Heather Zelle, JD, PhD
Dr. Zelle is the Associate Director of Mental Health Policy Research at the ILPPP and an Associate Professor of Research in the UVA Department of Public Health Sciences. She is licensed as an attorney in Pennsylvania (voluntary inactive status) and as a clinical psychologist in Virginia.
Dr. Zelle focuses primarily on policy work and teaching in the Department of Public Health Sciences. She provides training to a range of practitioners on topics including advance directives, ethics in public behavioral health systems, and civil commitment law. She accepts cases for evaluation or consultation only occasionally.
P 434.924.8321
Murrie, D.C. & Zelle, H. (in press). Criminal Competencies. In P. A. Zapf (Ed.-in-Chief), A. Alexander, T. Daftary-Kapur, A. Fanniff, & D. Sivasubramaniam (Assoc. Eds.), APA Handbook of Forensic Psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 1, Individual and situational influences in criminal and civil contexts). American Psychological Association.
Zelle, H. (2024). Advance care planning: A multifaceted contributor to human rights-based care. World Psychiatry, 23(3), 391-2.
Zelle, H., Kelley, S. M., Agee, E. R. (2024). Police interactions with persons with mental illness. In R. Roesch (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Psychology in the Real World: Psychology and Law. Routledge.
Zelle, H. & Kelley, S. (2023). Capacity to waive Miranda rights. In D. Lorandos (Ed.) Litigators’ Handbook of Forensic Medicine, Psychiatry, and Psychology. Thomson Reuters.
Zelle, H., Kelley, S., Agee, E.R., & Seibert, W.L. (2022). Police use of force standards and mental health crises in the United States: Identifying research and policymaking targets. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 80, Article 101750.
Bonnie, R. J., Murrie, D. C., & Zelle, H. (2021). The University of Virginia’s Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy. In K. Heilbrun, H. J. Wright, C. Giallella, & D. DeMatteo (Eds.) University and Public Behavioral Health Organization Collaboration in Justice Contexts. Oxford University Press.
Bonnie, R. J. & Zelle, H. (2019). Public Health Ethics Relating to Persons with Mental Illness. In A. Mastroianni, N. Kass, & J. Kahn (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics. Oxford University Press.
Research interests:
Mental health policy and systems, particularly civil commitment law, crisis services continuum, extreme risk protection orders, and advance directives
Diversion of individuals with mental illnesses from the criminal legal system
Forensic mental health standards and practices (e.g., competence to stand trial, capacity to waive Miranda rights)
Clinical interests:
Assessment of capacity to waive Miranda rights and related topics
Capacity to make health care decisions