Dr. Edelson graduated with High Honors and High Distinction from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He earned a BA in Psychology, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Edelson has an M.Ed. in Special Education from Illinois State University, with a focus in Mental Retardation, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois. He completed a clinical internship at the VA Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, where he trained under the guidance of Muriel Lezak, Ph.D., a world-renowned neuropsychologist. Dr. Edelson then worked at the VA Medical Center in Louisville as a Medical Neuropsychologist, until beginning full-time private practice at Edelson & Associates in 1980.
He has been a Diplomate and Fellow of the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology since 1991, and is one of only a few Board-Certified Neuropsychologists in Kentucky. This allows him to testify as an “expert” without undue challenge to his credentials. Graduate students from the University of Louisville and Spalding University were trained in Neuropsychology by him and his staff for decades. Dr. Edelson testified as a Medical Expert for the Social Security Administration for many years, was on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer's Association, and has maintained privileges at several hospitals in the greater Louisville area for decades. Dr. Edelson is also a participating member of the following neuropsychological organizations: National Academy of Neuropsychology, American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, International Neuropsychological Society, and the American Psychological Association (Division 40).
Clinically, Dr. Edelson specializes in assessment of brain illness and injury. Common diagnostic issues include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Traumatic Brain Injury, Multiple Sclerosis, and Stroke. He has evaluated patients with chronic pain and work-related injuries for most of his career. Other psychologists meet with him regularly for consultation on cases and discussion of new clinical information.
Dr. Edelson started his career as a medical psychologist. Because he treated patients who were dealing with pain, head injuries, and other problems that at times crossed into the legal realm, he began to work with attorneys, who sought his opinion regarding their clients’ psychological issues. He realized that he enjoyed the interactions with attorneys; the challenges of preparing cases for court; and testifying about the complex causes, prognoses, and interactions between medical, neurological, and emotional difficulties when required.
Dr. Edelson has utilized an objective, strategic approach to forensic work over the more than 30 years he has been involved with the legal field, and attributes this to the reason so many attorneys have relied on his expertise. He lectures, consults, and testifies on neuropsychological issues involving brain damage, and its causes and effects. Included in areas of assessment and discussion in reports are issues such as the presence and extent of cognitive damage, emotional consequences of injuries (such as anxiety, depression, or PTSD); prognosis for recovery, including any likely future impairments; distinguishing the identifiable results of trauma from other contributing historical, behavioral or anatomical factors; potential to return to work; and ratings for disability purposes (short-term, long-term, or Social Security).
