While Dr. Mendonsa resides in Northern California, he is licensed to practice in over a dozen states and commonly travels both within California and nationally to meet the needs of clients, lawyers, executives, professionals and referral sources. He maintains a psychotherapy practice where he provides therapy to adults, couples and families. He began working in mental health and forensics over 15 years ago. He has committed his life to community service, social justice and advancing equality in mental health and society. He loves providing therapy, executive coaching, forensic/court-related services, and conducting evaluations. A rare combination for many psychologists. He has worked in a variety of settings including juvenile justice settings, jails, prisons, inpatient psychiatric hospitals and emergency departments within numerous hospital settings. He has extensive expertise in juvenile, adult and geriatric psychology. He has a passion for working with victims of violence and hate and has treated countless clients who have helped him understand prejudice, racism and marginalized populations. He has also spent many years in worker's compensation both as a provider and reviewer. He has completed hundreds of hours of specialized training in substance abuse treatment & evaluation, suicide risk assessment and psychological autopsy, business efficiency and workplace personnel care. He has testified and been deposed in cases involving state and federal laws. He is currently a California Board of Psychology Expert Reviewer and assists in determining professional deviations of care. Rarely seen in psychologist backgrounds, Dr. Mendonsa also has a passion for business and operations. After practicing for several years, he returned to college and earned a highly ranked MBA which allows him to bring a unique perspective to workplace cases, business consultation and executive care.
Dr. Mendonsa's professional career has included work as a government regulator, reviewer and surveyor. In these roles, he has acquired the skills necessary to help organizations obtain a health care certification and license, obtain and retain Joint Commission Accreditation, and prepare complex root-cause analyses which satisfies private and government regulatory and review processes. He has worked with both small and large organizations who have successfully undergone regulatory reviews, surveys and investigations.
As a forensic psychologist, he is an expert in forensic mandated treatment, including sex offender treatment. He has overseen thousands of mandated clients and participated in parole review hearings. He has conducted evaluations at Coalinga State Hospital on Sexually Violent Predators (SVPs), served as Chief Psychologist for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations and worked in various high security settings. Lastly, he is designated as a Substance Abuse Expert (SAE) under the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) under the United States Department of Transportation. These two highly specialized certifications allow Dr. Mendonsa to clear employees to return to work at SAE and SAP workplaces. He is considered an expert witness throughout the United States. He has served as an Expert & Rebuttal Witness in a variety of civil and criminal cases.
Dr. Mendonsa is a Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME). He has conducted dozens of Panel (QME), Agreed (AME), and Independent (IME) evaluations. He prides himself on strongly written and highly detailed reports that withstand cross-examination. He even presents advanced report writing nationally to mental health and forensic professionals.
Besides providing expert and top notch clinical and forensic services, Dr. Mendonsa has presented a variety of clinical and forensic topics around the world. He loves teaching and presenting. You can often see him on television where he is providing expert perspective on local and national news. In fact he has been featured in numerous national and international media including Forbes and Huff Post! He has been featured on countless radio shows and webcasts.
Dr. Mendonsa serves on a variety of government, non-profit and private boards, partnerships and coalitions. He's one of the Top 10 followed psychologists on Twitter and a Top 30 Psychology Author Bringing a Revolution in the World of Mental Health. Be sure to check out his blog where he tries to share regular entries on a variety of topics and interests.
