This child is mine! The battle cry for custody.

Abstract

In Canada and the United States there are over one million divorces annually involving at least that number of children. Divorce frequently involves matters of access and custody. Lawyers acting on behalf of their clients may request psychiatric consultation as to the emotional stability of the client. In custody cases, the child or children may be evaluated by a child psychiatrist. In a divorce action between two adults, it may be valid for the psychiatrist to see one party to the dispute and offer a psychiatric opinion. In custody matters, a psychiatrist must see both parties to the dispute as well as the children. If only one parent is seen it is almost impossible to offer expert testimony. Divorce proceedings result from marital incompatibility. The deficits attributed to each spouse in the marital relationship do not necessarily bear upon the ability to be a parent. Yet in custody contests, frequently the two qualities of suitability for marriage and suitability for parenting are confused. When a child psychiatrist is involved, he or she is asked to comment not only on the emotional stability or problems of the child but also on the fitness of the parents. If each parent has a child psychiatrist involved in the evaluation, the adversary position is fortified and the possibilities for compromise are jeopardized. Since the children are invariably traumatized, guilt-ridden and insecure, it is important that the child psychiatrist attempts to minimize the vindictiveness and anger which are inherent in some custody disputes. By acting in the child's interests, and guiding the lawyers to allow one child psychiatrist to perform the total evaluation, some loosening of an adversarial stance is likely, and new possibilities for negotiation and compromise are created. The structuring of such an evaluation must be completed before any member of the family is seen. A case illustration is provided to point out the nature of the requests made of the lawyers and techniques used in negotiations. The child psychiatrist, in remaining child-focused, is in a unique position to avoid representing one side to the conflict and to provide the court with an evaluation which will aid the judge to make an informed decision.