Dr Phillip Resnick

Who Dr Phillip Resnick is

Dr Phillip J. Resnick is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Forensic Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. He published seminal works on filicide in 1969 and neonaticide in 1970 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, and is credited with coining the term neonaticide. His five-category classification of filicide motives — altruistic, acutely psychotic, unwanted child, fatal maltreatment, and spouse revenge — is among the most cited frameworks in the field worldwide. He has served as a forensic expert witness, for both prosecution and defence, in numerous high-profile US criminal cases including those of Jeffrey Dahmer, Andrea Yates, Theodore Kaczynski, and Lindsay Clancy. He is a past president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law and received the Isaac Ray Award from the American Psychiatric Association in 2002. NOTE FOR EDITORS: Dr Resnick is a US-based academic with no identified UK institutional affiliation; no evidence was found of him being quoted in UK press coverage of UK health or social care specifically.

References for this biography

1. 1.Phillip J. Resnick, MD: Master Educator — Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law — Career history, coining of neonaticide, AAPL presidency, Isaac Ray Award, founding of forensic fellowship programme
2. 2.Phillip Resnick, MD — Specialized Training Services — Current role as Professor of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University, expertise in violence risk and malingering, high-profile case consultations, publication count
3. 3.Phillip Resnick MD — University Hospitals Cleveland profile — Professor of Psychiatry role, Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship teaching, high-profile case list, AAPL past presidency, publication count
4. 4.Filicide vs. Neonaticide: Motives, Categories & Insanity Defence — Palo Alto University / AAFP — Director of Division of Forensic Psychiatry title, five-category filicide classification, expertise in child murder by parents
5. 5.Psychiatrist From Andrea Yates, Jeffrey Dahmer Cases Testifies for Lindsay Clancy as Defense Rests — LA Magazine — Identification as Ohio-based forensic psychiatrist and leading expert on filicide; recent testimony (August 2026)
6. 6.Resnick, Phillip J. — Springer Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence — Educational background at Case Western Reserve University, early career at Valley Forge Hospital, publication of 1969 and 1970 filicide/neonaticide papers

Notable achievements

• Coined the term 'neonaticide' and published foundational classification of filicide motives in the American Journal of Psychiatry (1969, 1970), now the most cited works on the subject globally. Source ↗
• Elected president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law in 1984. Source ↗
• Received the Isaac Ray Award from the American Psychiatric Association for outstanding contributions to forensic psychiatry (2002). Source ↗
• Testified as defence expert in the Andrea Yates retrial (2006), supporting a postpartum psychosis defence that resulted in a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. Source ↗
• Has written over 215 professional journal articles and book chapters on forensic psychiatry topics. Source ↗

What Dr Phillip Resnick has said

• “He said Clancy was in a "postpartum psychosis" after her third child was born. On the day of the killings, he said, Clancy was hearing not only "command hallucinations" but felt what's known as a "delusion of influence" and that an "external force" had taken over her body.”

  forensic psychiatrist with expertise in postpartum disorders · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Lindsay Clancy trial: everything that happened this week in court ↗

• “It was almost like she was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings.”

  forensic psychiatrist and expert in filicide · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Expert witnesses challenge claim that Lindsay Clancy experienced psychosis ↗

Where Dr Phillip Resnick has been quoted

1. Lindsay Clancy suffering 'command hallucination' when she killed children, court hearsbbc.com · 30 Sept 2026
2. Lindsay Clancy trial: everything that happened this week in courttheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. Expert witnesses challenge claim that Lindsay Clancy experienced psychosistheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• One Year On: How The Royal Foundation is strengthening suicide prevention support in the UKRoyal Foundation
• Norwich City teams up with The Royal Foundation to support suicide preventionNorwich City Football Club
• Licensable picture: The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention hosted its annual Out of the Darkness Walk on Oct. 10 in Staunton's Gypsy HillReuters Connect

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.uhhospitals.org/doctors/resnick-phillip-1861587685
• Websitehttps://specializedtraining.com/phillip-resnick-m-d/

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.