Article archive / February 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 2. Source pages: 7.
The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts is an interdisciplinary, international association that focuses on helping professionals improve the lives of children and families by working to resolve conflicts. The association will hold its 52nd annual conference in New Orleans, May 27 to 30 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.
The organization is a source of specialized information and training regarding the courts, legal disputes, parenting issues, child support, child maltreatment, and other topics that are faced by professionals in the court system when they attempt to help children and families in need.
Leslie Todd, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, was the founding President for the Louisiana Chapter of the organization. At the upcoming May conference, Todd will present a workshop on “Compassion Fatigue and the Reflective Brain.”
“Family Court-related work has at its heart traumatized parents and children in a generally dysfunctional system,” said Todd. “We professionals, whether we are therapists, mediators, evaluators or officers of the Court, sustain a lot of ‘collateral damage’ ourselves. We are constantly handed unsolvable problems that must be solved, and our clients often displace their rage, paranoia, distorted grief and anxiety on us.”
Dr. Alicia Pellegrin, forensic and clinical psychologist, told the Times, “It is important that training for evaluators be specific to the practice of child custody as opposed to taking generalized forensic courses, many of which have no bearing on child custody practice,” explained Pellegrin. “One of the important sources of such training is the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, which is the premiere organization dedicated to advancing the field at which family law and mental health intersect,” she said.
“At AFCC conferences, psychologists can hear from and interact with juvenile and family court Judges, attorneys who specialize in family law, forensic investigators, family violence experts, and researchers who specialize in child and family law matters. Equally important at these conferences is the opportunity to chat with other custody evaluators for collaboration and support.”
Pellegrin also noted that another excellent source of training is the American Board of Professional Psychology “offering training in the area by well recognized and highly experienced psychologists who work in the area.”
Todd’s workshop for the national conference of AAFCC will be part of nearly 100 sessions relating to the area of children, courts, legal issues and families. Todd will be also teaching about stress and burnout in this high intensity field, with the help of colleague Nan Waller Burnett, from Colorado. “The tough-minded among us––often the legal folks––are generally anxiety-flingers. (‘What, me worry? I’m fine. Let’s have another drink.’)” said Todd. “The tender-hearted among us –– often the mental health folks––are anxiety- absorbers who stoically go from client to client until we are emotionally and spiritually depleted. Nan and I will help participants identify their own style and find means of self- reflection to prevent compassion fatigue and secondary trauma.”
Others from Louisiana will present in May.
The Hon. Ernestine S. Gray, from New Orleans, will present “Critical Issues in Child Development for Family and Juvenile Judges.” She is joined by the Hon. Karen Adam from Tucson, Arizona, and Drs. Kirsten Lysne and Phillip Stahl. This presentation will include a multi- disciplinary panel of judges and psychologists who will explore children’s developmental needs, focusing on trauma, effects of domestic violence on children at different ages, parenting plans, overnights with young children, and other critical issues judges face daily.
Presenting “Fragile Narcissism: A Forensic Challenge,” is a group with psychologists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and an attorney, from New Orleans and Metarie: Suzanne C. Klenck, PhD, LCP, Clinical Psychologist; Sarah Hinshaw-Fuselier, PhD, LCSW; Karen VanBeyer, PhD, LCSW; and Anna Wellman, JD, LCSW. This workshop will focus on understanding and working with narcissistic individuals in the family court system. Some traits and disorders may be exacerbated by the divorce process and presenters will cover how some narcissistically fragile individuals will often engage in ongoing legal conflict, or high conflict custody cases.
Lisa Matthews, JD, Hearing Officer, from New Orleans, will present, “Two Program Models and Research on Parenting and Co-parenting Skills.”
Stephen W. Thompson, EdD, from Hammond, Patricia Hicks, JD, from Hammond, Rykert O. Toledano, Jr., JD, from Covington, and the Hon. Mary Clemence Devereux, Family Court Judge, from Covington, will present, “Two Goals: Retraining Family Lawyers and Teaching Co- Parenting in Child Custody.” In this workshop presenters show how Parents learn sound co- parenting skills from attorney-teachers who know courtrooms from the inside out and discourage litigation by supporting the parents as decision- makers in the lives of their children. Attorneys learn by teaching parenting skills and guiding parents to becoming collaborative problem solvers, not just litigants.
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