Cutler Bay cases are heard in the 11th Judicial Circuit, the busiest circuit court system in Florida. Judges there read a lot of psychological reports, and they can tell the difference between an evaluation built to answer a legal question and one built to support whoever commissioned it.
FC PsychExperts was founded in 2008 by Dr. Cathy Colet, a Licensed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist. Our doctoral-level team has conducted thousands of assessments across Florida’s circuit courts. We work with criminal defense attorneys, public defenders, prosecutors, family law attorneys, immigration lawyers and personal injury firms throughout Cutler Bay, Kendall, Homestead and South Miami-Dade, and directly with individuals who need psychological evidence for a case.
Criminal Cases Where Mental State Is At Issue
Dr. Matthew J. Jalazo, Psy.D. handles our criminal work. Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forensic Psychology at Dorothea Dix Hospital, Clinical Psychology Internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and more than two decades in full-time forensic practice.
He conducts competency to stand trial assessments, criminal responsibility evaluations for insanity defense cases, competency to waive Miranda rights, violence risk assessments, psychosexual evaluations, sexually violent predator assessments, mitigation evaluations for downward departure and capital sentencing, and involuntary commitment assessments.
Every report integrates legal record review, structured clinical interviews, validated psychological testing and collateral data, and screens for malingering and deception as standard. That last part is what makes a report credible to both sides rather than only to the party who paid for it. For the broader assessment picture in the county, see our forensic evaluation service in Miami.
Custody Disputes And Family Law
Dr. Colet has completed specialized training in custody evaluations and works to Florida’s statutory requirements under Chapter 61. Parental capacity evaluations, child custody assessments, social investigations, psychological evaluations of parents and children, attachment and bonding assessments, and risk factor assessments related to abuse or neglect.
Parents are often surprised by one thing. The evaluator answers to the children’s best interests, not to the parent who requested the assessment, so findings sometimes recommend an arrangement neither party proposed. That independence is precisely why family courts weight these reports. Families needing ongoing support rather than an assessment can look at family therapy services in Miami or our wider Miami therapy services. Court-mandated treatment runs through court-ordered therapy in Miami.
Immigration Proceedings
South Miami-Dade has one of the highest concentrations of active immigration cases in the country. Dr. Colet has advanced training in immigration law and provides assessments for extreme and exceptional hardship cases, political asylum applications, spousal abuse documentation, Violence Against Women Act petitions, competency to participate in immigration proceedings, and same-sex couples hardship waivers.
We conducts assessments at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers and correctional facilities throughout Florida. These are trauma-informed evaluations built to meet the evidentiary standards immigration judges actually apply.
Civil, Neuropsychological And Educational Assessment
Motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries and medical negligence produce psychological harm that doesn’t show on an X-ray. Our personal and emotional injury evaluations in Miami document chronic pain, personality change, PTSD, anxiety, depression, flashbacks and memory deficits, for plaintiff and defense alike.
Where brain function is in question, Dr. Lauren Miller brings nearly 20 years as a Clinical and Forensic Neuropsychologist to our neuropsychological evaluations in Miami. For non-forensic diagnostic work we offer clinical psychological evaluations, and for school-age children, psychoeducational testing in Miami.
We also handle independent medical examinations, guardianship evaluations, civil commitment assessments, mental competency examinations for wills and power of attorney, pre- and post-adoption evaluations, and psychological autopsy assessments.
Juvenile Cases
Minors are not small adults, and assessing them takes methods built for their developmental stage. We provide competence to stand trial evaluations for minors, violence and sexual risk assessments, and sexual behavior assessments, with extensive experience alongside the Department of Juvenile Justice and child welfare organizations across Florida.
How An Assessment Works
Six steps. Initial consultation, record review, clinical interview and testing, collateral contacts, report preparation, feedback or testimony.
When you call, we discuss the legal question driving the assessment and match the case to the right psychologist. In-person sessions typically run two to four hours, and complex cases need more than one. Most assessments take two to six weeks end to end, driven by how quickly records arrive and how many collateral interviews are needed. We work to court deadlines.
Fees depend on assessment type, session count, record complexity and whether testimony is required. Health insurance generally doesn’t cover forensic assessments, because they answer a legal question rather than treat a condition. Some court-appointed assessments are funded through the court system. We are transparent about cost before any work begins.
Serving Cutler Bay And South Miami-Dade
Alongside Cutler Bay we serve Homestead, Miami, Coral Gables and the wider county. Our psychologists testify across Florida’s circuit courts including the 11th Judicial Circuit serving Miami-Dade.
No court order is required to retain us. Attorneys and individuals can engage FC PsychExperts privately, often before formal court involvement, and we also accept court-ordered and court-appointed work.