Samantha Guzman, PsyD

Biography

Samantha Guzman, PsyD, is an Assistant Professor at McGovern Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is a licensed psychologist and provides inpatient clinical services across the Harris County Psychiatric Center and the Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center. Her primary clinical interests include clinical and forensic assessment, including competency to stand trial evaluations and restoration.

Dr. Guzman earned her doctorate degree in Clinical Forensic Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, Illinois. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department in Houston, Texas, and was the first forensic postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. Guzman has experience conducting therapy and forensic evaluations with adolescents and adults in various settings including detention centers, probation, inpatient hospitals, and private practice. She has completed both criminal and civil forensic evaluations, which include competency to stand trial and fitness to proceed, insanity and lack of responsibility, certification and transfer, mitigation, psychological damages, disability, violence risk, threat assessment, and psychosexual evaluations. Dr. Guzman is a native Spanish speaker and provides therapeutic services and conducts forensic evaluations in Spanish. Additionally, Dr. Guzman provides supervision and training to practicum students and postdoctoral fellows. She teaches didactics on forensic evaluations, witness testimony, juvenile justice, and competency to stand trial restoration.

In her free time, Dr. Guzman enjoys traveling the world with loved ones and learning about new cultures. She also enjoys cooking, spending time with family and friends, watching American football, and staying active.