Helen Smith (psychologist)

Helen Smith (psychologist)

Helen Smith is a forensic psychologist in Knoxville, Tennessee who specializes in violent children and adults. She holds a PhD from the University of Tennessee and masters degrees from The New School for Social Research and the City University of New York. She has written The Scarred Heart: Understanding and Identifying Kids Who Kill (Callisto Publishing, 2000; ISBN 0-615-11223-4) and was writer and executive producer of Six, a documentary about the murder of a family in Tennessee by teens from Kentucky. The film highlights the inadequacies of the school, mental health and criminal justice systems in preventive treatment of troubled teens.

Dr. Smith hosts a regular program on the website Pajamas Television where she discusses social issues and psychology, with a particular emphasis on the problems and experiences of men. She has written widely on issues relating to violence, mental health, and the criminal justice system. Among her articles is "Violence on Campus: Practical Recommendations for Legal Educators," published in the Oklahoma City Law Review. After the Jonesboro, Arkansas school shootings, she testified to the Arkansas State Legislature regarding responses to school violence.

Since September 2005, she has been writing on her own blog, Dr. Helen.