1. HIGH CONFLICT divorce proceedings
how mental health professionals can best assist the court
while maintaining ethical standards of practice
March ?, 2019
Presented by: Kenneth Cole, PsyD, Michael Whitehead, PhD,
Sara Ellingson, MSW, & Amy Riech, MSW

2. Introduction Purpose:
To build effective relationships between mental health professionals and legal professionals to minimize trauma to children and families involved in divorce proceedings.

3. High Conflict Divorces
Subsets of divorce proceedings:
10% of divorcing families are unable to design and settle their own parenting agreements and instead go to court to resolve their differences.
Even following mediated settlements one quarter to one third of divorcing couples experience sufficient hostility and discord about their parenting plan that they resort to the adversarial process to settle their differences.
A subset of these couples resort to legal maneuvers, court hearings, delayed negotiation, and eventual trial to resolve the parenting arrangement.
Despite many legislative and judicial efforts to improve the family environment, most parents who pursue litigation in the Family Court system report negative experiences even years after the divorce.

4. High Conflict Divorces
One psycholegal approach does not fit all situations
Every case is unique and requires a different configuration of legal and psychological services
Different types of service are governed by different ethical standards

5. APA Code of Conduct
All licensed mental health professionals in Washington State (psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, etc.) are bound by the American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.
Standard 3: Human Relations
3.05: Multiple Relationships
Past, present, and/or future (expected) relationships

6. Relationship types Confidential Therapeutic Relationship
APA Code of Ethics 4.01 Maintaining Confidentiality
Psychologists (and licensed mental health counselors) have a primary obligation and take reasonable precautions to protect confidential information
Psychologists (and licensed mental health counselors) protect the individual therapeutic relationship and the public’s impression and confidence in the confidentiality of the therapeutic relationship
RCW : Psychologists
Privileged communication - Confidential communications between a client and a psychologist (or licensed mental health counselor) shall be privileged against compulsory disclosure to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as confidential communications between attorney and client

7. Confidential services
Therapists are ethically bound to protect the confidential therapeutic relationship and are ethically precluded from offering expert testimony (opinions or recommendations) to the court regarding their client’s custody matters.
Individual counseling
Divorce counseling
Child therapy
Coparenting counseling
Reunification counseling

8. Relationship types
Non-Confidential services are provided to the court by forensic evaluators at the direction of the court.
Forensic evaluators are licensed and specially trained forensic psychologists, social workers or other mental health professionals
Court order provides authority and protection against malpractice claims
Psychological assessment of litigant(s) – limited assessment of parenting w/o parenting recommendations
Parenting Evaluations – comprehensive family assessments

9. Ethical dilemmas
Clinicians in confidential therapeutic relationships are often asked to:
Provide protected information
Offer opinions regarding family matters
Make recommendations regarding visitation schedules and supervised visits
Offer risk assessments
Diagnose, offer opinions and make recommendations regarding family members they have never met

10. Counseling services to children of divorce
Any one of the divorce processes may traumatize the child and they may need their own supportive therapist outside of the therapeutic services being provided to parents
The only role of clinicians is the emotional support of the child; not to bolster support for either parent’s legal aims
Any matters of concern (abuse, neglect or exploitation) revealed to the therapist are mandatorily reported to the proper authorities

11. Attorney Subpoenas Clinician’s responses to subpoenas
An area of inadequate general clinical training
Clinician’s right to informed consent
Attorney generated subpoenas lack authority of the Court

12. Court orders
Clinician’s need to receive and review court orders before agreeing to providing services
Clinician’s responses to court orders
Service provision dependent on clinician’s agreement

13. Examples of court orders and stipulations
Records requests
Court-ordered services
Reunification counseling
Coparenting counseling
Psychological evaluation
Parenting evaluation

14. Contents of court order
Purpose:
Identify the nature and purpose of the appointment and outline issues to be addressed
Determines financial logistics of the services being provided
Parenting Evaluations
Establishes that the clinician is permitted to contact professionals and collaterals who have knowledge of the family, if applicable
Specifies when the evaluation and the final report are due

15. Q & A