Countertransference Bias in Child Custody Evaluations Is Just a Horse of a Different Color: A Rejoinder to Martindale and Gould

ABSTRACT

The authors' reply to Martindale and Gould's critique of Pickar's article (2007a, this issue), “Countertransference Bias in the Child Custody Evaluator.” Martindale and Gould's objections to considering an evaluator's countertransference reactions as a potential source of bias are addressed by focusing on these four areas: (1) Whether it is useful to introduce the term “countertransference bias” to identify a potential source of distortion in custody evaluations; (2) How the empirical literature on countertransference in the context of psychotherapy might apply to the child custody evaluation process; (3) Clarification of areas of agreement and disagreement with Martindale and Gould, and (4) The importance of evaluator attempts at “debiasing.” We conclude that gaining awareness of countertransference reactions can only enhance the evaluator's ability to provide the most objective custody evaluation possible.     

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.     

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.     

Institutionalising the evaluation function: A South African study of impartiality,use and cost

PurposeThis article explores the implications of outsourcing the evaluation function in South Africa, a context where there is a mismatch between evaluation supply and demand. It unpacks the tradeoffs between internal and external evaluation, and challenges some commonly held assumptions about both.ApproachBased on experiences as an internal evaluator, external evaluator, evaluation manager, and building evaluation capacity, the author explores how each role changes when evaluation is a scarce skill, and looks at implications outsourcing has for both the organization, and the evaluation.FindingsThe purpose of the evaluation must drive the decision to outsource. However, with changing models of collaboration, there may be hybrid options that allow organizations to build evaluation capacity.Practical implicationsOrganisations are faced with a trade-off between commissioning an evaluation, and building internal evaluation capacity. To better understand each approach, it is important to consider the purpose and context of the evaluation. This shifts some commonly held assumptions about internal and external evaluations. Re-examining these assumptions will help organizations make a more informed decision about an evaluation approach.Originality/valueThe field of evaluation is particularly concerned with evaluation use. Most of the literature on this has focused on the approach of individual evaluators, and insufficient attention has been paid to the institutional architecture of the evaluation. This article considers how some of the organisational structures around an evaluation contribute to evidence use, and the case study of South Africa also shifts the focus to the central but overlooked role of context in the debate.     

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.     

The LINC Project

Abstract

The Linking Intergenerational Networks in Communities (LINC) Project, a statewide, collaborative, intergenerational program, funded in 1995 by the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation, included Clemson University, the Bureau of Senior Services for South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Education, and the United Way of South Carolina. In this paper, the author focuses on what the partnering groups learned during the five-year project about the process of creating and implementing a collaborative statewide intergenerational program that included a public university, the state offices of aging and education, and a private fundraising and public service agency. The author, who during part of the project was the evaluator at Generations Together at the University of Pittsburgh and who consulted with the LINC project on the project evaluation from 1998 to 2000, uses the literature on collaboration to describe how the four partners worked together to form an intergenerational collaborative organization in South Carolina.     

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.     

The Spiritual Reality: A Christian World View

SUMMARY

Every human being must answer the question, does God exist? If the answer is no, God does not exist, the follow-up question is, where or how will I anchor myself in life? If the answer is yes God exists, the follow-up question must be, what is God's nature? To acknowledge that God exists and not seek God's nature is to ignore that which we ourselves believe created and rules the universe. The Christian World View addresses the nature of God from a very specific perspective. It is a perspective that organizes the lives of many of our clients. In this article the author presents a non-theological summary of the Christian spiritual perspective and relates some of the main Christian beliefs to family systems thinking as well as to implications for practice.     

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.     

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.”     

Tuning-In 1 to Organizational Song as Aesthetic Discourse

In this article, the author explores organizational songs, referring to songs that are created by members of an organization as an expression of organizational culture. More specifically, the author is concerned with organizational songs as an expression of organizational culture, versus the better-known occupational songs that act as an expression of occupational culture. First, the study differentiates the genre of work songs (defined by the occupation of 'laborer') to discern organizational songs (defined by the occupation of "manager"). Second, this exploration reveals a musical expression of organizations; a musical expression that also serves as a form of organizational communication or organizational discourse--specifically an aesthetic communication or aesthetic discourse. A significance for organizational studies is asserted, as the study identifies organizational songs as expressive strategies: song as a form of organizational action and an attempt at organizational intervention; song as an organization's attempt to construct its own history and autobiography; and song as a means of celebrating the identity of organizational leaders and organizational values. The approach is to provide a comprehensive literature review followed by case vignettes of organizational songs.     

Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders

Abstract

The author responds to Hill et al.'s “Gender Identity Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence: A Critical Inquiry” and Moser and Kleinplatz's “DSM-IV-TRand the Paraphilias: An Argument for Removal.” The author sees the paper as raising the issue of whether there are any cases for which sexual and gender identity diagnoses are appropriate. The author believes a central issue is how does one decide that something is just unusual (normal variation) or something is disordered (pathological). The author believes the concept of “medical disorder” can be applied to human behavior and gives examples to support that view. The author supports an essentialist view that some “things” (like being human and modes of sexual expression) have properties or qualities that are invariable and represent the true essence of the “thing.” From this perspective, the author finds the arguments for eliminating the categories of GID and paraphilias from the DSM as weak at best.     

Everyday Health Communication Experiences of College Students

Objective: The authors examined college students' day-to-day health communication experiences. Participants: A convenience sample of 109 midwestern university students participated in the study. Methods: The participants completed health communication diaries for 2 weeks, generating 2,185 records. Frequent health topics included nutrition and diet, minor health concerns, risky health practices, and body fitness. Results: Approximately 27% of health communication experiences involved the proactive seeking of health-related information or advice. Interpersonal venues (face-to-face, telephone, and e-mail) were evident in about 75% of the records, which were dominated by exchanges with friends and family members. The authors found modest interactions of topic, channel, and purpose. Conclusions: Congruent with the uses and gratifications theory, the authors found that satisfaction with and perceived impact of health communication experiences varied by topic, channel, relationship, and purpose.     

The Health Education Section: 38 Years of Growth

Abstract

The author traces the growth of ACHA's Health Education Section from its beginnings with a handful of members in the late 1950s to its position of increasing leadership in the organization. She describes the growth of innovative programs the section's more than 300 health educators developed as they expanded the concept of health education and promotion beyond the walls of traditional health centers into the broader university community. College health educators must participate in efforts to establish accountability for prevention and promotion strategies that include community health as well as clinical preventive services.     

Child Protection and Child Custody

Abstract

A child'S need for safety should trump any and all other considerations in family law. Child-service agencies cannot be expected to both promote reunification and child protection simultaneously. The author asserts that legislatures need to change the laws such that it is clear to the court that children come first and that safety is paramount. Although visitation between child and parent is considered to be a fundamental right, this right can and should be abrogated when initial evidence shows that such contact poses a risk of danger to the emotional or physical health and safety of the child. A new and specially trained court dealing only with issues of family violence and abuse may need to be considered.     

Characteristics of the Female Athlete Triad in Collegiate Cross-Country Runners

The Female Athlete Triad is a life-threatening syndrome defined by disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. Objective and Participants: The author's purpose in this study was to examine female cross-country runners' (N = 300) calcium consumption, along with the prevalence of 2 components of the triad: disordered eating and menstrual dysfunction. Methods: The author used measures including the Orientation to Exercise Questionnaire, Calcium Rapid Assessment Method, and questions related to height, weight, exercise time, perceptions of eating disorders, and menstrual status. Previous or current eating disorders were reported by 19.4% of the women, 23.0% had irregular menstrual cycles, and 29.1% had inadequate calcium intake. Results: Those athletes perceiving a previous/current eating disorder scored higher on the Orientation to Exercise questionnaire than did those who did not perceive such. Conclusion: The author recommends educational efforts for the prevention of components of the Female Athlete Triad.     

The Investigation Component in Forensic Mental Health Evaluations

Abstract

Part of the data gathering and analysis in any parenting time evaluation involves investigation into sources of information that provide a factual basis for measuring key factors. However, this investigative function of the child custody evaluator has not been systematically described. In this article, investigative data collection is discussed in terms of holding a discriminating and skeptical eye in reviewing sources of information. The need to conduct forensic “detective work” and factfinding is discussed. The importance of the investigative mindset for the evaluator is to increase the completeness and accuracy of measurement of key variables, which increases the validity and accuracy of predictions on child developmental outcomes for the court.     

“Funny Face”: Shareware for Child Counseling and Play Therapy

SUMMARY

“Funny Face,” an off-the-shelf children's computer game, is used in play therapy and counseling with preschool and latency age children by the author/designer, who also serves as the therapist.     

Money in marriage

Abstract

Mrs Allonby: I dont't think we should ever be spoken about as other people's property. All men are married women's property. That is the only true definition of what married women's property really is. But we don't belong to anyone. A woman of No Importance, Oscar Wilde 1893

The author suggests that it is vital that we address money directly in our work with couples. It is an area that has been relatively neglected, both by practitioners and researchers. Everyday talk testifies to the meaning and importance that money plays in people's lives. It also conveys attitudes about the way men and women view each other and relate to one another. The psychological implications of these social attitudes for women are addressed and an agenda is suggested for further thought and research.     

Creating a Latino/Hispanic Alliance

Abstract

The author presents an overview of the significance that key cultural elements such as race, color, and language have on affecting coalition building between and among Latinos/Hispanics in the U.S. A discourse on a proposed paradigm for coalition building is also presented.