Dr. Heller has performed hundreds of forensic evaluations for Family Court in the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan area.
Since 2005, Dr. Heller has been the forensic consultant to the Rockland County (New York) forensic mental health unit, performing hundreds of child custody and visitation evaluations, examining petitioners, respondents, families and defendants and providing expert testimony for Family and Supreme Court.
He is an expert to the Court in New York City (all boroughs) also providing custody evaluations in Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, Nassau and Orange Counties (New York) as well as numerous counties in New Jersey.
He has been a consulting child custody evaluator for Bergen Family Center.
Dr. Heller has been qualified as a Psychologist expert witness by New York State Supreme Court, Family Court, and Integrated Domestic Violence Court (IDV) as a Psychologist expert witness, Psychologist Expert for the assigned counsel plan (18 B), City of New York (all boroughs) and the Law Guardian Program as an expert custody evaluator (Supreme Court Appellate Division, First and Second Judicial Departments, State of New York,
He has had advanced training from Rutgers School of Social Work, Center for Children and families, in performing psychological evaluations and serving as an expert witness in child welfare cases. He is also a fully vetted and approved forensic psychologist for the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.
State of NJ Office of the Public Defender in parental representation cases (for forensic child risk assessments, parent-child bonding assessments, determination of parental capacity) and New Jersey Superior Court as a Psychologist expert witness.
He received a Post-Doctoral certificate in Family Forensics, after successfully completing a two-year advanced training program at the Washington Square Institute. This is one of the only post-graduate training programs in advanced issues related to performing custody/family forensic evaluations. Experienced in cases that have included the following areas and evaluations:
Child Custody and Visitation evaluations that focus on the best interests of the child (“A Best Interests Evaluation”).
Special expertise in domestic violence, parental alienation, child sexual abuse. physical/emotional abuse, and neglect.
Juvenile delinquency evaluations.
Consultation to attorneys regarding adverse custody evaluations.
Relocation and removal evaluation cases.
Cases in which children of a batterer (or who formerly lived in a domestic violence situation) choose to live with the perpetrator (and the reason why as well as what the emotional and psychological injuries are that would cause a child or teenager to choose to reside with the batterer).
Risk Assessment regarding visitation.
Domestic violence/issues of power and control/assessment of allegations of domestic violence.
Sexual assault perpetrated by a spouse or the other parent.
Parental alienation/irrationally alienated children/assessment of allegations of parental alienation.
Individual and parent-child treatment for alienated children and targeted (rejected) parents.
Parents who cause their children to be estranged from them.
Alcohol and substance abuse related to custody issues.
Parental capacity/fitness.
Child attachment and emotional bonding.
Child abuse, child sexual abuse and neglect.
False allegations of child sexual abuse.
Juvenile delinquency/sexual assault perpetrated by adolescents/fire-setting/violence/substance abuse.
Evaluation of psychopathic tendencies in adolescents.
Recidivism and risk assessment for re-offense in adolescent sexual abusers.
Credibility assessments.
Symptoms of Battered Women.
Analysis of Evaluation reports and Peer Review/critiques of other expert child custody reports.
Consultation to legal team regarding relevant case issues and Briefings on related forensic issues.
Assessment of Potential for Parental child abduction/evaluation of children who have suffered international parental child abductions.
Termination of parental rights.
Home visits/observation of parenting skills/observation of transition between each parent.
Grandparent custody and visitation issues.
Posttraumatic stress disorder in children and adults/traumatized children.
Parents with criminal history/or who are incarcerated.
Home visitation and related family system analysis.
Bonding assessments between parent and child(ren).
Supervision and training in conducting custody evaluations.
Parental acceptance-rejection syndrome related to parents and children in custody, delinquency, abuse and neglect cases.
Folie-a-deux/Shared delusional disorder (mother and child).
