Since 1985, Dr. Ferrara has been offering forensic psychological services in the State of Texas and throughout the United States.  Using the scientist-practitioner model, Dr. Ferrara has provided a variety of services to forensic clients including: assessment, treatment, program design, program implementation, interrogation, profiling, teaching, research, publication, and training.

Formative Years

While an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Ferrara was a volunteer worker at the Austin State Hospital for two years. After graduating with his Bachelor’s Degree and before he began his doctoral program in clinical psychology, Dr. Ferrara worked as a Nurse’s Aide at Austin State Hospital for one year.

Graduate School & Residency

While in graduate school, Dr. Ferrara was awarded the summer internship at El Reno Federal Correctional Facility. Dr. Ferrara was awarded a National Institute of Mental Health Fellowship in child studies.  Dr. Ferrara completed his residency at the Audie Murphy VA Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where his rotations included inpatient substance abuse treatment, inpatient psychiatric treatment, and outpatient child and family services.

Shoal Creek Hospital (Austin, TX)

Upon completion of his residency, Dr. Ferrara was hired as a unit therapist on the Adult Unit at Shoal Creek Hospital. Dr. Ferrara was promoted to Unit Director for the Acute Unit and the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit. While working at Shoal Creek Hospital, Dr. Ferrara worked extensively with a variety of diagnoses and clinical issues including: personality disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and suicidal patients.

Texas Youth Commission

Dr. Ferrara served as the Chief of Counseling. His duties included supervising mental health staff and maintaining standards for mental health and rehabilitation services throughout the State of Texas, for one residential treatment center, five training schools, nine halfway houses, and 117 contract placements. Dr. Ferrara designed and implemented a variety of programs, most notably the Sex Offender Treatment Program, sex abuse trauma treatment program, group counseling program, and substance abuse treatment program.

 Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Institutional Division

Dr. Ferrara worked briefly as a unit psychologist before being promoted to Chief Psychologist for the prison system. Dr. Ferrara’s duties included supervising mental health staff and maintaining standards for mental health services in more than 40 prisons throughout the State of Texas. Dr. Ferrara also supervised the Mentally Retarded Offender Program and the psychiatric hospital programs operated by the prison system. Dr. Ferrara designed and implemented the Sex Offender Treatment Program and the Program for Aggressive Mentally Ill Offenders (PAMIO).

 Correctional Rehabilitation Services, LLC

Since entering private practice, Dr. Ferrara has provided assessment and treatment services with adolescents and adults involved in the court system. Dr. Ferrara has worked in a variety of court settings – administrative, civil, family, CPS, and criminal. Dr. Ferrara has continued to develop programs for special needs individuals and violent offenders, most notably the Civil Commitment Program for Sexually Violent Predators and the Sexual Abuse Trauma Treatment Program. Dr. Ferrara has testified in court and deposition over 200 times. He routinely offers training for judges, attorneys, probation and parole officers, forensic interviewers, police, psychologists, and licensed sex offender treatment providers.