Linda Grounds, PhD.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Certified Forensic Examiner
Dr. Linda Grounds holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in clinical psychology with a strong research and teaching emphasis. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After she received undergraduate and graduate school honors, including membership in the honor society Phi Beta Kappa as an undergraduate, she then completed an American Psychological Association-approved internship at Oregon Health & Science University.
At OHSU, Dr. Grounds also did a two-year fellowship focused exclusively on psychological assessment and a two-year postdoctoral residency that included psychological assessment and clinical treatment of late adolescents and adults.
Dr. Linda Grounds has conducted many forensic psychological evaluations, almost exclusively of individuals facing serious criminal charges including embezzlement, identity theft, drug offenses, assault, and murder. Some of her specific interests include:
Psychological evaluations of women who commit serious crimes
Psychological assessment of individuals charged with white collar crimes
Assessment of competency to aid and assist, to enter a plea and to go to trial, especially in complex cases
Evaluation of individuals with a focus on potential mitigation issues
Issues of criminal responsibility and mental state at the time of offense conduct
Assessment of psychological and intellectual factors relevant to understanding offense conduct and to plea negotiations and sentencing
Advanced training in psychological assessment
Dr. Linda Grounds specializes in the forensic psychological evaluations of individuals facing criminal charges in both state and federal court. She also maintains a small but active psychotherapy practice with late adolescents and adults. She has been in private practice in Portland, Oregon for over 25 years. Dr. Grounds conducts comprehensive psychological evaluations of individuals charged with serious crimes including:
Embezzlement and other white-collar crimes
Bank robbery
Drug offenses
Assault, attempted murder, and murder.
Since 1987, Dr. Grounds has conducted psychological assessments and provided outpatient psychotherapy services. She has conducted forensic psychological assessments since 1999. Prior to this, she received extensive training in ethics, psycho-legal issues, assessment techniques and instruments, report writing, and testimony in forensic psychological evaluations. She brings this experience and training to each evaluation for state or federal court.
Dr. Linda Grounds holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in clinical psychology with a strong research and teaching emphasis. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After she received undergraduate and graduate school honors, including membership in the honor society Phi Beta Kappa as an undergraduate, she then completed an American Psychological Association-approved internship at Oregon Health & Science University.
At OHSU, Dr. Grounds also did a two-year fellowship focused exclusively on psychological assessment and a two-year postdoctoral residency that included psychological assessment and clinical treatment of late adolescents and adults.
Dr. Grounds offers the following services:
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Mitigation Evaluations
Psychological evaluations focused on mitigation factors relevant to plea negotiations, sentencing decisions or both comprise a very strong interest and area of specialization for Dr. Grounds. The purpose of these evaluations is to determine: If an individual’s developmental history, exposure to violence and/or trauma, or current intellectual and psychological functioning played a meaningful role in his or her alleged offense conduct and exactly how these factors are relevant to judicial decisions about case outcomes.
With respect to women’s offense conduct, whether psychological and/or relationship issues, especially a history of domestic violence are factors relevant to their offense conduct. -
Assessment of Competency
Intellectual and psychological factors affect a defendant’s ability to assist counsel and make the critical and often complicated decisions that the defendant must make during a criminal proceeding. For a determination of competency, it is necessary for a defendant to have a factual understanding of the proceedings. But he or she must also:
Have a rational understanding of the charges and be capable of making the necessary decisions in their case, i.e., to accept or reject a plea agreement, to decide whether or not to go to trial and whether or not to testify. Be able to assist counsel in a rational and consistent manner. Be able to behave appropriately and function competently in the courtroom.
A competency evaluation can identify intellectual deficits or the presence of serious psychological issues that may impair a defendant’s capacity to proceed. If intellectual impairment or psychotic disorders significantly impair an individual’s competency to proceed, the results of the psychological examination allow the examiner to offer an opinion and make recommendations regarding whether the defendant can be restored to competency. -
Mental State, Criminal Responsibility, and Insanity Evaluations
Risk assessment evaluations inform an opinion related to an individual’s risk of criminal recidivism.
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Criminal responsibility and insanity evaluations
Among the most challenging forensic psychological evaluations, these frequently take place some time after the offense conduct. The sooner a psychological examination has begun after the alleged offense conduct, the more accurate a picture of the person’s state of mind at the time of the offense can be developed for the court.
Forensic examinations in these cases involve the same comprehensive evaluation of developmental, cognitive and psychological variables as other evaluations. They also require reliance on as much collateral information as can be gathered.
