Dr. Pia Quimson-Guevarra

Dr. Pia Quimson-Guevarra is a physician dual Board-Certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

She has expertise in psychiatric issues in civil litigation, employment matters, probate, and criminal cases.

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra treats patients in her clinical practice, Quimson Behavioral Health. She applies extensive experience in treating and assessing depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, PTSD, ADHD, and severe psychotic disorders. She provides medication management and psychotherapy. Her patients consist of adult who suffer from mild, severe and/or persistent mental illness.

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra incorporates psychopharmacology to treat mental health conditions, when indicated, with medication or a combination of medications. As a physician, she is qualified to consider the interactions between medications for psychiatric illnesses and those for other medical conditions.

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra opines in a forensic setting about medication or drug impact on behavior, recovery, causality, and/or damages assessment, in addition to other features of psychiatry and psychiatric illness.

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra conducts:
-medical and legal records review, including chart review and medical history documents, through the lens of a Forensic Psychiatrist
-Medicolegal IME or Independent Medical Evaluations by video or face-to-face, as appropriate.
-Assessments are thorough and inform thoughtful and objective expert opinions
-Findings issued by verbal or written report, and testimony at deposition or trial

In criminal matters, Dr. Quimson-Guevarra has conducted dozens of competency assessments including competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations.

She is a certified forensic evaluator in Oregon.

Past clinical experience includes Cascadia Behavioral Health, Cedar Hills Hospital, Multnomah County Detention Center, Washington County Jail, Snake River Correctional Institute, and the Portland Veteran's Administration.

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra has served as a forensic consultant for the Washington County mental health court in Oregon. She also has worked in the forensic evaluation service department at the Oregon State Hospital where she performed competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations to patients at the Oregon State Hospital or defendants located in various jails.

Services

Dr. Pia Quimson-Guevarra provides psychiatric expert witness services:

Malpractice or Negligence Allegations
- Breach of Standard of Care in mental health treatment: Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Counselor, LCSW, Nurse
- Medical Negligence or Medical Malpractice
- Psychiatric Inpatient Treatment

Civil Litigation Psychiatric Damages
- Emotional Distress
- Catastrophic Psychiatric Injury
- Malingering
- Pain and Suffering
- Prognosis and Treatment plans

Testamentary Capacity, Competency
- Decision-Making
- Mental Status and lucidity, cognitive impairment
- Undue Influence and Susceptible Testators

Psychiatric Disability
- Diagnosis and Prognosis
- Mental and Physical Health History
- Fitness for Duty

Criminal Cases
- Competency to Stand Trial
- Criminal Responsibility
- Guilty Except for Insane (GEI) or NGRI
- Insanity Plea – Mens Rea

Review of Expert Witness Reports
- Assessing the reports of other mental health experts.
- Scrutiny of those findings and examining reliability and qualifications.

Litigation Support Services

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra works with civil plaintiff and defense attorneys, criminal defense attorneys, and prosecution. She prides herself on her objectivity and ability to render an unbiased opinion.

Areas of Expertise

Additional Expertise:

Delusions, Psychiatric Injury/Harm, Will Contest, Psychiatry Standard of Care; Competency To Stand Trial (CTST), Hallucinations, Psychotherapy, Sexual Misconduct, Patient Assault, Doctor Assault, Boundary Violation, Psychological, Restoration, Parole, SSRI, Medication, Psychiatric Medication, NGRI, Mania, Manic, OCD, Bipolar I, Bipolar II, Hospitalization, Inpatient Psychiatry, Institution, Psychologist Malpractice, Patient, Testimony, Records Review, Mental Illness, Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity, GRI, Insanity Defense, Malingering.

Profile

Dr. Pia Quimson-Guevarra is Board-Certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She has expertise in psychiatric issues that in civil litigation, employment matters, and criminal cases. She has experience in diagnosis and treatment of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, trauma, and severe psychotic disorders both as a treating physician and forensic consultant. Psychiatric conditions can impact judgment, clarity of thought, and even criminal responsibility. In the case of psychotic disorders, symptoms may include hallucinations and delusions. She opines about testamentary capacity and competency. She also evaluates medication or drug impact on symptoms and/or behavior.

Dr. Pia Quimson-Guevarra has conducted dozens of competency assessments: competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations. She has evaluated physicians under licensing scrutiny for possible psychiatric impairment in Oregon. She is a certified forensic evaluator in Oregon.

Her work is divided between clinical and forensic/expert witness work. Dr. Quimson-Guevarra conducts medical and legal records review as a Forensic Psychiatrist, and medico-legal Independent Medical Evaluations by video and face-to-face, as appropriate. Her assessments are thorough and inform thoughtful and objective expert opinions issued by written report and testimony

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra is in private practice in Portland. At Quimson Behavioral Health she provides patients with clinical psychiatric care, medication management, and psychotherapy. Many of her patients suffer from mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and PTSD. This experience assists in her approach to medical-legal matters where these conditions are alleged to be present.

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra previously provided psychiatric patient care for a community mental health organization, at Cascadia Behavioral Health, a community Clinic working in an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team, a method to deliver an intensive level of services to patients in the local community. Her patients consist of individuals who suffer from severe and persistent mental illness. Her expertise in treatment of Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia is applied to patients with these medical conditions. She also treats patients that have a history that includes forensic medical-legal issues.

She also treated patients who suffered from anxiety, mood, and psychotic disorders at Cedar Hills Hospital, Multnomah County Detention Center, Washington County Jail, Snake River Correctional Institute, and the Portland Veteran's Administration.

Medically complex cases may benefit from a physician's understanding of the relationship between psychiatric and other medical conditions as well as the medications that treat those conditions. Dr. Quimson-Guevarra applies her expertise in psychopharmacology to clinical treatment, and to forensic medicolegal matters.

She has served as a forensic consultant for the Washington County Mental Health Court in Oregon. She also has worked in the forensic evaluation service department at the Oregon State Hospital where she performed competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations to patients at the Oregon State Hospital or defendants located in various jails.

Areas Served

All States

Dr. Pia Quimson-Guevarra in the Social Networks

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Professional Experience

Private Practice

Quimson Behavioral Health, Adult and Forensic Psychiatrist (2019-present)
• Forensic psychiatric consultation, evaluations, testimony in civil and criminal cases, physician impairment, administrative (PSRB), private employment assessment (FFD, RTW)
• Private psychiatric clinical services, patient care including psychotherapy and medication management

Additional Clinical Experience

Cascadia Behavioral Health, Adult and Forensic Psychiatrist (2017- 2021)
• Outpatient psychiatric care to patients in the Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) program
• Outpatient psychiatric care at an urgent walk in clinic

ColumbiaCare, Outpatient Psychiatrist (2017-2018)
• Telemedicine and in-person outpatient psychiatric care; settings included community clinics and supported housing

Additional Forensic Experience

Prior to Private Practice
• Washington County Jail, Multnomah County Detention Center, and Oregon Department of Corrections, Forensic Psychiatric assessment
• Washington County Mental Health Court, Forensic Consultant
• Oregon State Hospital, Forensic CTST and criminal responsibility evaluations

Licenses

Oregon Medical License #DO179697

Affiliations

American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Member and Contributor to Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS)
Oregon Psychiatric Physicians Association
American Psychiatric Association

Qualifications

Board-Certification in Psychiatry,
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, #73318 (Granted 2017)

Board-Certification in Forensic Psychiatry,
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, #2495 (Granted 2019)

Oregon Forensic Evaluator Certification (2019-Current)

Awards & Honors

Oregon Psychoanalytic Center (OPC) Diversity Scholarship (9/2016)
To increase underrepresented populations in psychoanalysis; awarded a scholarship to OPC fundamentals course.

University of California, Berkeley, Graduation with Distinction (Top 10% of Graduating Class) (2006)

Seminars & Training

Presentations

Mood Disorders, webinar presentation to a private clinical practice.
Portland, Oregon (11/2022)

Testamentary Capacity
Willamette University College of Law (10/2018)

Career Panel for Forensic and Criminal Psychology
Symposium, Lewis and Clark College (2/2019)

Psychopharmacology
Didactic Psychopharmacology Presentations for 1st year OHSU psychiatry Residents, 2016-2017

Treatment of Bipolar Disorders
Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
Psychiatric Drug-Drug Interactions
Journal club presentation for OHSU adult psychiatry training program (8/2016)
Applebaum PS. Assessment of Patients Competence to Consent to Treatment. N Engl J Med 2007; 357:1834 40.

Common Factors in Psychotherapy
Presentation to 2nd year OHSU Psychiatry Residents (7/2016)

Global Mental Health
Expert Hour to OHSU Adult Psychiatry training program (4/2016)

Evaluation of Consult and Liaison Service
Consult and Liaison Service rotations for OHSU Adult Psychiatry training program, Education Performance Committee (EPC) (8/2015)

Animal-Assisted Therapy
14th Course of Academic Development of Psychiatry (CADP) (3/2015)

Mortality and Morbidity (M&M)
Conference for OHSU Adult Psychiatry training program (4/2014)

Publications

Quimson-Guevarra P, Mobbs K. Need for Representation in a Pro Se Case. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. September 2019 47:385-387.

Quimson-Guevarra, Pia, Jones TG. Post-Atkins Determination of Intellectual Disability in a Death Penalty Case in Oregon. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. September 2016 44:394-396.

Professional References

References provided on request.

Education

Dr. Quimson-Guevarra completed Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), one of fewer than 50 elite fellowships in this specialty in the United States. She studied Medicine and graduated from Western University of Health Sciences in California and received her Bachelor of Science degree from University of California, Berkeley.