A board-certified forensic psychiatrist in Kentfield, CA, Stephen Raffle, MD, has nearly five decades of experience providing professional consultations in clinical practice settings and forensic psychiatric assessments, including testimony in numerous depositions and trials. Throughout his career, Stephen Raffle, MD, has had an interest in topics such as the relationship between the mind and pain.Often the line between physical and emotional pain can become blurred as the mind affects the perception of bodily injury. Medical practitioners continue to research how mental disorders or emotional distress may result in negative physical manifestations.In order to adequately treat a patient's complaint of pain, a physician may need to evaluate psychological elements of the individual in order to eliminate a mental disorder as a possible cause or treat any psychological component. Ultimately, pain arises as a symptom of an underlying cause, which may or may not be only a physical disease or condition.Although it may take more time for a complete assessment, choosing to look at the root of the problem, rather than simply alleviating its symptoms with medications, can provide much greater relief for patients. Often, psychological disturbances and physical suffering work together to exacerbate each other. Therefore, the optimal treatment must address both the body and mind.
Forensic psychiatrist Stephen Raffle, MD, based in Kentfield, CA, provides expert testimony in court cases involving personal injury. A resident of Kentfield, CA, Stephen Raffle, MD, has studied the effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), including concussions.Research indicates that persons who have experienced concussions have greater than usual problems dealing with lost sleep. The study suggests that patients with TBI had slower reaction times and made more wrong moves after sleep deprivation, compared to a control group.TBI is a significant problem for combat veterans - explosions and proximity to guns being fired exact a toll on performance. The extreme stress of modern warfare exacerbates the effects of concussions.Experiment volunteers with a history of concussions were kept awake for 40 hours and compared to sleep-deprived persons with no history of TBI. After they caught up on their sleep, researchers tested their reaction times through a prompt on a computer screen.Lag times of the concussed individuals were 100 milliseconds longer than persons without TBI. Although the delay seems small, it could have serious consequences in combat. The lack of deep sleep meant their bodies had less time to restore themselves.The author of the study concluded that since military tactics were not going to change, science would have to find better ways to treat sleep deprivation.
Based in Kentfield, CA, Stephen Raffle, MD, is a board certified forensic psychiatrist and Independent Medical Examiner who has conducted numerous evaluations and provided other services. One area of expert consultation is with legal professionals and other decision-makers in California and beyond on psychological impairment issues and conservatorships.In California, a legal distinction exists which separates a probate conservatorship from a health care conservatorship; i.e., an LPS Conservatorship, which gives an adult (conservator) the responsibility for overseeing the comprehensive medical/mental treatment of an adult who has a serious mental illness (conservatee). A conservatorship is a court-ordered substitution whereby the court appoints one or more conservators to manage the finances or health care of another person who is unable to exercise agency over his or her own affairs. A psychiatric evaluation must be made to determine whether an individual is mentally impaired to that extent. Several questions are considered during a health care conservatorship evaluation. If an individual is found to be unable to make certain daily life decisions, the court will appoint a conservator to substitute judgment for the area of impairment in the event that the individual has not already made arrangements regarding power of attorney.
