A Comprehensive Guide to Child Custody Evaluations: Mental Health and Legal Perspectives

General Considerations.- The Search for Truth: Science and Pseudoscience in Child Custody Evaluations.- Roles and Ethical Issues in Custody Disputes.- Models and Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations.- Standards for Resolution of Custody Disputes.- General Legal and Professional Issues.- Communication Among Professionals.- The "Ultimate Issue" - Recommendations.- Social Science Research and Parenting Plans.- Developmental Needs of Children and Families.- Managing Parent/Child Contact in High-Conflict and Abusive Families.- Parenting Plans and~Interventions.- Ordering, Conducting, And Reviewing Evaluations.- Uses and Limitations of Psychological Tests.- Starting the Evaluation.- Collecting Information.- Writing the Report.- Reviewing Custody Evaluations.- Special Issues in Evaluating Children and Families.- Diversity in Family Structures.- Relocation.- Estrangement and Alienation.- Abduction and Parental Kidnapping.- Children with Disabilities.- Mental Illness in Parents.- Substance Abuse.- Domestic Violence.- Child Abuse and Neglect.- Child Sexual Abuse.

Joanna Bunker Rohrbaugh, Ph.D. is a trauma specialist who has been on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School for over twenty years, and is a clinical supervisor for the Victims of Violence and other outpatient programs at Cambridge Hospital. She holds a B.A. from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Personality and Developmental Psychology from Harvard University. Dr. Rohrbaugh has a private forensic psychology practice in Cambridge, MA, where she does child custody evaluations, parenting/bonding evaluations, and forensic consultation, and also serves as a child expert and a divorce coach in collaborative law cases.

Dr. Rohrbaugh is a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) and a former board member of the Massachusetts Association of Guardians Ad Litem (MAGAL). Her family forensic experience includes Custody and Visitation, Care and Protection, Adoption, Child Estrangement/Alienation, Domestic Violence, Sexual Orientation, Physical Abuse of Child, PTSD, Sexual Abuse of Children, Substance Abuse, Removal, and Termination of Parental Rights.

From the reviews:

"If you are involved in any aspect of child custody cases, as a lawyer, mental health professional, judge or litigant, Dr. Rohrbaugh's book contains everything that you will ever need to understand and conduct a child custody evaluation. The text is logically constructed, and encompasses both the legal and mental health aspects of this complex topic. Her crystalline writing style makes even the murkiest subject areas comprehensible. ... As a family lawyer with over 25 years of experience, I give this book the highest recommendation." -- Linda Fidnick, J.D., Past President, Massachusetts Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

"A Comprehensive Guide to Child Custody Evaluations: Mental Health and Legal Perspectives is true to its title. Dr. Rohrbaugh gives us a concise and comprehensive overview of the components and issues that comprise a custody evaluation, from the beginning state of identification of the questions to be evaluated to the disposition of the report. This book will be found on the desks of an interdisciplinary group of judges, lawyers, mental health professionals and court personnel." -- Robin M. Deutsch, Ph.D., Director of Forensic Services, Children and the Law Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital

"Dr. Rohrbaugh has integrated a great deal of scientific, clinical, and legal information to produce a book that has depth and breadth, and is a 'good read' to boot." -- Robert Zibbell, Ph.D., Forensic Psychologist, Founder, Massachusetts Association of Guardians Ad Litem

"Throughout this careful and comprehensive consideration of child custody evaluations, Dr. Rohrbaugh's priority is to provide the forensic evaluator with a user friendly methodology that incorporates thorough, clinical, observational, and collateral data collection that can guide professionals and families during a highly emotional and difficult transition in family life." -- Sharon Gordetsky, Ph.D., Past