David Gavel, Ph.D.

About David Gavel, Ph.D.

Dr. Gavel is a Licensed Counseling Psychologist and Forensic Evaluator in the state of Mississippi. As a full-time provider for Southern Behavioral Medicine Associates, Dr. Gavel provides a wide variety of clinical services including assessment and treatment of mood, personality, and psychotic spectrum disorders; criminal and civil forensic evaluations; and other specialized psychological evaluations such as fit-for-duty/pre-employment, psychological disability, and violence risk assessment. Dr. Gavel earned his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from The University of Southern Mississippi and completed his doctoral residency with emphasis on treatment of trauma-related disorders and severe mental illness at the Charles George VAMC in Asheville, NC. Dr. Gavel holds position as Adjunct Faculty for The University of Southern Mississippi and has been published in peer reviewed journals such as Journal of Criminal Psychology and Journal of Relationships Research. He is certified in Crisis & Hostage Negotiation and the owner of Steadfast Consulting, a Mississippi firm available for contract-based consultation regarding the intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system. Dr. Gavel has presented on topics such as criminogenic thinking, identity development in the corrections system, interdisciplinary treatment of chronic pain, and the biopsychosocial approach to functional restoration.

Presentation Topics:

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Anxiety and related disorders, Violence Risk Assessment, Psychology of Crisis & Hostage Negotiation, Forensic Evaluation, Police psychology, Fit-for-Duty evaluation, Psychological Assessment, Criminogenic thinking, Adult psychopathology, Biopsychosocial approach to pain, Adolescent Development, Civil commitment

Prior Presentations:

  1. Criminogenic Thinking: Patterned Thought Processes Facilitating Criminal & Other Anti-Social Behaviors *Mississippi Psychological Association 2019 Annual Meeting)
  2. Going All in: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Functional Restoration and Lasting Change
  3. Pain Management Symposium – Keynote Presentation (May 2019)
  4. Lost in Translation: Why the Message Received is Rarely What you Said, But Always More Important Mississippi Athletic Trainer Association (June 2019)

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