
Jennifer Piel, MD, JD
Personal Statement
I am triple Board Certified in General Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, and Brain Injury Medicine. My professional roles include being the Director of the UW Center for Mental Health, Policy, and the Law; Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry; and a Staff Psychiatrist at the VA Puget Sound. In addition to my medical training, I earned my law degree from the University of Washington. As a member of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), I serve on the Ethics, Research, and Resident Education Committees and I twice earned AAPL’s Young Investigator Award from. I am the Legal Digest Editor for the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. I have served as an expert witness or consultant in legal cases involving criminal and civil competencies; criminal responsibility; malpractice; personal injury; sexual and gender harassment; and fitness for duty, among others. I teach courses in forensic mental health at the University of Washington and speak locally and nationally on topics related to psychiatry and the law.Education
JD, University of Washington 2001
MD, USC/Keck School of Medicine, 2007
General Psychiatry Residency, University of Washington, 2011
Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship, Case Western Reserve University, 2012
Department Affiliations
Centers/Programs
Training Programs
Director, Psychiatry and the Law (PBSCI-525)
Director, VA Mental Health and Justice Rotation
Coordinator, Psychiatry Resident Forensic Didactic Series
Other Affiliations
VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle Division
Scholarly Expertise
- Criminal justice / juvenile justice
- Ethics
- Forensic psychiatry/psychology
- Health services and health policy
- Outpatient psychiatry/psychology
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Psychological distress
- Suicide
- Veterans
- Forensic psychiatry
- Legislative advocay
- Mental health education
- Mental health laws
- Correctional psychiatry
Clinical Expertise
- Adult psychiatry/psychology
- Criminal justice / juvenile justice
- Forensic psychiatry/psychology
- General psychiatric illness and conditions
- Psychiatric disability
- Suicidality and self destructive behaviors
- Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Veterans
- Assessment of violence risk
- Involuntary treatment laws and practice
- Malingered mental illness
- Medico-legal consultation
- Treatment in forensic settings
Recent Publications
Understanding deliberate indifference to suicide in corrections facilities: A review of recent legal cases.
(2023 May)
J Forensic Sci 68(3): 972-977
Barnes C, Piel J
(2023 May)
J Forensic Sci 68(3): 972-977
Barnes C, Piel J
Arrest and non-fatal suicide attempts among men: analysis of survey data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
(2021 Oct 29)
BMC Psychiatry 21(1): 537
Bryson WC, Piel J, Thielke SM
(2021 Oct 29)
BMC Psychiatry 21(1): 537
Bryson WC, Piel J, Thielke SM
Associations Between Parole, Probation, Arrest, and Self-reported Suicide Attempts.
(2021 May)
Community Ment Health J 57(4): 727-735
Bryson WC, Piel J, Thielke S
(2021 May)
Community Ment Health J 57(4): 727-735
Bryson WC, Piel J, Thielke S
Letter to the Editor-Behavioral Health Implications of Inmate Release During COVID-19.
(2020 Jul)
J Forensic Sci 65(4): 1379-1381
Piel J
(2020 Jul)
J Forensic Sci 65(4): 1379-1381
Piel J
Letter to the Editor-Is Chronic Methamphetamine-Induced Psychosis A Mental Disease for the Purposes of Insanity?
(2020 Jul)
J Forensic Sci 65(4): 1382-1383
Reisner AD, Piel JL
(2020 Jul)
J Forensic Sci 65(4): 1382-1383
Reisner AD, Piel JL
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