Clinician's Guide to Child Custody Evaluations

This reference aims to provide psychologists and other mental health professionals with detailed clinical guidelines for conducting child custody evaluations. It not only presents the professional literature as it applies to such cases, but also offers insights associated with the experience of having participated in over 1000 divorce-related cases during the past decade. The volume also covers issues such as the mechanics of psychological evaluation, report writing and court testimony.

Of Related Interest...

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CHILD

Theodore H. Blau

"...provides a thorough, thoughtful method for examining children....The book is full of examples of useful forms...and expends a fair percentage of total space giving actual sample interactions between a psychologist and a child named Albert who is being evaluated with these materials. This method of presentation is very effective in tying together the entire process. This volume should be useful to students learning about evaluation and professionals looking for ideas." Psychological Reports

"...full of sound sense and mentions all those things that grander volumes tend to overlook." Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology

Based on the author′s examination of more than 1,000 children over thirty–five years, this unique book develops a conceptual framework within which to evaluate both normal and disturbed children. Rather than focus on assessment techniques, the author deals with the general considerations of what is important to find out about children and defines a standardized method of assessment, the Basic Psychological Examination. He also devotes extensive coverage to such nuts–and–bolts issues as how to set up an interview group, how to arrange and prepare the setting for the examination, how to prepare a child for testing, and how to confer with parents. 1991 (0–471–63559–6) 279 pp.

INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN OF DIVORCE

Custody, Access, and Psychotherapy

Second Edition

William F. Hodges

from reviews of the First Edition:

"William F. Hodges...has set about the seemingly impossible task of writing a comprehensive text and manual for mental health professionals, lawyers, and judges. That he succeeds so well is a credit to his superb organization and exposition....This book has much to offer forensic psychiatrists and is highly recommended for beginners as well as those advanced in the field." Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry Law

"Anyone working with children of divorce will find Hodges′s book useful. The writing is even and the discussion of research literature with implications for clinical intervention should be quite helpful for clinicians." Choice

William Hodges brings his considerable theoretical rigor and clinical acumen to bear, while providing the most comprehensive survey of current literature yet (including more than 600 references 200 of which are new to this edition). Offering a clear, consistent, conceptual understanding of how separation and divorce affects children at different stages of development, this book empowers judges and attorneys with greater depth and scope in their determination of custody and visitation rights as well as the appropriate mediation strategies and the value of clinical interventions. An excellent resource for mental health practitioners, it offers many practical applications of theory and research and proposes therapeutic interventions within the context of parental consultation, school–based intervention, individual therapy with children, and family therapy. 1991 (0–471–52255–4) 400 pp.

No one suffers more or has more to lose from a divorce than the children involved. In helping to minimize the potential damage to these young victims, there is no more crucial issue than the awarding of custody. Fortunately, it is now common practice for courts and attorneys to enlist the aid of psychologists to perform expert evaluations of the custody arrangement which would be in the best interest of the child. With many marriages now ending in divorce, the demand for professionals capable of performing this difficult, yet rewarding, service is greater than ever. More and more mental health professionals are entering this branch of forensic psychology, yet to date, there are but a scant few books expressly designed to quickly and thoroughly educate professionals in the full range of skills they need to perform this vitally important service.

Comprehensive, authoritative, and very practical, this guide does just that. From getting started in the field, to selecting and administering tests, to conducting interviews and drawing conclusions, to reporting findings and testifying in court, it provides professionals with detailed clinical guidelines for performing evaluations while schooling them in all the legal, ethical, and practical aspects of serving as expert witnesses, mediators, or court appointed psychologists in custody cases. Few writers are as qualified as Dr. Marc Ackerman to author such a work. An acknowledged expert in the field who has conducted more than 1,000 child custody evaluations, Ackerman is also the author of the Ackerman–Schoendorf Scale for Parent Evaluation of Custody (ASPECT), a widely used psychological test which is designed to measure the important variables which impact custody decisions. In this book, he shares the fruits of his considerable experience, offering many invaluable insights and lessons learned through years of trial and error. He also arms readers with sample forms, official guidelines, professional codes, and a wide range of other useful "hardware" indispensable to the forensic psychologist.

Offering detailed clinical guidelines to conducting custody evaluations and expert advice from one of the most knowledgeable professionals working in the field today, this book is a valuable resource for all mental health professionals involved with or contemplating becoming involved with child custody evaluations.