This is the first comprehensive examination of the increasingly important role of forensic psychologists in consulting and expert witness testimony in child custody litigation. Offering practical advice on understanding the psychological dynamics often found in these cases, the authors use real-world examples where critical issues such as the developmental need of children, relocation, domestic violence, and the alienated child are involved. They detail a logical process for critiquing the evaluation reports of others and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of a case.

It addresses test selection issues, provides insightful discussions of how to confront confirmatory biases and avoid the distortion of test findings, and takes an in-depth look at the MMPI-2 and Rorschach tests. Psychological Testing in Child Custody Evaluations concludes with a point-counterpoint discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the Ackerman-Schoendorf Scales for Parent Evaluation of Custody (ASPECT) between creator Marc J.

Whether assessing general family functioning or specific areas of conflict, professionals preparing child custody evaluations require sound knowledge of three interrelated fields: up-to-date legal issues, psychological findings, and forensic procedures. This book covers these three essential areas to walk readers through the evaluation process clearly and concisely. It further provides a unique combination of legal guidelines with social science research.

Seasoned family law attorneys are acutely aware of the enormous impact that forensic custody evaluations can have on the lives of their clients. However, not every client has the financial resources to hire a forensic consultant when a custody report has to be analyzed in advance of trial to determine if it should be considered an adequately reliable or a flawed assessment. That?s where Evaluating Evaluations: An Attorney's Handbook for Analyzing Child Custody Reports can make all the difference for attorneys representing parents or children. While there are many worthy tomes on the market that discuss custody evaluations, what makes Dr. Jeffrey Wittmann?s Evaluating Evaluations unique is that it takes up where the others leave off! It provides a comprehensive and detailed step-by-step system that attorneys can apply to custody reports to discern both their strengths and weakness. Dr. Wittmann presents his Custody Assessment Analysis System (CAAS) in an easily understood and readily applied format that the attorney can put to work immediately in his or her practice. He essentially leads the reader through a process for parsing reports developed over his years of functioning as a trial consultant that is rooted in the forensic and clinical judgment literature and that provides detailed annotations for each of the model?s main components. When used side-by-side with the companion Custody Assessment Analysis System Workbook what was once a daunting venture into a morass of psycho-jargon becomes a clear roadmap to astute analysis and, ultimately, to persuasive courtroom presentation.

"Your divorce doesn't have to damage your children..., " Stahl assures, " ... especially if you limit your children's exposure to your conflicts." He knows parents are not perfect, and he uses that knowledge to show imperfect parents how to settle their differences in the best interests of the children. This revised and updated second edition features ideas from the latest research, more information on long-distance parenting, dealing with the courts, and working with a difficult co-parent. A realistic perspective on divorce and its effects on children, Parenting After Divorce features knowledgeable advice from an expert custody evaluator. Packed with real-world examples, this book avoids idealistic assumptions, and offers practical help for divorcing parents, custody evaluators, family court counselors, marriage and family therapists and others interested in the best interests of the children.

Covering the mental health expert′s many roles as therapist, mediator, evaluator, consultant to attorneys, expert witness, and more, Philip M. Stahl′s Conducting Child Custody Evaluations: From Basic to Complex Issues addresses key topics such as the best interests of the child, custody and time share, divorce and its impact on children, and children′s developmental needs. From tackling the terror of testifying to critiquing your own child custody evaluations and avoiding bias inherent in this work, this practical and easy-to-read book offers comprehensive coverage vital to practitioners in this field.

"How to evaluate and present an effective case in family court"--