Understanding Psychological Evaluations in Family Court

1. Understanding Psychological Evaluations in Family Court Helen T. Brantley, Ph.D. March 8, 2006

2. Who Performs a Psychological Evaluation? • Licensed Ph.D. Psychologist • Licensed Psychological Associate • Psychologist with Forensic Training

4. Therapist vs. Forensic Evaluator • Cannot be in both roles for the same person • Differences between therapist and forensic evaluator relationship • Treatment v. Evaluation (investigative) • Psychic Reality v. Objective Reality • Interview strategies • Single source v. multiple sources • Expert Witness v. Fact Witness

5. What Is the Purpose of a Psychological Evaluation? • Aid the trier of fact • Obtain psychological information in a standardized manner • Use norm referenced information • Determine mental capacity • Help determine psychopathology • Make treatment suggestions

6. In What Types of Cases Are Psychological Evaluations Used? • Parental Competency • Child Custody • Juvenile Assessments • Substance Abuse • Domestic Violence • Risk Assessments

7. What Should They Include? • Interviews • Testing relevant to the legal questions • Medical, psychiatric, legal, school records • Collateral contacts • Therapists • Guardians ad Litem • Probation Officers • Teachers • Social Workers

8. What Kinds of Tests Might Be Used? • Intelligence tests, achievement tests • Adaptive behavior tests • Parenting tests • Specialized tests for substance abuse • Specialized tests for domestic violence • Objective personality tests • Projective personality tests

9. Acceptability of Tests • Frye v. U.S. (1923)— “general acceptance” • Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993)—FRE 403, 702—standards of relevance, reliability and legal sufficiency

10. Daubert Considerations for Tests • Based on scientific methodology • Reliability • Validity • Norm referenced • Peer reviewed

11. All Tests Are Not Created Equal • Tests meeting standards Wechsler tests of intelligence (WAIS-III, WISC-IV) Minnesota Multiphasic Personaltiy Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III Rorschach • Tests not meeting standards (Bricklin Scales, PORT, PASS, ASPECT)

12. How Long Does an Evaluation Take? • Limited evaluation—2 - 4 hours • Complex evaluation—50+ hours • Completion should occur within 3 months • Complexity of the case • Complexity of psycholegal questions • Availability and cooperation of the evaluee(s) • Timely receipt of records

14. Psycholegal Questions about Parental Competency • Can the parent provide adequate stimulation? • Can the parent respond to the child’s physical and emotional needs? • Can the parent set appropriate limits and relate in a non-punitive way to the child? • Are there specific risk factors related to the parent’s functioning including mental capacity, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence?

15. More Questions About Parenting and Child Reunification • Is the parent aware of the emotional factors in a child’s return? • Can the parent support the child in negotiating the complex factors involved in reunification? • Including stability, bonding, attachment to foster parent, social needs, academic needs

16. Mental Health Questions for Parental Competency Evaluations • Does the parent have a psychiatric diagnosis? • What is the prognosis for this diagnosis? • Can the parent be successfully treated to prevent harm to and promote development of the child in the future? • If so, how? • If not, why not? • How long will successful treatment take?

17. Unanswerable Questions Regarding Parents • Did the parent commit the alleged abuse? • Does the alleged offender fit an offender profile? • Is the parent telling the truth?

18. Child Protection Cases • What therapeutic interventions can assist the child? • How seriously has the child’s psychological adjustment been affected? • What would be the psychological effect on the child, if returned to the parents? • What would be the psychological effect on the child, if separated from the parents, particularly with termination?

19. Other Child Questions • What are the developmental needs of the child? • If the child has special needs, what do they require for management by parents and professionals? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the child? • What is the attachment of the child to the parents?

20. Limitations of Answers • Apply ONLY to the child examined • The younger the child, the more difficult it is to answer any questions • Access to records including DSS records, medical records, and school records

21. Unanswerable Questions About the Child • What are the characteristics of the abused child? • What are the characteristics of the neglected child? • Is the child telling the truth?

22. Questions for Custody Evaluators • Best interests of the child • Needs of the child • Strength of sibling relationships • Strengths and weaknesses of each parent • Coparenting relationship

24. Special Issues in Custody Evaluations • Substance Abuse • Domestic Violence • Allegations of Abuse • Parent Alienation • Relocation • Mental Illness • Physical Illness

25. Substance Abuse Assessment • How long have they been substance free? • Are they engaged in ongoing treatment? • Do they acknowledge they have a problem?

26. Domestic Violence Assessment • What is the history? • What is the chronicity, severity, recency, motivation? • Have they complied with treatment?

27. Risk Assessment of Juvenile Dangerousness • History-chronicity, frequency, severity, context, recency • Drug and alcohol use • Social support • Violent peer groups • Family conflict and aggression

28. More Factors in Juvenile Dangerousness • Personality Traits—impulsive, angry • Mental Disorders—increases risk • Opportunity-access to weapons • Residence—community or secure facility • Resiliency

30. Diagnoses • DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders • Composed of 5 Axes • Axis I: Clinical Conditions • Axis II: Personality Disorders and Mental Retardation

31. Diagnoses (continued) • Axis III: Medical Conditions • Axis IV: Psychosocial and Environmental Stressors • Axis V: Global Assessment of Functioning

32. What information is conveyed with a diagnosis? • Severity of the problem • Possibility of remediation • Consideration of kinds of treatment • Possibility of deterioration or relapse • What is the current level of functioning • Frequency in the population • Not indisputable and not always helpful

33. What Information Is Not Conveyed With a Diagnosis? • Rarely explains a given behavior • May or may not be related to functioning in a specific role • Functioning may vary across time, despite the diagnosis • May be debatable • Not always helpful

34. Should The “Ultimate Question” Be Addressed? • Concerns of Addressing the Question • The Judge’s Decision • Lack of access to information in the legal files • Lack of understanding of legal issues • Concerns of Not Addressing the Question • Miss the benefit of the expert’s thinking • May not understand what evaluator thought most important

35. What to Include in the Court Order • Name(s) of person to be assessed • Who is to pay • What are the questions to be addressed • Who receives the report • The files are protected except by court order

36. What Should BeIn A Report? • Court order and identifying data • Psycholegal questions • Answers to the psycholegal questions • Additional recommendations • Interview material • Tests results • Sources of information (interviews, tests, records, contacts)