Shannon Curry

Curry attended Hyde School, starting on its Bath campus and later transferring with a group of students to the new campus in Woodstock, Connecticut; she graduated with honors in 1998 and continued her education at Georgetown, UC Irvine and Pepperdine.⁠[1]

After a year at Georgetown University she transferred to the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a B.A. in psychology and social behavior magna cum laude, then earned an M.A. in psychology and a PsyD in clinical psychology at Pepperdine University.⁠[2]

In 2011 she completed her dissertation at Pepperdine University, The journal project, advised by Shelly P. Harrell, which tested whether Pennebaker’s Written Expression Paradigm works as a culturally responsive trauma intervention for high school students in Ayacucho who grew up during the Sendero Luminoso insurgency.⁠[3]

In 2018 she was named to the Hyde School Alumni Hall of Honor; the school describes her as a licensed clinical psychologist who founded and directs the Curry Psychology Group in Newport Beach, California, and who specializes in animal-assisted therapy.⁠[1]

Depp sued Heard over a 2018 op-ed published by The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is an American daily newspaper founded in Washington in 1877, known for its role in the Pentagon Papers case and the Watergate investigation. Run by the Meyer–Graham family for eighty years from 1933, it has been owned personally by Jeff Bezos since 2013.Open the full entry, saying it defamed him; the case was tried in Fairfax County, Virginia.⁠[4]

On April 26, 2022, Curry, who had been hired by Depp’s legal team, testified about an evaluation that included 12 hours of interviews with Heard; Heard’s lawyers questioned her for potential bias, noting that she had dinner and drinks with Depp and his lawyers at his house before she was hired, and Curry said it was part of the interview process.⁠[5]

On May 3, 2022, psychologist Dawn Hughes, who had spent more than 20 hours examining Heard, testified; her testimony was very different from that of Curry, the expert witness for Depp’s team.⁠[6]

On June 1, 2022, the seven-member jury returned a split verdict: Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages, the latter reduced to $350,000 under Virginia’s cap, and Heard was awarded $2 million on her counterclaim.⁠[4]

On December 19, 2022, Heard announced that she had decided to settle with Depp, ending the appeal she had filed after the trial; she said the decision was “not an act of concession.”⁠[7]

She appeared on episode 366 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, whose description calls her a clinical and forensic psychologist who conducts research, therapy and clinical evaluation on trauma, violence and relationships and who testified in the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial; topics included dating and marriage, couples therapy, cheating, the trial, forensic psychology and PTSD.⁠[8]

She earlier completed her doctoral internship at Tripler Army Medical Center as one of two civilian interns, and a two-year post-doctoral residency at Hawaii State Hospital.⁠[2]

As of October 2026 she is the founder and director of the Curry Psychology Group and serves on the advisory board of the University of California, Irvine’s Center for Unconventional Security Affairs.⁠[9]

She is licensed in Arizona, California, Hawaii and New York, serves as a certified forensic examiner for the Hawaii Department of Courts and Corrections and a registered psychological evaluator for California courts and law enforcement agencies, and provides reports and testimony in civil and criminal matters.⁠[10]

The practice does not typically accept insurance but makes an exception for military families as a TRICARE in-network provider, and specializes in trauma and PTSD therapy.⁠[11]

Curry Psychology Group: Official website: https://currypsychology.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[8]