“Extraordinary Circumstances” in Custody Contests between Parent and Non-parent

1982 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-361
Author(s):  
Aaron N. Hoorwitz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
Family Courts ◽  
Children's Interests

When consulting to juvenile and family courts, many mental health professionals address the question of what is in a child's best interests, making the assumption that the “best interests” test is applicable in all court cases involving children. This assumption is incorrect, resulting in recommendations which are not maximally useful to the court and which do not further the children's interests as much as is possible. The best interests test does not apply in custody contests between parent and non-parent. In these cases, the court must first conclude that a parent has been disqualified in some respect or that “extraordinary circumstances” exist. Only then can the court apply the best interests test. This article suggests how the consultant can make use of these considerations by addressing more specific questions in evaluations, thereby improving the utility of evaluations and furthering the child's interests.

Child Custody Decisions: How Legal and Mental Health Professionals View the Concept of ‘Best Interests of the Child’

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 127-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.A.A. Lambiase ◽  
J.W. Cumes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Child Custody ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Psychological Literature

Close scrutiny of legal precedents and psychological literature has revealed significant differences in the views of legal and mental health professionals regarding the major criteria used in custody decisions. This article carries the investigation further and considers empirically the responses to the criteria of these two groups of professionals in South Africa. Findings show subtle but significant differences between them, particularly with regard to the ‘child’ dimension of the ‘best interests’ concept. The implications for mental health professionals in their evaluation of custody cases, and in their giving of testimony, are underscored.

The experience of domestic violence survivors in the US family courts: gender bias in the court

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-53
Author(s):  
Lisa Fischel-Wolovick
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Graduate Education ◽  
Gender Bias ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Courts ◽  
The Family

There is a significant body of research on gender bias against women in the family courts. During the Covid-19 pandemic, battered women's vulnerability to domestic violence increased on a global level as women experienced a significant increase in the severity of abuse. The problems of gender bias and the treatment of battered women and their children have a long history of human rights' abuses. In particular, battered mothers have been the focus of gender-biased theories of parental alienation, used as a defence against claims of abuse and child maltreatment, despite a lack of empirical validity and acceptance. Additionally, the family courts in the United States are closed to the public and as a result there is a lack of transparency and accountability. A large-scale national study revealed that many supporting mental health professionals who provide custody evaluations lack a formal graduate education in domestic violence and child maltreatment. Furthermore, legislative presumptions that favour joint legal custody in custody decisions and requirements of co-parenting, fail to take into consideration the long-term public health risks of such chronic traumatic exposure. Finally, this article will address needed systemic reforms that include increased transparency, longterm court-monitoring, and supporting mental health professionals with formal graduate education in trauma, child development, and abuse, to promote resilience in vulnerable families.

Issues in Planned and Unplanned Disruptions in Clinical Practice

2017 ◽  
pp. 537-547
Author(s):  
A. Steven Frankel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Significant Negative Impact ◽  
Insurance Model

Disruptions in clinical practice that are not adequately planned for can have a significant negative impact on clients, family members, and colleagues. This chapter addresses the problem of unanticipated disruptions in clinical practice due to death, disability, and illness. Challenges associated with each of these situations are illustrated. Proactive and thoughtful ways of preparing for them are presented. Topics include the professional will (with descriptions of needed elements), approaches involving groups of cooperative colleagues, and a “quasi-insurance model” that was developed because many mental health professionals have not embraced the first two approaches. Recommendations for addressing these situations with our clients’ best interests in mind are presented.

Mental Health Professionals as Pawns in Oppressive Practices: A Case Example Concerning Psychologists’ Involvement in the Denial of Education Rights to Roma/Gypsy Children

2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Grover
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Educational Placement ◽  
Intellectually Disabled ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Educational Psychologists ◽  
European Court

This article examines a 2006 European Court of Human Rights judgment concerning educational discrimination against Roma children in the Czech Republic and the involvement of educational psychologists in the case. The court held the school to be the proper final arbiter on the question of the best interests of the child regarding educational placement. Based largely on culturally biased psychological testing results, the Roma children in question were declared mentally handicapped by educational psychologists. On that basis, they were placed in a segregated school for the intellectually disabled where the curriculum was quite deficient. Despite statistical evidence of the overrepresentation of Roma children in such segregated Czech schools, and of widespread discrimination against Roma in schools and in the larger society, the court rejected the claim that the children’s right to an education had been violated. The implication for psychologists and educators internationally, to avoid becoming pawns contributing to an oppressive human rights situation, is discussed.

The Role of the Courts in Supporting Therapeutic Interventions

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-54
Author(s):  
Nicholas Bala ◽  
Marjorie A. Slabach
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Child Outcomes ◽  
Individual Therapy ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Family Courts ◽  
High Conflict ◽  
Collaboration And Communication

This chapter discusses the role of the family courts and lawyers in supporting, and in some situations limiting, the types of interventions that can be provided to children and their parents in high conflict coparenting cases. It is essential to have collaboration and communication between the judges, lawyers, and mental health professionals if there are to be healthy child outcomes. Increasingly, family judges recognize they have a responsibility not only to resolve disputes between parents, but also to protect the interests of their children, and to encourage a settlement if this is reasonably possible, as well as to hold parents accountable, if they fail to meaningfully engage in court-ordered interventions or parenting arrangements. There are a variety of ways that judges involve mental health professionals to help address family problems, including directing parents to mediation, parenting education, or family or individual therapy, or by appointing a mental health professional undertake an evaluation of a family and report to the court and the parties.

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