PsiAN Speaks: Meiram Bendat, JD, PhD
Editor’s note: The Forum will periodically post video interviews of authors, researchers, academics, and policymakers under the heading PsiAN Speaks. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect PsiAN’s official positions.
In this video, Natasha Reynolds, Psy.D. speaks with Meiram Bendat, JD, Ph.D., who is an Advisor for PsiAN and also an attorney, psychotherapist, and founder of Psych-Appeal, a law firm that specializes in mental health insurance advocacy for patients and providers. In this interview, Dr. Bendat discusses his advocacy work to promote patient access to meaningful psychotherapeutic treatment. Given his unique background as both a lawyer and psychotherapist, he offers his experiences and observations on some of the gaps and conflicts in the legal and for-profit managed care system for patients and families needing mental health care. Dr. Bendat also outlines the significance of the Wit v.s. United Behavioral Health case that he worked on, and discusses the magnitude of the impact of the ruling on the accepted standards for effective psychological treatment.
In addition to his work as an attorney and psychotherapist, Meiram Bendat, JD, Ph.D., serves as a consultant to national mental health advocacy organizations and frequently presents on access to treatment and mental health parity. He is a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association Committee on Government Relations and a distinguished Ittleson Consultant to the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. He lectures and has been interviewed in the press and for professional journals. Most recently, along with the Coalition for Psychotherapy Parity, he co-authored Clinical Necessity Guidelines for Psychotherapy, Insurance Medical Necessity and Utilization Review Protocols and Mental Health Parity.
Natasha Reynolds Psy.D. is a clinical psychologist practicing in Chicago, Illinois. Alongside her private practice, she supervises and teaches as Clinical Associate Faculty at the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis (CCP), is an assistant professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and leads a psychoanalytic consultation and reading group for psychotherapists working across China.