Article archive / December 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 12. Source pages: 8, 9.
Special Feature on Practice Psychologists in Family Court- Worth a Second Look
by Dr. Alan Taylor, President of Louisiana Chapter of Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Why are mental health professionals so badly needed to work with family courts and why are so few willing to do so?
The majority of couples settle custody without court involvement, but litigants tend to be either: 1.) People who at one time had a relationship with shared goals and dreams but have arrived at a point where these are bankrupt and emotions are highly charged or; 2.) Incomplete, unready, immature individuals who produced a child when they have no real and lasting emotional bonds and mental foundation. They are often overly dependent on their own families.
The first group of people has to complete the task of emotional separation from each other and try to regain some individual identity, while keeping a respectful relationship for their children’s sake. High levels of conflict usually mean that these parents do not have the ability, whether temporarily or permanently, to manage their situations in a way that protects their children from emotional damage. The inability of the parents to take care of themselves and their relationship leads to poorer resources and greater struggles for their children, and this tends to require outside involvement.
The second group, who are primarily self–focused, have to open up and make room for the idea that they will need to be partners to some degree in promoting their child’s development; i.e., they have to construct a relationship where there was none.
With both of these groups, high conflict custody cases often involve at least one parent with a personality disorder or developmental lag, which means they are ill equipped to function independently and take on a full range of adult responsibility (i.e., parenting) In high conflict cases, goals for both mental health professionals and family court are:
1. To stop or reduce the conflict, 2. Protect the rights of parents and children, 3. Provide resources to strengthen the individuals and their parental cooperation so that the family may move on, 4. While doing these things, the primary consideration should be the best interest of the child
Who steps up to help achieve these goals in the family court system?
Judges provide authority, set limits, and enforce compliance. They also try to maintain objectivity and are supposed to consider the best interests of the child. In the process, they combine compassion, understanding, and wisdom with the application of legal principles.
Attorneys zealously advocate for their clients. They are often trained to prepare for an adversarial approach, then settle if possible. However, their focus through training and philosophy is often to seek the best outcome for their particular client (one parent). In this process, they tend to compare/contrast parents and highlight differences between them that favor their own client. To some degree, they are expected to be biased on behalf of their clients, including making presumptions that their client is as capable or more capable than the other parent. Their focus may be on tactics and negotiations within an atmosphere of competition.
Mental health professionals are charged to keep the best interests of the child (and to a degree the parent’s) paramount. They are expected to promote the welfare of all family members based on the assumption that this will be in the best interests of the child. Their approach is also to avoid conflict and adversarial approaches. The focus involves looking at parties and understanding them in depth as individuals and members of an ongoing relationship rather than setting up a contract and then disengaging.
In terms of time focus, what is important to the judge and attorneys is what is going on now. Attorneys focus on protecting and gaining the best outcome for their client and judges are referees to keep the process “fair.” Once their role is completed, attorneys and judges do not expect to be involved again unless there is a renewal of conflict (“rematch”).
Mental health professionals spend a considerable amount of time on individual and family history to determine how the present circumstances came about and what influences molded the parents. There is also a need to focus on the future since there will be many changes as children develop, grow older, and family recombinations occur.
Me do Court Work? NO WAY!
Due to differences in philosophy and training, mental health professionals have major fears/concerns about involvement in family court.
1. Confidentiality: client trust is essential for therapy to work – having to testify or provide information to attorneys jeopardizes and may destroy the therapeutic relationship, and it often pours fuel on the fires of conflict.
2. Control issues: therapists are ethically bound not to let their information be misused by others, but the adversary process allows exactly this potential.
3. Professional respect/collegiality: mental health professionals believe in mutual respect and often feel attacked, discredited, or bullied and are sometimes asked to behave this way towards other mental health professionals.
4. Stress: high conflict divorces often involve individuals with severe personality disorders, who are a very difficult population to work with, and hostilities are common as are impossible expectations.
5. The legal process is concerned with the facts, but custody conflict is feelings- driven. (It is hard to teach fire prevention while a fire is in progress.) People tend to behave according to their feelings when these are intense. Success in resolving this type of conflict is more about perceptions and attitudes, which takes time.
Family court work tends to draw the “softer” attorneys and the “harder” mental health professionals (which is why psychologists are generally better suited for it than other disciplines). Psychologists are scientifically trained and can serve as expert witnesses to educate and assist the court, in contrast to clinicians (therapists) who are trained on a very different model. Psychologists are recognized as having distinct advantages in forensic work, which is no longer the case in other areas (witness, managed care, and the flood of competing master’s level therapists).
What You Need
1. A solid general clinical background for assessing adults and children. 2. An understanding of family systems theory and child development. 3. An understanding of the laws pertaining to family court. 4. Good communication skills (speaking and writing). 5. A clear understanding of clinical and forensic ethics. 6. A commitment to children’s welfare, compassion for parents, and a strong backbone. 7. Experience, training, more experience and more training.
Clinical vs. Forensic Work – Important Differences
1. The “client” is the court or the attorney, not the individual parties. 2. The professional is not there to “help” or counsel the client. 3. The court owns the case record, not the individuals. 4. Verbal or written reports from individuals are neither believed or disbelieved – the focus is objective and all information is “checked out” against other sources of information. 5. Court-appointed clients cannot “consent”, they can only agree to cooperate. 6. The professional does not present “conclusions” or make legal decisions – he/she considers both sides of disputes and presents strengths and weaknesses regarding alternative ways to resolve conflict. 7. Court appointed therapy may include providing a report to the court but not access to the therapist’s file.
Rewards of the Work
1. It is NOT insurance based and not subject to managed care. (Most insurers refuse to cover forensic services.) 2. It is lucrative compared to managed care/regular private pay. 3. You have a valuable role by helping children and families in crisis. 4. This work demands the best from you – you will be challenged. 5. You will work with some of your best and brightest peers. 6. You will increase your skill set and expand your practice.
Resources
• Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) – the premier professional organization for training, education, research, and resources for family court. www.afccnet.org • AFCC-LA state chapter, local networking and peer support. www.afccla.org • Mentors currently in the field Contact these above organizations for more information.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.