Amy J. Cohen, MD is a child and family psychiatrist who currently serves as mental health and child welfare consultant for attorneys who monitor detention facilities holding children in accordance with the 1997 Flores court settlement. In that role, she has interviewed migrant children in government custody and advised counsel on mental health and policy issues.
Dr. Cohen has devoted much of her 30-year career to treating vulnerable and traumatized populations of children in urban, rural, and international settings, focusing in the last years on children incarcerated in juvenile halls and in immigration custody settings. She provided the principal affidavit evidence in support of the Dora v Session action, brought on behalf of immigrant parents separated from their children and slated for deportation. She also serves on the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the National Center for Youth Law, where she has participated in campaigns addressing the over-use of psychotropic medication in dependent child populations and worked on initiatives promoting juvenile justice reform.
Dr. Cohen received her medical degree from the Perelman University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed her internship general psychiatry residency and child psychiatry fellowship training at Harvard. She lives and works in Los Angeles.