BOX12-5 Clinical Psychologist Perspective: Ali Khadivi, Ph.D.Dr. Khadivi is a full-time, practicing clinical psychologist
with a psychodynamic orientation. He was awarded his
Ph.D. in 1990 from The New School of Social Research in
New York City, following a clinical internship at New York
Hospital–Cornell Medical Center in White Plains, New
York. Dr. Khadivi has publishedarticlesintheareaofpsy-
chological assessment, and has taught classes on person-
ality assessment and diagnostic interviewing. He has also
led workshops on bipolar disorder, assessment of suicide
risk, differential diagnosis, and the treatment of difficult
clients. Dr. Khadivi addressed a number of questions con-
cerning his background, clinical interests, and practice.Describe your background and your clinical interests
Currently I am Associate Chairman for Clinical Care,
Evaluation and Research and the Chief Psychologist at
Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Department of Psychi-
atry. The hospital is a private institution in the South
Bronx, New York. I have faculty appointments as Asso-
ciate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences at Albert-Einstein College of Medicine. I am
also adjunct professor of psychology at the New School
for Social Research and John Jay College of Criminal
Justice. I provide psychological consultation to the
Department of Psychiatry. I also conduct and coordinate
clinical research, teach psychiatric evaluation to psychi-
atric residents, and direct the externship program at the
hospital. At the university and medical school level, I
teach clinical and forensic assessment to psychiatric
residents, fellows, and clinical psychology students. My
interests are in the areas of personality assessment,
forensic psychology, and severe psychopathology.What types of services do you provide and to whom?
I am a consultant on an inpatient psychiatric service
and provide psychotherapy and assessment. The popu-
lation that I work with is primarily economically disad-
vantaged African American and Latino individuals.
Most of the patients at the hospital have multiple
psychiatric diagnoses including a high rate of
poly-substance abuse. I also have a private practice in
New York City where I see mostly higher-functioning
patients. In addition to psychotherapy, I also conduct
clinical and forensic assessments. My clinical and
forensic work is informed by psychodynamic theory.What are the things you enjoy most about
your clinical work?
In psychotherapy, the kind of genuine and empathic
connection that one makes with the patient is the mostsatisfactory aspect of my work. Similarly, in clinical assess-
ment the empathic understanding that one can develop
through the use of psychological tests is most enjoyable.
What are the biggest challenges you face as a
practitioner?
Working in the inner city, the biggest challenge is the
complexity of patients’problems. The patients have
multiple psychiatric diagnoses, substance abuse, medi-
cal problems, and significant stressors in their environ-
ments. Both assessment and psychotherapy with such
populations is challenging. Furthermore, empirical lit-
erature in clinical psychology on such populations is
limited in guiding assessment and therapy.
Does research inform what you do? If so,
how have you changed your practice to be
more effective for your clients?
Research plays an important role in informing my
clinical and forensic work. Although my orientation is
psychodynamic, I have increasingly incorporated empir-
ically supported cognitive and behavioral interventions
in my hospital and private practices. Assessment
research also has changed my practice. I have incorpo-
rated semistructured interviews in both clinical and
forensic assessment. I have moved away from a tradi-
tional battery approach to a more focal assessment
where multiscale self-report and performance-based
measures are utilized and integrated. Furthermore,
I have been using therapeutic assessment feedback
interventions in most of my psychological evaluations.Ali Khadivi, Ph.D.Courtesy of Dr. Ali Khadivi, Ph.D.364 CHAPTER 12