ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 introduces an interdisciplinary framework to approach both family law decision-making and court reform in family law. The chapter details the ecology of human development from the social sciences and therapeutic jurisprudence from the law. The ecology of human development asserts that individual and family functioning is enhanced by considering and connecting a series of relational contexts ranging from the microsystem of the individual family members to the macrosystem of the culture in which the family functions. Therapeutic jurisprudence is a field of inquiry that examines the effects of legal rules and procedures and the behavior of legal actors on litigants. The aim of therapeutic jurisprudence is ultimately to improve the lives of those whom the law impacts. These two theoretical constructs have a synergistic effect and must apply to fashion family court reform so that courts are able to care for the families and children who use them.
