Therapist’s opinion wasn’t forensically warranted in case over PTSD

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted May 16, 2023 11:22 AM

In a case where a trial judge rejected testimony from a licensed professional counselor that three Connecticut State Police troopers suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from a hair-raising accident, the Connecticut Supreme Court acknowledged that “it may well be standard practice for therapists to presume the truthfulness of their patients’ reporting of PTSD symptoms for treatment purposes.” But the judge “did not act arbitrarily” in concluding that this assumption “is not sufficient for purposes of a forensic …

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