Christine Valdez, Ph.D., ABPP is a California licensed clinical psychologist and is board-certified in clinical psychology, a distinction held by fewer than 5% of practicing psychologists. She specializes in forensic psychological evaluations involving trauma, PTSD, and psychological injury, with a focuses on the impact of traumatic and stressful experiences on functioning and long-term outcomes.

Dr. Valdez is retained by both plaintiff and defense counsel to conduct independent forensic psychological evaluations in civil matters involving allegations of psychological injury. Her opinions address diagnosis, psychological causation, functional impairment, and prognosis, and are grounded in clinical expertise, psychological testing, and contemporary scientific research.

She has conducted over 1,000 administrative forensic evaluations through her work with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Working within a highly structured federal administrative framework, she developed extensive experience evaluating psychiatric diagnosis, psychological causation, functional impairment, and occupational functioning using standardized assessment procedures and regulatory criteria. That experience continues to inform her independent, evidence-based approach to civil forensic evaluations.

Dr. Valdez is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at California State University, Monterey Bay, where she teaches psychopathology and advanced research methods. As a practicing clinical psychologist, she routinely trains clinicians in assessment and diagnosis.

Her combined clinical, forensic, and research background brings scientific rigor to complex civil litigation. She approaches each evaluation from an independent scientist-practitioner perspective, carefully considering competing explanations, alternative causes, and the available empirical evidence in order to provide measured opinions that assist the trier of fact.