Identifying and Assessing Students with Emotional Disturbance

Terry J. Tibbetts, Ph.D., J.D., is a licensed psychologist and educational attorney who has worked in a variety of clinical and educational settings involving students with emotional disturbance, both as an administrator and as a psychologist. He currently works for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he is responsible for the psychoeducational evaluation of adjudicated adolescents. Dr. Tibbetts also holds a master's degree in clinical social work and is both a registered art therapist and a board-certified behaviour analyst. His most recent publication is on the use of short-term gestalt art therapy with adolescents who are emotionally disturbed. Dr. Tibbetts has testified as an independent evaluator and as an expert witness in multiple administrative due process hearings regarding the appropriate identification, assessment, and treatment of students with emotional disturbance.