Frequently Asked Questions

Dr. Sugar holds several roles at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and its affiliated hospitals. His work includes supervising trainees, providing direct patient care, and developing trauma-focused psychiatric programs.

Clinical Teaching

• Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Crisis, Emergency and Consultation Service at LAC+USC Medical Center
  • Supervises psychiatry residents evaluating children in emergency and pediatric settings
    
  • Reviews cases with trainees and guides assessment and treatment planning

• Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Trauma Service
  • Developed this program with national grant funding to treat traumatized youth and train residents in trauma assessment and care
  • Former Co-Chief, Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient Unit
  • Former Attending, Adult and Child Psychiatric Emergency Services and Inpatient Units (overnight coverage)

Didactic Teaching

• Teaches a psychotherapy course to child psychiatry residents
  
• Leads monthly Journal Club sessions for child psychiatry trainees
  
• Presents monthly interdisciplinary clinical case conferences for pediatric and child psychiatry trainees

Direct Patient Care

• Provides psychiatric care to children at the USC Maternal Child AIDS Clinic
  
• Provides psychiatric care to adults at the USC Men’s AIDS Clinic
  
• Consults with non-medical therapists and collaborates on research examining the effects of trauma and psychological stress

Before joining USC, Dr. Sugar spent many years in the nonprofit sector at Hathaway Children and Family Services, serving children with histories of trauma and adversity.

• Chief of Psychiatry and later Director of Research at Hathaway
  
• Created a training program for child psychiatry fellows from Cedars-Sinai Hospital (a University of California, Los Angeles affiliate)
  
• Supervised staff psychiatrists, clinicians, and therapists in residential and outpatient programs
  
• Founded the Hathaway Children’s Clinical Research Institute to study long-term outcomes of child maltreatment
• Maintained a part-time private practice in child and adult psychiatry, providing psychotherapy and psychopharmacological treatment

Dr. Sugar has served as a forensic psychiatric expert witness since 1990 — for more than 30 years.

Dr. Sugar has been retained as an expert in both civil and criminal cases, for plaintiffs and defendants. His cases have involved both children and adults.

Representative case areas include:

• Date rape and sexual assault
  
• Diagnosis and treatment of trauma-related conditions
  
• Emotional, sexual, and physical abuse and neglect
  
• Internet-initiated sexual exploitation
  
• Psychological trauma in the workplace
  
• Psychological effects of physical trauma and traumatic brain injury
  
• Child custody disputes and abuse allegations

Yes. As a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr. Sugar is fully trained in general (adult) psychiatry as well.

• He has treated adults in private practice and in emergency settings.
  
• His specialty is child psychiatry, with a particular focus on trauma and adversity.
  
• His current work also includes studying how traumatic experiences can become biologically embedded through the actions of stress hormones and gene expression.
  
• For older adults, he supports resources such as Caring.com.

In addition to his residency in general psychiatry and fellowship in child psychiatry, Dr. Sugar has completed advanced training in:

• Psychopharmacology
  
• Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy
  
• Clinical hypnosis
  
• Meditation and mindfulness
• Neuroscience of stress and trauma

Yes. He has provided expert psychiatric consultation and testimony in cases involving criminal allegations against both adults and minors.

Yes. Dr. Sugar has been retained in cases involving alleged malpractice by psychiatrists, other licensed mental health professionals, and trainees.

Dr. Sugar is retained by both plaintiffs and defendants, depending on the case.