ABSTRACT
With the rising rates of divorce, trial and family courts are frequently called upon to set guidelines for custody and child visitation in these cases. Research suggests that high levels of parental conflict, diminished parental competence in child management behaviors, and decreased parental effectiveness, increase stress in children as well as predict maladjustment (Famularo, Fenton, & Kinscherff, 1993; Jaffe, Wolfe, & Wilson, 1990; McGill, Deutsch, & Zibbell, 1999). Mental health clinicians are often asked to assist the courts in making appropriate decisions. To this end, clinicians conduct assessments of the family, including administration of psychological tests; gather data about parent and child strengths and weaknesses and areas of conflict; and identify family support systems. In making recommendations, the well-being of the child or children is the priority. Clinicians seek to ensure that the child will be placed in an environment in which he or she is and feels safe in the care of the parents while preserving the positive aspects of the parent-child relationship (Garrity & Barris, 1994).
