One of the more recent innovative concepts by family court for the facilitation of more positive parent/child relationships is reunification therapy. In many family cases, particularly in contentious divorces, a child(ren) may be estranged from one of their parents. A reunification therapy order is issued so that a mental health professional can mend the estrangement of the parent-child relationship. I consider reunification therapy to be a form of family therapy with the goal of reuniting the entire family in the best interest of the child(ren). As such, it requires the cooperation and partic ..read more

In a recent seminar I attended, Dr. Michael Saini, an associate professor of the University of Toronto, emphasized the growing importance of the construct of co-parenting to Family Law in both research and clinical applications. He points out that in 2019 there were 323 articles on this topic published in peer-reviewed journals. The two most prominent journals on this topic are the Journal of Family Psychology, 53 articles in 2019, and the Journal of Child and Family Studies, 44 articles in 2019. Dr. Saini defines co-parenting as “a construct decoupled from gender role and family structure ref ..read more

Allegations of parental alienation are common in high conflict divorces. They are usually a function of deeper issues in the family including exposure to high intense marital conflict, humiliating separation, and professional mismanagement (Kelly & Johnston, 2001). The concept of family alienation was popularized by Gardner (2002) who describes it as a syndrome. This implies a specific set of symptoms that are displayed by the alienated child. The syndrome has not been validated by empirical research. Rather, alienation is more accurately described as a set of behaviors on the part ..read more

Most of you have had to deal with clients who give you major problems. They are uncooperative and irresponsible. They resist direction and/or act obnoxiously. These people probably have a personality disorder. There are 10 different types of personality disorders which I will briefly describe below. An individual with a paranoid personality disorder is characteristically suspicious and distrustful of others. He may not even trust his own family members. The schizoid personality disorder is withdrawn and cold and exhibits socially inappropriate behavior. This individual may alienate others by b ..read more

Many court cases are decided upon whether the jury regards an injured plaintiff as faking his/her condition. The intentional or conscious fabrication of symptoms or injuries is called malingering. How do you determine whether your client is malingering? This is not a simple matter. There are several tests designed specifically for measuring malingering such as the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) or Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM). These are not foolproof measures. There are also validity and reliability scales on popularly used tests such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Persona ..read more

When you ask the question is my client more vulnerable than others to a given trauma, you are asking a complicated question. Other things being equal, individuals with severe mental disorders are at the top of the list of those most vulnerable. This would include schizophrenics, major depressive disorders, and borderline personality disorders. Vulnerability must be determined on a case-by-case basis by obtaining a case history of the individual and assessing the type and degree of stress he/she has encountered. As an example, most of us would be symptomatic if we encountered a major stressor s ..read more

All of you have been exposed to a high conflict parent- you know the client who has been through several lawyers or the one who tries to send you to court on a monthly basis. He/she tries your patience and wears you out. You will need special care to design workable parenting plans with these individuals. Here are some suggestions.   First, high conflict divorce couples must have a detailed and tight parenting plan. The idea is to mitigate as much as possible against any foreseeable sources of conflict. Days of the week, even hours of the day must be taken into account. Summer scheduling and h ..read more

In the state of Florida parenting plan evaluations (social investigations) are requested by family lawyers, and evaluators are appointed by the court, FL Statute 61.20. As such the investigator who is appointed works for the court to assist the Trier of Fact in deciding what is in the best interest of the child. The investigator first requests a copy of the court order appointment. This defines the scope of the investigation and any specific issues that need to be addressed. Lawyers representing each party are then asked by the evaluator to submit information they deem relevant to the investig ..read more

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