| Preface | |
| Critical Professional and Ethical Issues | |
| Introduction to the Role, Ethics, and Professional Responsibility | |
| How the Courts Benefit From an Evaluation | |
| How the Family Benefits From an Evaluation | |
| When is the Evaluation Harmful | |
| Who is the Client/Consumer | |
| Practical Standards and Ethical Issues | |
| Evaluator Biases | |
| Reducing the Risk of Bias | |
| The Mental Health Expert's Many Possible Roles | |
| Therapists | |
| Therapeutic Reunification | |
| Collaborative Law Coach | |
| Psychologist Evaluator/Psychiatrist/Vocational Evaluator | |
| Mediator | |
| Consultant to Attorney/Expert Witness | |
| Parent Coordinator | |
| The Custody Evaluator | |
| Dual Relationships | |
| Fundamental Questions in Most Custody Evaluations | |
| The Best Interests of the Child | |
| The Family's Relationships | |
| Parenting Strengths and Weaknesses | |
| The Co-Parental Relationship | |
| Time-Sharing Recommendations | |
| General divorce-Related Research and Basic Statutory and Case Law | |
| A Quick Primer on Research | |
| Risks of Divorce to Children | |
| Risk vs. Resiliency | |
| Mitigating Factors | |
| Research on Parent's Relationships After Divorce | |
| Basic Statutory and Case Law | |
| Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) | |
| Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act | |
| Troxel Vs. Granville (2000) | |
| Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction | |
| California Statutes and Case Law | |
| Children's Developmental Needs | |
| A Developmental Framework | |
| Conducting the Child Custody Evaluation | |
| Conducting the Evaluation Part I: Observations and Techniques With Adults | |
| The Court Order and Initial Contact With Attorneys | |
| The Initial Phone Call and Contacts With Parents | |
| The Initial Contact | |
| The First Conjoint Appointment | |
| The Initial Individual Appointment | |
| The Second Interview and Beyond | |
| What to Believe? | |
| The Use of Psychological Tests | |
| Conducting the Evaluation Part II: Observations and Techniques With Children | |
| Significant Issues in the Assessment of Children/Gaining Rapport at the Beginning of the First Interview | |
| Children and the Potential for Suggestibility | |
| Children and Their Language | |
| Gathering Information About the Child's Experiences | |
| Directly Assessing the Parent-Child Bond | |
| Siblings Together, or Not? | |
| Use of Play and Other Techniques in Understanding Children | |
| Home Visits | |
| The Preference of the Child | |
| The Use of Psychological Testing in Custody Evaluations | |
| Review of the Literature | |
| Traditional Psychological Tests | |
| Tests Designed Specifically for Custody Evaluations | |
| Parenting Inventories | |
| Tests for Children | |
| Benefits of Using Tests | |
| Risks in Using Tests | |
| Computerized Test Results | |
| A Balanced Approach | |
| Gathering of Collateral Data | |
| What is Collateral Data? | |
| Benefits of Using Collateral Data | |
| Record Review | |
| Gathering Lists of Collateral Sources | |
| Who To Talk To - A Concentric Circle Approach | |
| Interviewing Collateral Sources | |
| Sharing the Results of the Evaluation - The Evaluation Report | |
| AFCC Model Standards | |
| Basic Characteristics of a Quality Report | |
| Information Which Must be in Every Report | |
| The Parents | |
| The Children | |
| Collateral Information | |
| Analysis and Summary | |
| Recommendations | |
| Complex Issues to be Evaluated | |
| Non-Violent High Conflict Families | |
| Contribution From Personality Features | |
| Contribution From Other Sources | |
| Recommendations for High Conflict Families | |
| A Case for Sole Legal custody of Decision Making | |
| Domestic Violence | |
| The Concept of Differentiation | |
| Approaching the Family's Domestic Violence Issues | |
| Parenting Problems of Domestic Violence Parents | |
| Gathering Data | |
| The Alphabet Soup of Using Data to Formulate Conclusions | |
| Using the PPPP Analysis with the RRR Concepts to Reach a Decision About the Parenting Plan | |
| Therapeutic and Structural Interventions | |
| The Alienated Child | |
| Contribution to the Child's Alienated Response | |
| Parent Contributions to the Development of Alienation | |
| Child Contributions to the Development of Alienation | |
| Typical Alienated Behaviors in Children | |
| Emotional Impact of Alienation on Children | |
| Dynamics of the Larger System | |
| Evaluation of Alienation | |
| Other Reasons for Alignment With One Parent - What to Look for in the Children | |
| Concluding the Evaluation | |
| Relocation Evaluations | |
| Legal Considerations in Relocation Evaluations - Relevant Case Law | |
| Legal Considerations in Relocation Evaluations - Relevant Statutory Law | |
| The Psychological Literature Related to Relocation | |
| Societal Issue That Often Lead to Requests to Move | |
| Factors for the Evaluator to Consider | |
| Special Issues in International Cases | |
| Avoiding Bias | |
| Tackling the Terror of Testifying | |
| The Deposition | |
| The Process at Trial | |
| Preparing for the Testimony | |
| Testifying Procedures | |
| Stick to the Data | |
| Dealing With Hypothetical Questions | |
| Remain Professional | |
| Trick Questions | |
| Do's and Don'ts for Testifying in Court | |
| Critiquing Evaluations | |
| Conclusions | |
| Special Needs for Children | |
| Substance Abuse Issues | |
| Sexual Abuse Allegations | |
| Longitudinal Evaluations | |
| Conclusions | |
| Appendices | |
| Sample Court Order | |
| Sample Informed Consent and Retainer Agreement | |
| Sample Intake Form | |
| Sample Listing of Questions for Parents | |
| Sample Listing of Questions for Children | |
| Sample Alienation Analysis and Recommendation | |
| Sample Relocaiton Analysis and Recommendation | |
| References | |
| About the Author | |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |