John Hochman

John Ira Hochman (b. 1946) is an American forensic psychiatrist and surgeon who has written about the psychology of cults, abuse and false memory syndrome.

Education

 * Secondary Specialty, Forensic Psychiatry
 * Board Certification in Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1976
 * Residency, Psychiatry, Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center
 * Residency, Huntington Memorial Hospital, Flexible/Transitional Year Internship
 * NYU School of Medicine, M.D.

Career
Dr. Hochman has been practicing medicine since 1970. Hochman is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA. He has testified in over 100 depositions, and 90 trials and arbitration since 1980. Dr. Hochman analyzed Mark Fuhrman, one of the detectives involved in the O. J. Simpson murder case. He was hired by the Los Angeles Police Department to interview Furhman in 1981, and the defense later filed his report in the Simpson case. Dr. Hochman had concluded that Furhman may have been trying to exaggerate his problems in order to qualify for a disability pension.

Dr. Hochman was also consulted during a 2004 lawsuit involving Michael Jackson, and assisted the defense during the case. In a different case in 2006, Dr. Hochman examined Heather Tallchief, an armored car thief, and determined that she had been subjected to undue influence from Roberto Solis, after Tallchief claimed she had been brainwashed.

Dr. Hochman has been quoted in the media as an expert on cults. When asked why there is a prevalence of cults in California, he responded: "If you're going have a cult you might as well come where the weather's nice." After a mass suicide incident, Dr. Hochman was interviewed by CNN on the inherent characteristics of a cult leader.

Dr. Hochman admired the work of Dr. John Gordon Clark, and nominated him for the Psychiatrist of the Year Award, from The Psychiatric Times, which Dr. Clark later received. He later described Dr. Clark as "a quiet, courageous man of conviction, who was fighting an all-too-lonely and unappreciated battle against well-financed, ruthless organizations."

NXIVM vs. Rick Ross Institute
NXIVM (pronounced NEX-ee-um), which offers human potential seminars, alleged that Rick Ross of New Jersey published critical commentary authored by a psychologist and psychiatrist of its program after obtaining information through alleged copyright infringement. Dr. Hochman was one of the individuals who evaluated the research. Dr. Hochman was hired by the family of a former member of NXIVM, and he characterized the group as "..a kingdom of sorts, ruled by a Vanguard, who writes his own dictionary of the English language, has his own moral code and the ability to generate taxes on subjects by having them participate in his seminars."

In September of 2004, a federal district judge in Albany, New York denied NXIVM's request for an injunction to remove the information from the Ross Institute Web site. Subsequently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City rejected NXIVM's appeal of that decision, saying critical analysis of a confidential 265-page NXIVM manual by two mental health professionals on Ross' site represented criticism, and therefore "fair use" under copyright law. In December of 2004 The United States Supreme Court denied without elaboration an appeal to review the NXIVM case.

Professional affiliations

 * Advisory Board member, FMS Foundation, Advisory Board Profiles
 * Editorial Board, Cultic Studies Journal

Awards, honors

 * John G. Clark Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Cultic Studies, 1990 (with Steve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D. )

Publications

 * Articles


 * "A Forensic Psychiatrist Evaluates ESP", February 2003, John Hochman, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles
 * "Recovered Memory Therapy And False Memory Syndrome", Skeptic vol. 2, no. 3, 1994, pp. 58-61.
 * Review, "Leaders and Followers: A Psychiatric Perspective on Religious Cults", Formulated by the Committee on Psychiatry and Religion, Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. Report No. 132. American Psychiatric Press, Washington, DC, 1992, 70 pages., Reviewer: John Hochman, M.D.
 * "Miracle, Mystery and Authority: The Triangle of Cult Indoctrination", Psychiatric Annals, April 1990
 * Seven Characteristics, John Hochman, MD, "What are the Characteristics of a Religious Cult?".