Dr. Rachel Toles is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist, true crime consultant, and criminal expert specializing in the psychology of serial killers, mass shooters, and violent behavior.
CA PSY26488 MN LP6509
MEDIA & CONSULTING WORK
Dr. Toles works both on camera and behind the scenes for scripted and unscripted television, helping teams portray criminal behavior with psychological accuracy. She studies the ordinary pathways that can end in extraordinary harm. Is “born-evil” a storyline? Or does it develop over time?
Dick Wolf Productions Consultant
HBO Max, Investigation Discovery, Peacock, and Apple TV
Media Credits
NBCUniversal, ABC Nightline Impact x Hulu, Oxygen, and Sony Pictures Television
Newsweek, InTouch Weekly Investigates, and the Daily Mail
Public Speaking Tours
Sold-out tours across the United States, Canada, and Australia, including The Psychology of Serial Killers and The Psychology of a Murderer. These programs analyze cases ranging from Jeffrey Dahmer and the Columbine shooters to family annihilators like Chris Watts, combining clinical rigor with accessible storytelling.
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2026 The Psychology of Serial Killers Tour Dates Announced!
The Psychology of Serial Killers is a live lecture exploring how serial violence develops over time. Using real case examples, Dr. Toles breaks down patterns of escalation, control, fantasy, victim selection, and the family and environmental conditions that shape these offenders.
This is a grounded, psychology-first look at what drives repeat violence—and what the media gets wrong. Whether you’re a true crime enthusiast or simply curious about the science behind the headlines, you’ll leave with a deeper understanding of one of psychology’s darkest subjects.
Dr. Toles is currently writing The Myth of Psychopathy, a book that challenges the concept of “evil” and examines how cultures systematically create the conditions for extreme violence.
“The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal.”
-Hannah Arendt
Dr. Rachel Toles | Clinical and Forensic Psychologist 