Expert Spotlight: Renée Sorrentino, MD
An Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Sorrentino is a board certified, fellowship-trained forensic psychiatrist, with additional training in the treatment and evaluation of sexual offenders. She has experience as an expert witness on sexual offenders, sexual misconduct by professionals, and general forensic evaluations such as criminal and civil competencies, criminal responsibility (with experience applying the M’Naghten Rule, the Model Penal Code test, the Irresistible Impulse Test, and even New Hampshire’s Durham Rule), malingering, and violence risk assessment.
Among the forensic questions related to problematic sexual behaviors for which her expertise and testimony have been sought are:
Civil commitment of sexual offenders
Sex offender risk assessment
Chemical castration
Sexually problematic behaviors in the workplace
Sexual misconduct by physicians and other health care professionals
Park Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., commented:
I came to know Dr. Sorrentino during her training, when she sought my advice about where she could learn the most about sex offenders. She not only took my advice, but became a national authority on sex offenders in her own right. Her background is unique. She both treats and evaluates sexual offenders, and is one of a handful of forensic psychiatrists in the nation who do so. But her talents do not stop there, as she contributes to the broader forensic arena through her evaluation and testimony regarding other offenders and civil litigants. Dr. Sorrentino is an excellent role model for the coming generation of superbly trained, highly accomplished forensic psychiatrists who have mastered multiple topics of importance to lawyers, the courts, and society.
Dr. Sorrentino serves as a Councilor on the executive governance committee of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, a member of the Editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Associate editor of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Newsletter, and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
Dr. Sorrentino is the Medical Director of the Institute for Sexual Wellness, a Boston-based multidisciplinary psychiatric practice dedicated to the treatment and evaluation of individuals with problematic sexual behaviors. Dr. Sorrentino has been instrumental in developing the curriculum in paraphilias for six of the psychiatry residency programs in Massachusetts. Through her Board position at the Massachusetts Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, she oversees a clerkship for mental health professionals interested in learning about paraphilias. To date, Dr. Sorrentino has trained over 20 psychiatrists in the field of paraphilias. She has also educated practicing attorneys through statewide continuing legal education seminars and through the National District Attorneys Association.
Dr. Sorrentino completed her medical degree in an accelerated medical school program at Boston University School of Medicine. She completed residency education at Massachusetts General and McLean Hospitals, Harvard Medical School affiliates, in 2002. Following residency, she completed a forensic psychiatry fellowship at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 2003. Honors that Dr. Sorrentino received during her training included being selected as Chief Resident in Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital as well the Jonas Rappeport Fellowship of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
Dr. Sorrentino began her career as Director of Forensic Psychiatry at the Eric Lindemann Mental Health Center in Boston. In this role, she provided psychiatric training to residents in the area of forensic evaluations, including both criminal and civil referrals. During this period, she completed a yearlong mentorship with Dr. Martin Kafka, an international expert in the paraphilias. Her clinical focus was on individuals who had engaged in problematic sexual behaviors. Through her work with sexual offenders, Dr. Sorrentino envisioned creating a multi-disciplinary, evidence-based clinic for the treatment and evaluation of these most troubled and stigmatized individuals. In 2006, she founded the Institute for Sexual Wellness in Boston. For the past 14 years, Dr. Sorrentino has provided psychiatric expertise to local and national organizations in the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of sexual violence. She lectures extensively on forensic issues, particularly on topics related to sexual offender recidivism, evaluation, and treatment.