Mia M. Ricardo, PhD

Dr. Mia M. Ricardo earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Sam Houston State University in 2022 before completing her Postdoctoral Residency in Forensic Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Her research interests are at the intersection of psychology and law, including in the quality and content of forensic mental health evaluation reports, forensic mental health policy and legislation, mental health case law, substance use disorder policy, and harm reduction. She also holds research contracts with UMass Medical School, serving as the research supervisor for the Postdoctoral Residency in Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry.

Dr. Ricardo has undergone extensive clinical training in forensic psychological assessment and specializes in court-ordered evaluations of competence to stand trial, criminal responsibility (sanity), general violence risk, and sexual violence risk, among other psycho-legal questions. She has served as an expert witness in both district and superior courts in criminal and civil proceedings. Dr. Ricardo is a Licensed Psychologist in Maine and Massachusetts, is a Designated Forensic Psychologist in Massachusetts, and is credentialed by the National Register of Health Service Psychologists. Dr. Ricardo has also undergone specialized training in treatment of those with sexually problematic behaviors, substance use disorders, and serious mental illness with both adults and juveniles in outpatient, residential, state hospital, and probation department settings, as well as in local and federal prison and jail.