme Beliefs Wreak Havoc: Managing Sovereign Citizen Ideology with Forensic Mental Health and Legal Settings
  ​Sharon Howard, PhD
  MCLE *Elimination of Bias

• Outpatient, Not Out of Options: Challenges in Juvenile Competency Restoration
  Daniel Taxy, PsyD
  ​Vanessa Reis, MA
  MCLE

• Legal Maneuvers or Emotional Survival: Decoding SVP Treatment Refusal
  ​Darla Dixon, PsyD

• Building an Effective Collaboration Between Probation/Parole and Mental Health
  ​Tom Granucci, LCSW

• Polysubstance Use & the Current State of Stimulant Disorder Treatment
  ​Maria Hu, LCSW

Breakout Presentation 4

• ​Understanding Relational Trauma and Its Connection with Violence and Criminal Behavior
  ​Victoria Sanders, PhD, LMFT

• Through the Defendant’s Eyes: Why Conventional Wisdom on Competency Evaluations Should be Reconsidered
  ​Amy McKelvey, JD
  MCLE

• Transforming Youth Justice from Punishment to Healing: An Overview of the 2025 Department of Juvenile Justice Realignment Report
  Kamiliah Holloway, MA
  ​Judge Katherine Lucero
  MCLE

• Working Where Others Won’t: Clinical Realities, Boundaries and the Weight of the Work
  ​Mikaela Vidmar, MSc, MA
  ​Angela Connors, PhD

• The Resource Team: Innovations
  ​Matthew Borba, PhD

• Motivational Interviewing & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Approach to Substance Use Treatment
  ​Maria Hu, LCSW

Closing Presentations

• Transforming Our Responses to Youthful Offenders: Preventative, Proactive and Trauma-Informed Trategies 
  Danielle Cooper, PhD, CPP

• Police-Induced False Confessions: Causes, Consequences and Changes that Can Make a Difference 
  Lauren Gottesman, JD
  ​Huwe Burto