Nicole Witherspoon

Biography

Nicci Witherspoon, Psy.D., is a clinical and forensic psychologist whose work focuses on the intersection of trauma, severe mental illness, neuropsychology, and the legal system. She earned her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in trauma and forensics, from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant University. She completed her APA-accredited doctoral internship at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Child Guidance Clinic, and completed her postdoctoral training in private practice with an emphasis on forensic and neuropsychological assessment.

Dr. Witherspoon has worked across a range of clinical and forensic settings, including psychiatric hospitals, residential and intensive outpatient treatment programs, community mental health clinics, specialty anxiety and OCD treatment settings, and forensic private practice. Her clinical experience spans children, adolescents, and adults, with a particular emphasis on interpersonal and chronic trauma, adverse childhood experiences, polyvictimization, betrayal and institutional betrayal trauma, and severe mental illness. She utilizes evidence-based approaches including CBT, ACT, CPT, PE, and TF-CBT.

Her forensic assessment experience includes evaluations of juveniles and adults addressing a range of psycho-legal questions. Her areas of expertise and scholarly interest center on the effects of trauma and early adversity on brain development and executive functioning, the assessment and diagnosis of severe mental illness and psychotic-spectrum disorders, and the intersection of forensic psychology and neuropsychology. She is particularly interested in how traumatic stress and PTSD may manifest across diverse cultural groups and how differences in presentation can affect diagnostic accuracy, access to appropriate treatment, and outcomes for individuals involved in the criminal justice system.

Professional Interests

• Interpersonal trauma
• Polyvictimization
• Forensic psychologists well-being
• Sexual trauma
• Betrayal trauma
• Institutional betrayal trauma
• Severe mental illness

Courses

• Advance Statistics
• Foundations of Multicultural Psychology
• Advanced Psychopathology
• Clinical Consultation
• Cognitive & Affective Bases of Behavior
• Family Systems
• Developmental Psychology