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Dr. Allison SchechterDr. Allison Schechter earned a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2007. During the course of the completion of her Doctoral (Psy.D.) training, she completed several forensic practicum rotations and gained knowledge and experience conducting group and individual therapy with adult sex offenders and extensive experience with psychological assessment. This assessment experience included psychological testing with incarcerated adults and youth, as well as experience with forensic and neuropsychological assessment. She completed an American Psychological Association accredited one-year internship at Fulton State Hospital, a forensic psychiatric facility in Fulton, Missouri. During this internship she received training in writing
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forensic reports regarding competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and psychological assessment. She co-facilitated both group and individual therapy with mentally ill forensic patients who had been deemed not competent to stand trial and/or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Following her Doctoral training, she worked as a psychologist in the Minnesota Security Hospital where she was primarily responsible for the comprehensive psychological services for the intake and high behavioral control units of the hospital. She conducted psychological evaluations and wrote treatment reports for Court. She conducted crisis intervention with hospital patients and conducted individual and group therapy on the acute care units of the hospital. She took the lead in the development and implementation of the initial psychological evaluations in the hospital, and she conducted psychological evaluations with patients who were in the custody of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
After becoming a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Washington in 2008, Dr. Schechter worked in a clinical and forensic private practice where she conducted forensic evaluations including Competency to Stand Trial, Diminished Capacity, Social Security Disability, and psychological evaluation services for veterans and dually diagnosed adults.
After moving to the Chicagoland area in 2009, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Elgin Mental Health Center Forensic Treatment Program where she worked as the lead psychologist on an Unfit to Stand Trial unit. She completed initial psychological and neuropsychological evaluations for hospital patients, worked with a multidisciplinary treatment team, provided opinions on patients’ level of fitness for trial, and performed evaluations for patients who had been found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity and petitioned for additional hospital privileges.
After becoming a Licensed Psychologist in Illinois, Dr. Schechter started her own outpatient private practice in 2012 where she continues to run her practice and she provides therapy services with adults who present with a wide variety of life struggles and diagnoses including depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, and panic disorders.
In 2010, Dr. Schechter obtained a full-time position with Wexford Health Sources, an agency that is contracted with the Illinois Department of Corrections. Her position with Wexford Health Sources was that of a forensic psychologist and Sexually Violent Persons Evaluator. While employed with Wexford Health Sources, Dr. Schechter completed comprehensive evaluations to provide the Court and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office an expert opinion if individuals met statutory criteria to be found to be a Sexually Violent Person (SVP) pursuant to the Illinois Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act. Evaluations included completing comprehensive risk assessments including consideration of: Review of court, police, and Department of Corrections records, use of actuarial and psychological instruments (including the Static-99R, Static-2002R, and the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised), dynamic risk factors, protective factors, case specific factors, diagnostic formulation, and clinical interview with the offender. She is a Licensed Sex Offender Evaluator in Illinois and she has testified in Court as an expert witness for probable cause hearings, depositions, and trials since 2010. Dr. Schechter has been qualified as an expert in Sex Offender Evaluation and Risk Assessment in multiple counties throughout Illinois. Upon deciding to leave her position with Wexford Health Sources in 2016, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office offered her a private contract to continue her work as a Sexually Violent Persons evaluator. Since 2016, Dr. Schechter has continued to have an active and ongoing contract with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and she continues to complete Sexually Violent Persons evaluations and testifies in court as an expert witness on cases for which she is consistently asked to complete.
Dr. Schechter’s ongoing professional interests include increasing her depth of understanding of the complexity between the intersection of psychology and the law.
Following her Doctoral training, she worked as a psychologist in the Minnesota Security Hospital where she was primarily responsible for the comprehensive psychological services for the intake and high behavioral control units of the hospital. She conducted psychological evaluations and wrote treatment reports for Court. She conducted crisis intervention with hospital patients and conducted individual and group therapy on the acute care units of the hospital. She took the lead in the development and implementation of the initial psychological evaluations in the hospital, and she conducted psychological evaluations with patients who were in the custody of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
After becoming a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Washington in 2008, Dr. Schechter worked in a clinical and forensic private practice where she conducted forensic evaluations including Competency to Stand Trial, Diminished Capacity, Social Security Disability, and psychological evaluation services for veterans and dually diagnosed adults.
After moving to the Chicagoland area in 2009, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Elgin Mental Health Center Forensic Treatment Program where she worked as the lead psychologist on an Unfit to Stand Trial unit. She completed initial psychological and neuropsychological evaluations for hospital patients, worked with a multidisciplinary treatment team, provided opinions on patients’ level of fitness for trial, and performed evaluations for patients who had been found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity and petitioned for additional hospital privileges.
After becoming a Licensed Psychologist in Illinois, Dr. Schechter started her own outpatient private practice in 2012 where she continues to run her practice and she provides therapy services with adults who present with a wide variety of life struggles and diagnoses including depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, and panic disorders.
In 2010, Dr. Schechter obtained a full-time position with Wexford Health Sources, an agency that is contracted with the Illinois Department of Corrections. Her position with Wexford Health Sources was that of a forensic psychologist and Sexually Violent Persons Evaluator. While employed with Wexford Health Sources, Dr. Schechter completed comprehensive evaluations to provide the Court and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office an expert opinion if individuals met statutory criteria to be found to be a Sexually Violent Person (SVP) pursuant to the Illinois Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act. Evaluations included completing comprehensive risk assessments including consideration of: Review of court, police, and Department of Corrections records, use of actuarial and psychological instruments (including the Static-99R, Static-2002R, and the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised), dynamic risk factors, protective factors, case specific factors, diagnostic formulation, and clinical interview with the offender. She is a Licensed Sex Offender Evaluator in Illinois and she has testified in Court as an expert witness for probable cause hearings, depositions, and trials since 2010. Dr. Schechter has been qualified as an expert in Sex Offender Evaluation and Risk Assessment in multiple counties throughout Illinois. Upon deciding to leave her position with Wexford Health Sources in 2016, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office offered her a private contract to continue her work as a Sexually Violent Persons evaluator. Since 2016, Dr. Schechter has continued to have an active and ongoing contract with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and she continues to complete Sexually Violent Persons evaluations and testifies in court as an expert witness on cases for which she is consistently asked to complete.
Dr. Schechter’s ongoing professional interests include increasing her depth of understanding of the complexity between the intersection of psychology and the law.