So,Doctor, How's Your Sex Life? A Cross-Examiner's View of Countertransference

ABSTRACT

Bias can taint the forensic work product to a far greater degree than many lawyers and judges, as relatively unsophisticated consumers of psychological expertise, are aware. Daniel Pickar's article, “Countertransference Bias in the Child Custody Evaluator” (this issue) describes the deep roots and potential impact on evaluations that can emerge from countertransference thoughts and feelings forming in the shadows of the evaluator's psyche. This article examines countertransference bias primarily from the perspective of the cross-examining attorney charged with the obligation of revealing possible sources of invalidity underlying the expert's conclusions. It addresses also the legitimate concerns raised by David A. Martindale and Jonathan W. Gould that the wholesale importation of a highly nuanced and potentially confusing lexicon from psychoanalytic theory may yield more confusion than clarity. Finally, this article cautions as to the potentially fatal implications to evidentiary admissibility which may be encountered if an evaluator should, as suggested by Pickar, premise his or her conclusions, in part, on the subjective interpretation of counter-transference thoughts and feelings.     

Countertransference Bias in the Child Custody Evaluator

ABSTRACT

Concerns about bias which may arise in the child custody evaluation process have recently attracted critical attention. The types of biases addressed are those that primarily stem from cognitive psychology, as well as social and cultural sources of bias. Rarely discussed, however, is bias which can stem from evaluator countertransference, which if unrecognized can potentially lead to biased and non-objective recommendations. While one must strive to be objective and impartial, child custody evaluators are frequently working with highly charged emotional issues which may interact with their own personal issues or past experiences. This article examines the types of counter-transference phenomenon which may arise in the child custody evaluation, and presents tips for identifying and managing such reactions.     

Evaluating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Within Complex Child Custody Cases

SUMMARY

This article provides a framework for identifying and assembling the interdependent elements of a child custody evaluation with allegations of child sexual abuse. The identification of several myths regarding child sexual abuse (CSA) introduces the subject matter of this article. A forensic evaluation model (Heilbrun, 2001) is then used to organize the custody evaluator's tasks into the following sequential classifications: (a) preparation; (b) data collection; (c) data interpretation; and (d) communication of results. Through this model, the entwined tasks of evaluating the child's needs and the parents' capacities to meet the child's needs, while simultaneously examining the question of child sexual abuse, are addressed.     

Countertransference Bias: Self-Examination,Not Cross-Examination

ABSTRACT

In reply to T. Tippins (2007, this issue), we take issue with his claim that recognition of the biasing impact of custody evaluators' countertransference opens the door to “evidentially legitimate” fishing expeditions through evaluators' private lives on cross-examination. We clarify the distinction between self-examination for counter-transference bias as a heuristic for improving the sensitivity and objectivity of expert testimony and its use as substantive evidence. We argue that countertransference bias is a highly personal, emotionally charged kind of bias, unlike the cognitive biases more frequently discussed in the child custody literature. We conclude that recognition of the insidious emotional influences that threaten our objectivity in working with families in high conflict divorce is an important ethical responsibility.     

A Floor,Not a Ceiling

Abstract

With the identification of twenty-six standards, this article argues that the child custody evaluation field has defined a set of minimum practice standards that go beyond the aspirational goals of existing “guidelines” and “parameters.7rdquo; These twenty-six standards constitute a floor, but not a ceiling, for conducting child custody evaluations (CCEs).     

Exploring Three Functions in Child Custody Evaluation for the Relocation Case: Prediction,Investigation, and Making Recommendations for a Long-Distance Parenting Plan

SUMMARY

The psycho-legal dilemmas posed by child custody relocation cases are discussed in terms of the four decisional alternatives facing the court and evaluator. Different legal contexts for relocation are reviewed in terms of their implications for the custody evaluation. Complexities involved in the evaluator's function of making predictions for the court are presented. The need to conduct careful investigation on both risk and pragmatic factors is highlighted by case illustrations. The obstacles of crafting of long distance parenting plans that will be in the best interests of the child are presented as governed by the goal of harm mitigation.     

Integrity and Transparency

Abstract

The author offers commentary concerning the importance of an evaluator'S disclosure of prior or current relationships with custody litigants; of diligence in the creation and maintenance of records; and of cooperation with those wishing to scrutinize one'S work. The position is advanced that all information considered by an evaluator must be preserved, as must audio or video tape recordings of interviews and evaluative sessions. The author opines that where a thorough exploration of the bases for an evaluator'S opinions is impeded by deficient records or by the unavailability of certain records, the risk is increased that evaluator errors will go undetected.     

Is “Best Interests” a Solution to Filling Potholes in Child Custody Planning?

ABSTRACT

The role of the child custody evaluator and the principle of “best interests” have been well contemplated in the literature. This article suggests that the “best interest principle” serves the purpose of providing fill for gaps in the court systems engaged in the work of child custody planning. Using sociologist Dorothy Smith's research approach, Institutional Ethnography, the writer unearths the purpose of these potholes using a concept Smith coined as “Ruling Relations.”     

Review of Empirical Research on Child Custody Practice

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the current state of child custody practice and its significant changes over the past 20 years. Three types of research methodology are reviewed regarding child custody practice: survey research with child custody evaluators, survey research with judges and attorneys, and content analysis of child custody reports. The assessment of specialized issues in child custody evaluations, such as sexual abuse and domestic violence, are addressed as well. Factors promoting change in child custody practice over the years are discussed, along with areas needing further improvement and research.     

Experiences of Custody Evaluation: Perspectives of Young Adults Who Were the Subject of Family Court Proceedings as Children

ABSTRACT

Court-ordered custody evaluations are conducted primarily to assist courts in making decisions regarding the best interests of children in the context of parental disputes over custody and access. They also represent the most common means through which children's wishes in relation to custody and access are presented as evidence. This article reports on a qualitative research study of young adults' recollections of participating in custody evaluations ordered by the Family Court of Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 young adults, aged 18 to 26. Two major areas of inquiry are addressed in this article: (1) participants' recollections of interviews conducted by social workers and psychologists for the purpose of custody evaluation, and (2) their suggestions for ways in which professionals working with children in this context might make the process easier for children. Taken together, their experiences point to some useful principles for practice in this field.     

Critiquing a Colleague's Forensic Advisory Report

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide a protocol within which to frame a critique or critical review of a colleague's custody evaluation. While we think that the structure and logic of the following protocol may be applied to other forensic evaluations, our focus here is on the specific forensic specialty area of child custody and parenting access evaluations (CCEs).     

Custody Recommendations of Israeli Social Workers

Abstract

This study examines the custody recommendations of a sample of Israeli social workers who advise the courts. It looks at their recommendations in relation to the child's wishes and the workers' assessments of the children's expected quality of life with each of the parents. The findings show that the social workers based their recommendations mainly on the child's preference where that was clear, and, where it was not, on the child's expected quality of life with the two parents. With this, maternal custody remained the default recommendation and paternal custody was recommended only when the quality of life the father was expected to enable was significantly higher than that the mother was expected to enable.     

Response to Amundson,Lux and Hindmarch: Critique of Investigative Practices Article

ABSTRACT

This article responds to a commentary by Amundson, Lux and Hindmarch (2005), in which they offer a pejorative criticism about our article (Austin & Kirkpatrick, 2004) in which we described the investigative component within comprehensive child custody evaluations–something they label as “maximalist” evaluations and contrast with a model they prefer called the “minimalist” approach. We believe our approach to custody evaluations is in keeping with the current standard of practice and professional guidelines.     

Influence of the Caldwell report,and other computer generated interpretive reports,in child custody evaluations: A brief report

Abstract

This brief report reviews the use of MMPI-2 computer-generated interpretive reports in child custody evaluations. Particular attention was aimed at the Caldwell Report’s MMPI-2 Custody Report. Considering the recent temporary closure of the Caldwell Report, this article will discuss what scoring and report options remain currently for interpretive custody reports. A perspective is shared that a dependence on computer-generated interpretive reports is detrimental to the science and practice of custody evaluation work. Finally, the author calls for future and revised computer-generated interpretive reports to include more information regarding a link to conclusions, gender bias, and peer reviewed research.     

Countertransference and Zebras: Forensic Obfuscation

ABSTRACT

Responding to Daniel Pickar's article entitled “Counter-transference Bias in the Child Custody Evaluator” (this issue), the authors opine that attaching new labels to familiar dynamics fails to contribute to an understanding of interpersonal dynamics with which all participants in the custody evaluation process are already familiar. The position is advanced that, in examining the reports and testimony of evaluators, biases are only relevant when they are manifested in identifiable behavior. Such behaviors include the application by the evaluator of different standards in examining and commenting on the actions of the two parents; the use of insulting terminology in describing the non-favored parent; the use of glowing terminology in describing the favored parent; assignment of minimal importance to possible parenting deficiencies in the favored parent; the assignment of much importance to reported flaws in the non-favored parent; an apparent unquestioning acceptance of the favored parent's perspective; and an apparent rejection of the non-favored parent's perspective.     

The Forensic Model

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between psychological ethics and scientifically informed methodology is critical to a competently crafted child custody advisory report. This paper offers a working definition of the forensic model and integrates elements of the 2002 American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct(American Psychological Association, 2002) with forensic methods and procedures as applied to child custody evaluations.     

Safety First

Abstract

A substantial percentage of contested child custody cases involve allegations of domestic violence. The impact on the psychological health and physical safety of the child exposed to domestic violence has only recently become a focus of the courts' and child custody evalu-ators' attention. Currently, the majority of state statutes include consideration of domestic violence in “best interests” child custody criteria. However, many of the statues do not provide the child custody evaluator the specific criteria to consider, especially if the domestic violence allegations have not been previously reported to authorities prior to the commencement of separation and divorce proceedings. This article presents the first three steps of the six-step Safety First Model, designed to assist the legal and psychological professions to focus on the priorities on the safety of children exposed to domestic violence.     

Simmel at a Distance: On the History and Systematics of the Sociology of the Stranger

Abstract

Concepts made famous in “classic” works are often cited in ways that deviate from their original meaning. This often leads to cumulative confusion rather than the advancement of insight. Scrutiny of such confusions may provide fruitful points of departure for systematic codification.

In the literature which refers to Simmel's excursus on “The Stranger,” four areas of confusion can be identified

1. Simmel's conception of the stranger has periodically been equated with the concept of the “marginal man,” a very different social type;

2. Simmel's conception of the stranger has often been equated with the newly arrived outsider, another distinct type;

3. the distinction (only latent in Simmel) between strangers as individuals and stranger communities has not been articulated in later studies; and

4. the significance of the variety of ways in which Simmel used the metaphor of simultaneous closenss and remoteness has been obscured.

Clarification of the issues related to these four areas of confusion lays the basis fora typology of stranger statuses (Guest, Sojourner, Newcomer, Intruder, Inner Enemy, Marginal Man) and a related paradigm presented to assist in organizing the sociology of the stranger in a more systematic fashion.     

What the Rorschach Can Contribute to Child Custody and Parenting Time Evaluations

SUMMARY

Personality assessment can indirectly help custody evalu-ators answer important questions about parental competence and the fit between parents' psychological resources and children's needs. It is preferable to use testing to check hypotheses derived from the case information rather than the reverse. The Rorschach makes it possible to assess implicit motives, coping capacities, and need states, thus complementing and supplementing self-attributed personal characteristics from the MMPI-2 and other self-report data. It also offers idiographic information for individualizing assessments. Concerns about admissibility and charges that the Rorschach “overpathologizes” litigants are addressed, and suggestions are offered for making optimal use of the Rorschach in child custody work.