Transcript Understanding Psychological Evaluations in Family Court

Understanding Psychological
Evaluations in Family Court
Helen T. Brantley, Ph.D.
March 8, 2006
Who Performs a Psychological
Evaluation?
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Licensed Ph.D. Psychologist
Licensed Psychological Associate
Psychologist with Forensic Training
Therapist vs. Forensic Evaluator
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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
What Is the Purpose of a
Psychological Evaluation?
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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
In What Types of Cases Are
Psychological Evaluations Used?
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Parental Competency
Child Custody
Juvenile Assessments
Substance Abuse
Domestic Violence
Risk Assessments
What Should They Include?
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Interviews
Testing relevant to the legal questions
Medical, psychiatric, legal, school
records
Collateral contacts
– Therapists
– Guardians ad Litem
– Probation Officers
– Teachers
– Social Workers
What Kinds of Tests Might Be
Used?
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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
Acceptability of Tests
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Frye v. U.S. (1923)— “general
acceptance”
Daubert v. Merrell Dow
Pharmaceuticals (1993)—FRE 403,
702—standards of relevance, reliability
and legal sufficiency
Daubert Considerations for
Tests
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Based on scientific
methodology
Reliability
Validity
Norm referenced
Peer reviewed
All Tests Are Not Created Equal
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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)
How Long Does an
Evaluation Take?
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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
Psycholegal Questions about
Parental Competency
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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?
More Questions About Parenting
and Child Reunification
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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
Mental Health Questions for
Parental Competency Evaluations
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Does the parent have a psychiatric diagnosis?
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What is the prognosis for this diagnosis?
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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?
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How long will successful treatment take?
Unanswerable Questions
Regarding Parents
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Did the parent commit the alleged
abuse?
Does the alleged offender fit an
offender profile?
Is the parent telling the truth?
Child Protection Cases
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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?
Other Child Questions
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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?
Limitations of Answers
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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
Unanswerable Questions
About the Child
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What are the characteristics of the
abused child?
What are the characteristics of the
neglected child?
Is the child telling the truth?
Questions for Custody
Evaluators
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Best interests of the child
Needs of the child
Strength of sibling relationships
Strengths and weaknesses of each
parent
Coparenting relationship
Special Issues in Custody
Evaluations
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Substance Abuse
Domestic Violence
Allegations of Abuse
Parent Alienation
Relocation
Mental Illness
Physical Illness
Substance Abuse Assessment
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How long have they been substance
free?
Are they engaged in ongoing
treatment?
Do they acknowledge they have a
problem?
Domestic Violence
Assessment
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What is the history?
What is the chronicity, severity,
recency, motivation?
Have they complied with treatment?
Risk Assessment of Juvenile
Dangerousness
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History-chronicity, frequency, severity,
context, recency
Drug and alcohol use
Social support
Violent peer groups
Family conflict and aggression
More Factors in Juvenile
Dangerousness
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Personality Traits—impulsive, angry
Mental Disorders—increases risk
Opportunity-access to weapons
Residence—community or secure
facility
Resiliency
Diagnoses
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DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders
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Composed of 5 Axes
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Axis I: Clinical Conditions
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Axis II: Personality Disorders and Mental
Retardation
Diagnoses (continued)
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Axis III: Medical Conditions
Axis IV: Psychosocial and Environmental
Stressors
Axis V: Global Assessment of Functioning
What information is
conveyed with a diagnosis?
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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
What Information Is Not
Conveyed With a Diagnosis?
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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
Should The “Ultimate
Question” Be Addressed?
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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
What to Include in the Court
Order
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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
What Should Be
In A Report?
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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)