Faculty Profile: William Bernet M.D.

William Bernet, M.D., a graduate of Holy Cross College, summa cum laude, and Harvard Medical School, is a professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.  He is board certified in general psychiatry, child psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry.  As an expert in forensic psychiatry, Dr. Bernet has testified about 300 times in 24 states.  Dr. Bernet has written professional articles and book chapters on a variety of subjects, including: group and individual therapy with children and adolescents; humor in psychotherapy; forensic child psychiatry; child maltreatment; true and false allegations of abuse; satanic ritual abuse; reincarnation; child custody and visitation; parental alienation; testimony regarding behavioral genomics; and risk management.  In 2007, Dr. Bernet and Judge Don R. Ash published Children of Divorce: A Practical Guide for Parents, Therapists, Attorneys, and Judges.  Dr. Bernet edited Parental Alienation, DSM-5, and ICD-11, which was published in 2010.  Dr. Bernet and his colleagues edited Parental Alienation: The Handbook for Mental Health and Legal Professionals, which was published in 2013.  He was the founder and first president of the Parental Alienation Study Group.