Linda “Jade” Daniels, PsyD, JD
Dr. Linda “Jade” Daniels, a licensed Psychologist and board-certified expert in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Stress, and Emergency Crisis Response, has over 25 years of Clinical and Forensic Psychology professional experience. In addition to her doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Daniels also holds a Juris Doctorate which provides her with a distinctive perspective on issues of mental health equity and social justice. Her dedication to giving voice to the voiceless can be found in her work with children and families involved in Family Court and Juvenile Justice systems as well as with under-resourced communities in the aftermath of traumatic individual and community events. Her work encompasses the impact of individual ,intergenerational trauma and community trauma; inequities in the U.S legal system; and community violence on mental health and human rights. Overall, she is exceptionally well-positioned to provide consultation and guidance on the unrelenting trauma-producing events that has been dominating the news (e.g., police brutality; mass shootings and community violence; domestic terrorism; the deleterious effects of climate change on individuals and communities, etc.) and to also advocate for reforms in mental health laws, policing practices, and public health policies.
Dr. Daniels utilizes her extensive expertise in trauma-informed practice in the assessment, evaluations, and treatment of those suffering from the impact of individual and community violence as well as those impacted by natural and man-made disasters. Her work is grounded in her belief in the capacity of trauma survivors to experience posttraumatic growth following life-altering events. Her Juris Doctorate bridges the gap between psycho-legal issues and legal decision-making and addressing the broadening appreciation of psychology within the legal process. She provides professional psychological and legal advice to communities, organizations, agencies, attorneys, courts, and other entities. Through these combined lenses, Dr. Daniels brings a broader understanding of the role of psychology and the law into the spheres of public policy, human and civil rights, and other social issues. Dr. Daniels is therefore uniquely positioned to provide psychological and legally nuanced perspectives that champions the centrality of the lived experience of the individual within the context of the broader national community.
Dr. Daniels also possesses uniquely distinctive expertise and leaderships skills involving national incidents including her work following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. She not only created and oversaw an over 100 clinician-staffed Crisis Center in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and provided trauma-informed services to individuals and families, but also authored the book “Healing Journeys: How Trauma Survivors Learn to Live Again.” As a direct survivor of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, in her book Dr. Daniels shares her own and the stories of other survivors and provides self-help resilience/coping techniques and successful treatment approaches for the reader which has set hundreds of survivors on their own healing paths following 9/11 and other traumatic events.
Given her extensive experience at the nexus of law and psychology Dr. Daniels is particularly situated to address the race and economic-based systematic inequities inherent in our legal system. She has served as both a Senior Psychologist in the Queens County District Court Mental Health Clinic in New York City and later as the Director of the Juvenile Court Clinic in Roxbury and Dorchester, Massachusetts. Later she served as first the Co-Director and then the Director of the Doctoral Forensic Psychology Concentration Program at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (now William James College). During her tenure, she directed and managed the day-to-day operations of the Concentration Program; taught and mentored master’s and doctoral -level students; and served as Co-Chair or Chair on many doctoral dissertation panels. Dr. Daniels’ demonstrated ability to lead and consult on complex undertakings with exceptional results is also highlighted by her participation in panels and radio appearances; and police/fire candidate assessment and training, including identifying those who are psychologically equipped to serve as a police officer or firefighter and her evaluation of current police officer for psychological fitness-for duty.