As a licensed psychologist, Dr. Seth King provides thorough and highly professional psychological evaluations in his private practice in Montgomery County, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Dr. King has over 15 years of experience evaluating and treating young children, adolescents, adults, and families. His practice incorporates a wide range of areas, such as trauma exposure, attachment disruption, parental capacity, international adoption, and the juvenile justice system.

Dr. King has established a reputation for providing expert testimony in several Court settings, including the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. His vast experience combined with extensive training has made Dr. King a recognized expert in the field of psychological assessment in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. His education consists of an undergraduate degree in psychology from Muhlenberg University, a Master’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctorate Degree in clinical psychology from the University of Hartford.

Dr. King is licensed as a psychologist in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia.  He assimilates the latest psychology trends supported by the research literature and continuing education endorsed by such entities as the American Psychology Association (APA) and Maryland Psychology Association (MPA) into his practice and the evaluations he conducts.

Dr. Seth King specializes in the following primary service areas.

The Assessment of Parenting Capacity

Purpose

The parenting evaluations utilized by Dr. King allow the Courts to determine whether individuals possess the skills, commitment, and attributes to effectively and safely parent children. He employs a rigorous, thorough, and easy to defend parenting evaluation. Dr. King offers strategies on how to capitalize on a parent’s strengths while enhancing one’s ability to provide a sufficient balance of nurturance, advocacy, support, guidance, structure, positive reinforcement, firm boundaries, and appropriate discipline. He also advises the Court regarding the prognosis for a parent to become a stable caregiver and what interventions could be implemented to achieve this objective. Dr. King is very cognizant of the importance of providing a thorough parenting capacity evaluation, as it represents a significant responsibility that ultimately determines the path children take in life.

Neutrality

Dr. King plays a neutral role in Court cases. He does not represent the father or mother, but instead Dr. King acts as a parenting expert who provides invaluable information for the legal teams and Judges. Dr. King’s parenting capacity assessments take into account the legal standards imposed by the judicial process. The parenting capacity evaluations consider past behavior while projecting future parenting potential.

Parent-Child Interaction Evaluations

Many parents possess the skills to nurture and provide healthy lives for their children but there are factors that are negatively impacting the parent-child dynamic. Dr. King explores strengths and challenges in a caregiver’s interactions with a child based on knowledge of the literature pertaining to attachment theory and research.

Marschak Interaction Method (MIM)

Dr. King is trained in using the Marschak Interaction Method which employs a highly structured procedure for observing and assessing the quality of a relationship between a parent and a child. The parent and child perform a series of tasks that facilitate the appraisal of four primary skills:  engaging, nurturing, challenging, and imposing structure for the child. Dr. King also evaluates a parent’s attunement to the child’s needs and preferred interpersonal style, ability to assist the youth in regulating emotions, and competence in serving as a “secure base” from which learning and exploration can occur. The MIM represents a valuable tool in devising recommended interventions to enhance the parent-child relationship.

International Adoption Evaluations

Psychologists are playing an increasingly prominent role in determining an individual’s suitability to become an adoptive parent. Foreign governments have been raising the standards and expectations in regard to the psychological assessments utilized in international adoption evaluations. Dr. King has recently assisted families and adoption agencies in adjusting to the changes in the requirements for evaluations of individuals seeking to adopt a child from Korea. Dr. King provided recommendations to agencies which were shared in a letter to the Korean government concerning suitable tests for this purpose. Dr. King has also conducted adoption evaluations for such countries as Colombia and Costa Rica. In addition to psychological testing measures, a clinical interview is utilized that focuses on a potential adoptive caregiver’s parenting capacity and understanding of attachment disruption, trauma exposure, and other matters which impact the child’s transition into another country and living environment.

Court Ordered Evaluations

Dr. King receives referrals from Courts that require a professional analysis of the current functioning of an individual or family. Dr. King understands the ramifications of performing Court ordered evaluations and he utilizes the latest assessment tools to ensure accurate testing. Dr. King administers many of the same tests used for assessing parenting capacity and parent-child interactions. However, he also integrates background information from cases into his analysis to assist the Court in making determinations such as whether a child should be reunified with a parent, the most appropriate custodial arrangement for a youth, and what interventions should be implemented for a juvenile offender to return to the community. Dr. King has conducted several thousand forensic evaluations. This volume and consistent practice has resulted in Dr. King becoming adept at utilizing the accepted standards of the field while recognizing the issues that confront the Abuse and Neglect, Juvenile Justice, and Domestic Relations Courts.  Furthermore, Dr. King has developed an efficient approach which facilitates the completion of reports in accordance with Court imposed deadlines. Additionally, collaboration with family members, attorneys, teachers, and treating professionals results in reports that offer practical and comprehensible recommendations.

Expert Testimony

Dr. King has been qualified as an expert witness for over a decade in various Court systems. Dr. Seth King’s credentials page provides a list of jurisdictions and dates of proceedings in which he has provided expert testimony. However, the list does not explain the breadth of Dr. King’s expert testimony services. He provides insight into the psychological profiles and functioning of the individuals he has evaluated. He is accustomed to the demands of direct and cross examination. Dr. King presents the findings of evaluations and defines technical terms in a practical and comprehensible manner which assists the Court in making final determinations.

Psychoeducational Evaluations

Parents often feel as if they are grasping at straws trying to determine why their child does not meet his or her educational potential. There are often factors hindering academic performance. Dr. Seth King conducts testing to discern if the educational difficulties derive from a learning disability or from other challenges such as an emotional disturbance. Dr. King is competent in gaining rapport with children in order to elicit sufficient motivation and performance during evaluations.

What Does a Psychoeducational Evaluation Measure?

A psychoeducational evaluation typically begins with the administration of an intelligence test, such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Intelligence tests assess various areas, including verbal comprehension, perpetual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. The analysis of discrepancies in subtest and index scores allows Dr. King to pinpoint a child’s strengths and weaknesses. An achievement test, such as the Woodcock Johnson, is utilized to determine learning and academic skills. Recommendations are clearly defined for parents and educators to assist children in achieving their full potential by providing the roadmap to educational success.

  • Dr. King also performs several other services, including the assessment of Intellectual Disabilities, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Mood Disorders, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To learn more about the myriad psychological services provided by Dr. King, contact him at 301-641-2686 or email him at sk@drsethking.com.