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Bilingual and Bicultural Forensic Psychologist
Professional Knowledge And Experience
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Dr. LaCalle is a Cross-Cultural Hispanic Forensic Psychologist,
licensed as a Psychologist with the State of California since 1973,
and a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology since 1979. In the past
33 years of Clinical and Forensic Practice, he has performed over
8000 evaluations; of those
over 3500 Forensic in nature, including
over 1000 Criminal Law evaluations
of Hispanic defendants accused
of violent crimes and
murder. He has expertise in death penalty cases
and sex crimes. In addition, he was retained in over 1000 civil
cases: personal injury, wrongful death, malpractice, discrimination,
false
claims for Workers Compensation benefits, and others.
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| Dr. LaCalle has lived all his life in a multi-cultural environment. Born
in the Basque region of
Spain, near the border with France, he was
influenced by Basque, Spanish and French cultures.
He lived and
worked in Mexico before he immigrated to the United States in 1965.
He lived and
worked with Cubans and Latin-Americans in Florida,
Puerto Ricans in New York, Mexicans and
other Latin-Americans
in California. He has conducted extensive studies and research
regarding criminal and violent sexual behaviors, mostly in the
Hispanic communities. Associated with highly
regarded
professional organizations, he has presented papers, workshops
and
seminars, in United States, Canada, Spain and Latin America.
He is knowledgeable regarding many sub-cultures in Latin America,
with their local traditions and
religious beliefs. He has had the
opportunity to study esoteric beliefs and practices such
as
Curanderismo, Santeria, Paleria ,Yoruba, Shamanism and Candomble.
Besides living and working in Mexico for three years in the early 60s,
Dr. LaCalle has traveled extensively throughout the
Mexican Republic,
not only vacationing in Mexico, which he and his wife do frequently,
but also in connection with his forensic
work doing cross-cultural
research in many areas of Mexico. He also has visited and worked
in most of the Latin American
countries were he is frequently invited to
give conferences and workshops at
Professional gatherings and
Universities.
His clinical experience is both extensive and diversified. Over the
years, he has worked in institutional settings, such as the
Psychiatry
Department of the University of California in San Diego where he
was a bilingual therapist for their Spanish-speaking
patients. Later
he
worked for UCSD included two years in an experimental methadone
program for hardcore heroin addicts. For five
years he worked for
the Mental Health Department of Orange County, California as a
bilingual psychologist where, in addition to
clinical work, he was
involved in community programs with the Spanish-speaking
population. In the private sector, he had the
opportunity to work in
several inpatient facilities, such as Canyon General Hospital and
St. Joseph's Hospital in Orange County.
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Over the years, his clinical practice has included individual
psychotherapy, couples therapy, marriage and divorce
counseling, assessment of learning disability, mental
retardation, assessment and treatment of psychosexual
dysfunctions, child abuse and child
molest, incest, alcohol
and drug abuse.
His most extensive experience is in the
field of psychological evaluations, personality
assessment,
intelligence testing and cross-cultural assessments.
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His Forensic Psychological
practice extends over 30 years,
and
after retiring from clinical practice in 1999, he shares his
professional time between forensic consultations and lecturing,
both at National and International levels.
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