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Edward Oklan, MD - Curriculum Vitae

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EDWARD OKLAN, MD, M.P.H.
Diplomate, American Board Of Psychiatry And Neurology In Adult, Child And Family Psychiatry

Preventive Psychiatry Associates, Medical Group Inc.
2105 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
phone (415)292-7119


EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Undergraduate: Hobart College, Geneva, New York, B.A., summa cum laude in English, Phi Beta Kappa, 1968.

Medical School and Public Health Training: M.D. received from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, 1972. Awarded membership in Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society. Louisiana State University, New Orleans, Fellowship in Tropical Medicine and Public Health in El Salvador, 1972; University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, CA, Masters in Public Health (M.P.H.) in Mental Health Administration and Planning, 1973.

Medical Internship: Highland General Hospital, Oakland, California, Rotating Medical Internship, 1974.

General Psychiatric training: University of California, San Francisco, Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute, Psychiatric Residency, 1974-1977. Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute, Family Therapy Program, 1975-77.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Training: St. Mary's Hospital & Medical Center, McAuley Neuropsychiatric Institute, San Francisco, California, Child Psychiatric Fellowship, 1988-90.

Board Certifications:

  • Psychiatry: Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, certified in psychiatry, 1981.
  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Diplomate, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, 1990.
  • Qualified Medical Evaluator, 1997.


PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT

CLINICAL PRACTICE OF PSYCHIATRY

Dr. Oklan's professional work, time apportionment and identity is primarily that of a practicing psychiatrist. He has maintained an active fulltime clinical psychiatric practice throughout his professional career, in addition to his forensic and public health activities. His clinical work has integrated modalities of individual, couples, family, group, and parent-infant psychotherapy, as well as psychopharmacology, in outpatient, hospital, residential and group home settings. An increasing aspect of his practice has been the provision of diagnostic evaluations, second opinions and consultation to other professionals. Areas of particular expertise are described below.

3/77 - Present   FAMILY DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS
Private practice of adult and child neuropsychiatry, San Anselmo, California.
Adult psychiatry - Diplomate of American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Active clinical practice in adult and child psychiatry of over 30 years. Special areas of expertise include diagnostic evaluations; second opinion consultations for psychiatrists and psychotherapists; psychopharmacology; psychiatric hospital and residential treatment; depressive and bipolar affective disorders; schizophrenia and psychotic disorders; anxiety disorders and post traumatic stress disorders; chemical dependency and other addictive disorders; adult attention deficit disorder; traumatic brain injury. Dr. Oklan is experienced in the clinical and forensic use of diagnostic neuroimaging (SPECT Scanning - Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) in psychiatric disorders.

Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry - Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with subspecialty certification in Child Psychiatry. Special areas of expertise include child abuse and neglect; stages of psychological development, parent-infant attachment and impact of separation, loss, and developmental trauma throughout the lifespan; psychological aspects of pregnancy and early parenting period and family development during transition to parenthood; adoptions, foster care and dependency matters, and separation for and from placement; high conflict divorce and custody issues, including parental alignment/alienation; residential treatment of children and adolescents; attention deficit disorder; depressive and bipolar affective disorders; anxiety disorders and post traumatic stress disorder; and adolescent chemical dependency.

1/81 - 3/06 ASSISTANT CLINICAL PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY, University Of California, San Francisco, Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute, San Francisco, California.
Taught courses to psychiatric residents and post graduate psychology fellows in parent-infant attachment and family development during pregnancy and early parenting period, utilizing edited videotaped clinical vignettes from study of over 500 parent-infant dyads.

1/87 - 1/2000 PSYCHIATRIC CONSULTANT, St. Vincent's School for Boys, San Rafael, California. Provided psychiatric consultation to a residential treatment program for over 70 boys ages 7 to 18.

3/79 - 4/82 PSYCHIATRIC CONSULTANT, Braun Place, San Anselmo, California. Designed clinical program for residential and day treatment center for adolescents with a history of psychosis; established family therapy program; provided ongoing clinical training and consultation to director and counseling staff; evaluated and treated those adolescents requiring medication or hospitalization.

1/78 - 6/79 PSYCHIATRIC CONSULTANT, Sunny Hills, San Anselmo, California. Provided psychiatric and family therapy consultation and training to social workers and counseling staff at Sunny Hills, a residential treatment program for sixty emotionally disturbed and delinquent adolescents; evaluated and treated those adolescents with more severe disturbances, including hospitalization and medication.

3/77 - 6/80 PSYCHIATRIC CONSULTANT, Marin Lodge, Woodacre, California. Supervised clinical program for residential and day clients at treatment center for young adult chronic schizophrenics. Provided individual and group supervision to counseling staff. Provided psychiatric consultation to counseling staff at The Great Crepe, a restaurant serving as a vocational and social rehabilitation setting for chronic schizophrenic and other disabled clients.

10/74 - 10/79 STAFF PSYCHIATRIST, Fairmont Hospital Psychiatric Emergency Service, San Leandro, California. Provided crisis psychiatric evaluation and treatment of adults and children in a busy medical and psychiatric emergency service; supervised mental health workers, psychiatric nurses and social workers.

FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY

Dr. Oklan has been involved in diverse forensic psychiatric activities throughout his career, including but not limited to: commitment, conservatorship and competency evaluations; evaluations of young children for adoption and placement in Juvenile Dependency matters; evaluation of attachment issues, utilizing videotaped observations of parent-infant interaction during separation and reunion experiences and free play; evaluation of the psychological status of older children for Juvenile Court proceedings; diminished capacity issues regarding felony cases before the Superior Court; psychiatric and medical malpractice; head trauma cases; sequelae of motor vehicle accidents; pharmacy prescription errors; ecoli induced glomerulonephritis; institutional neglect; wrongful death and deprivation of parental services; assessment of the psychological status of traumatized children and adults and the assessment of psychological damages, both in his private practice and in conjunction with Gilbert Kliman, M.D. at Preventive Psychiatry Associates and the Children's Psychological Trauma Center (see description below). He has also served as impartial expert/Special Master for the courts of Marin, Sonoma, and San Francisco counties in over 50 high conflict divorced and custody cases and helped establish the Special Master program in Marin County.

He has served as medical examiner for the Superior Court of Marin County in criminal cases and for the California Board of Medical Quality Assurance, and as Qualified Medical Examiner for the California Department of Industrial Relations in workers' compensation cases.

1986 - Present  FORENSIC EXPERT, PRIVATE PRACTICE.
Forensic psychiatric expert in over 100 cases, both for defense (approximately 80%) and plaintiffs (approximately 20%), in cases including those involving psychological trauma and damages, post traumatic stress disorder, wrongful death, psychiatric and medical malpractice, loss of parental services, head trauma, child abuse and neglect, adoptions and juvenile dependency matters; and institutional neglect. He has performed forensic evaluations, videotaped interviews, prepared written reports, and provided expert testimony, as well as having served as mediator, court appointed Special Master or custody evaluator in over 50 high conflict divorce cases.

6/89 - Present   PREVENTIVE PSYCHIATRY ASSOCIATES MEDICAL GROUP, INC.
Cofounder with Gilbert Kliman, M.D., served as Medical Director, and subsequently as psychiatric expert for multidisciplinary mental health teams providing forensic evaluations and testimony on behalf of adults and children who have been affected by psychological trauma. Performed psychiatric forensic evaluations of 110 children at Heartland Christian Academy, in conjunction with Gilbert Kliman, M.D., regarding allegations of abuse and negligence by the institution, and the traumatic effects of a forced removal by local county authorities. Prepared life care plans and assessed psychological damages arising from objectively confirmed abuse.

1990 - Present   SPECIAL MASTER AND CUSTODY EVALUATOR.
Court appointed expert and Special Master in Marin, Sonoma, and San Francisco counties in over 50 high conflict divorce and custody cases. Testified as an impartial expert witness in these cases, but also as result of thoroughness of extensive evaluations, was often able to facilitate clinically beneficial settlements on behalf of children suffering the effects of parental conflict, through participation in formal (with judicial presence) and informal settlement conferences, consultation to attorneys, and mediation.

4/95 - 1/01  MEDICAL EXAMINER, CALIFORNIA BOARD OF MEDICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE. Provided consultation to the Board regarding complaints against physicians for malpractice, unethical behavior, and/or physician impairment as a result of psychiatric disorder or substance abuse.

9/97 - 1/01 Qualified Medical Evaluator, California Department of Industrial Relations. Performed evaluations of psychologically injured workers through California Workers' Compensation system.

8/81 - 1/95 Medical Examiner, Superior Court and Juvenile Court, Marin County, California. Provided evaluation and expert witness testimony regarding felony cases before the Superior Court, including competency for trial and diminished capacity issues, as well as sentencing recommendations. Performed evaluations and testimony in child abuse and neglect and adoptions and foster care placement cases before the Juvenile Court.

PREVENTIVE PSYCHIATRY AND PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIVITIES

Dr. Oklan has been interested and involved in public health issues and preventive psychiatry throughout his career. While in medical school, he was selected for a research clerkship in infectious diseases at the Center for Disease Control, and subsequently for a Fellowship in Tropical Medicine and Public Health in 1972 through Louisiana State University. He spent 4 months studying the health care system in El Salvador. After graduating with high honors (Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society) from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1972, he elected to attend the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health, receiving his Masters in Public Health in 1973, focusing on mental health policy and planning.

In addition to his full time private practice of adult and child psychiatry, he has established several enduring preventive mental health programs designed to decrease the prevalence of psychiatric and medical disorders in children and adults. In 1979, he designed the clinical program for Braun Place, an adolescent residential and day treatment program, where he also served as psychiatric consultant. In 1981, he founded and directed Pregnancy to Parenthood Family Center, an innovative not-for-profit treatment and research program for families and children under stress during pregnancy and the early parenting period. He also established and received grant support for several other preventive projects, including the Parent Aide Program, Teenage Parent Program, and Early Child Abuse and Neglect Programs. He then helped found the Special Master program for high conflict divorce and post divorce families in Marin County, serving as court appointed expert for custody evaluations and as Special Master in over 50 cases in Marin, Sonoma, and San Francisco counties.

In 1989, along with Gilbert Kliman, M.D., he founded, Preventive Psychiatry Associates Medical Group, Inc. and a non profit agency, the Children's Psychological Trauma Center. He served as Medical Director of Preventive Psychiatry Associates until 1991. With Dr. Kliman he authored seven guided activity workbooks for traumatized children, families, teachers and mental health professionals for use in natural disasters and war. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area, he was a principal author of My Earthquake Story, distributing over 20,000 copies in San Francisco, Alameda and Santa Cruz counties. My Tornado Story was written in 1990 for use in Joliet, Illinois, while My Fire Story was written initially in 1990 for use in the Oakland, CA, East Bay Hills fires and later adapted for use after destructive fires in Santa Barbara and Southern California. My Flood Story was written in 1993 to help children traumatized by floods in the Midwest along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. In 1994, My Hurricane Story was written for use after Hurricane Andrew, and most recently adopted for use in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In 1990, My Book About the War was written for children affected by the first Gulf War and later adapted in 2001 for use after September 11, 2001.

In 1996, Dr. Oklan founded C.L.A.S.S. (Communication, Leadership, and Social Skills), a school based preventive mental health program providing group discussion and activities for the purpose of psychological immunization against drug abuse and other high risk behaviors in teenagers, as well as consultation to teachers and school administrators. Most recently he has focused his public health activities on forensic work on behalf of traumatized children and adults, with the goal of affecting public policy in order to reduce the incidence of psychological illness and psychosocial disability.

1/91 -Present  FAMILY DEVELOPMENT PRESS.
Coauthored with Gilbert Kliman, M.D., and published guided activity workbooks to facilitate active coping in traumatized children and families. (See publications)

6/89 - Present  Children's Psychological Trauma Center, subsequently named The Children's Psychological Health Center, Inc., a nonprofit California Public Benefit Corporation. Cofounder with Gilbert Kliman, M.D., Medical Director until 1991, and subsequently psychiatric consultant and forensic expert for nonprofit agency utilizing a multidisciplinary team to provide forensic and clinical psychiatric services and to develop preventive mental health programs for traumatized children.

1989 - Present  Numerous radio, press and TV public service interviews concerning psychologically traumatic experiences, including natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes; airplane crashes; school shootings; abductions; and other national and local crises.

3/96 - Present  FOUNDER AND MEDICAL DIRECTOR of C.L.A.S.S. (Communication, Leadership and Social Skills), a preventive mental health group-based program providing psychological immunization of children and adolescents against drug abuse and other high-risk behaviors, as well as consultation to schools.

4/81 - 3/86 EXECUTIVE AND CLINICAL DIRECTOR, Pregnancy to Parenthood Family Center, San Rafael, California. (Now a division of Family Services Agency.) Founded and directed a nonprofit organization providing individual, parent- infant, child and family psychotherapy, infant/toddler developmental assessment , as well as labor coaching, individualized childbirth education, and parenting education to high-risk families during pregnancy and the first three years of parenting. He also provided consultation and training to staff and other health professionals and agencies; developed research and program evaluation protocols; and founded the Teenage Parent Program, Parent Aide Program, and Early Childhood Abuse and Neglect Prevention Program. He evaluated and worked with over 500 families and young children;

LICENSURE

Licensed physician and surgeon, California, License No. G27561, expires 4/30/08.
DEA BNDD No. AO6121533, expires 12/31/08.
CME and CPR certification current.


RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS

Oklan, E., "Birthing, Bonding and the Infancy Stage of Fathering". Chapter in Fathering: It's Not the Same, Robert Sayers, Ed., 1983.

Oklan, E., "Resident Satisfaction Component", Alameda County Board and Care Home Research and Evaluation Study, University of California, Berkeley, School of Social Welfare, 1994.

Oklan, E., "Psychological Birth of the Family: Pregnancy to Parenthood Family Center," Moebius, Vol. V, No. 1, January 1985.

Oklan, E., and Kliman, G., My Earthquake Story, A Guided Activity Workbook, October 1989.

Oklan, E., and Kliman, G., My Tornado Story, A Guided Activity Workbook, January 1990.

Oklan, E., and Kliman, G., My Fire Story, A Guided Activity Workbook, August 1990.

Oklan, E., and Kliman, G., My Flood Story, A Guided Activity Workbook, March 1993.

Oklan, E., and Kliman, G., My Hurricane Story, A Guided Activity Workbook, 1994.

Oklan, E., and Kliman, G., My Book About the War (Gulf War), A Guided Activity Workbook, 1990.

Oklan, E., and Kliman, G., My Book About the Attack on America, A Guided Activity Workbook, September 2001.

GRANTS AND HONORS

Awarded membership in Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society, 1972.

Dr. Oklan has been the recipient of over 20 grants totaling in excess of $1,000,000, for research and clinical projects providing prevention and early treatment services to children experiencing psychological trauma and child abuse and neglect, and for programs addressing teenage parenting; prevention of obstetrical complications; facilitation of parent-infant attachment and early family development; prevention of divorce and the adverse impact of parental conflict on children; and the writing, publication and distribution of guided activity workbooks for traumatized children.

Grants have been provided by numerous foundations and agencies, including the San Francisco Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Zellerbach Family Fund, Koret Foundation, United Way, Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, and the Family Service Agencies of Marin County and the East Bay.

In 1991, he was awarded the annual Spirit of the Family Award by the Family Services Agency of Marin County, along with Anne K. Oklan, R.N., for their work on behalf of young children and families and the establishing of Pregnancy to Parenthood Family Center.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Psychiatric Association; Northern California Psychiatric Association; Marin Medical Society; American Academny of Child and Adolescent Psyhiatry. 

 
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