Criminal Psychology

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Criminal Psychology

• Chapter 9
• Child Custody and Related Decisions
• Talbot
• Kellogg Community College

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Child Custody A thankless job.

• Why?
• It is my least favorite area. Dr. Lenore Walker
• Children
• Embryos
• High profile, high emotion cases.

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The Roles of a Psychologist

• Marriage Counselor
• Mediator
• Child Therapist
• Court Appointed Evaluator
• Expert Witness
• Applied Researcher

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Marriage Counselor

• Definition Marriage counseling is a type of
  ______________ for a married couple or
  established partners that tries to
  _________________________. Typically, two people
  attend counseling sessions together to discuss
  specific issues.
• Goals

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Marriages

• Successful Types
• Unsuccessful Types
• Biggest Difference?

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Marriage Counselor

• Definition Marriage counseling is a type of
  psychotherapy for a married couple or established
  partners that tries to resolve problems in the
  relationship. Typically, two people attend
  counseling sessions together to discuss specific
  issues.
• Goals
• Concerns
• Dual Relationships

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Mediator

• Mediation An alternative to litigation
• Definition Mediation is __________________,
  whose object is the __________ resolution of a
  dispute on terms that the parties themselves
  ______________. It is a form of alternative
  dispute resolution in which a ____________________
  selected by the parties seeks to determine the
  interests of the parties, discover which of these
  interests may be shared, and alert them to a
  resolution that may further those interests.
• Benefits of Mediation
• Goal
• Problems?

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Child Therapist

• Divorce as a traumatic event.
• Expectations following a divorce
• Problems?

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Court Appointed Evaluator

• 2 prong responsibility
• Rarely utilized for this purpose
• Why?

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Evaluation

• The psychologist must approach this task,
  unburdened by any particular point of view or
  preset conclusions.
• What can interfere with this charge?
• Characteristics

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Recommendations

• Legal custody the right to make legal decisions
  for the child.
• Physical custody where the child resides on a
  day-to-day basis.
• Sole custody v. Joint or Shared custody.
• Divided custody

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Expert Witness

• Stepping into the Lions Den.
• Problems of being hired by one side or the other.
• Problems with being court appointed evaluator.
• The nature of the issues (i.e. custody) being
  evaluated.
• Custody Consideration

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Other areas of contention or debate

1. Custody for a mixed race couple.
2. Custody for children of parents with physical or
   mental health problems.
3. Custody issues involving parents who have
   alternate sexual orientations.
4. Custody issues concerning conflicts between the
   requests of the child and the recommendations of
   professionals.
5. The presence of criminal records.
6. The consideration of cultural and religious
   beliefs.
7. The use of psychological tests and measures (MMPI
   2)
8. Parenting satisfaction scale
9. Parenting stress index
10. Parent child relationship index
11. WAIS

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Ethical Issues and Temptations

• Recognizing limits and biases
• Avoiding dual relationships
• Informed consent
• Confidentiality
• Custody Evaluation v. Psychological Evaluation

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Applied Researcher

1. Address or answer questions posed by the triers
   of fact which concern issues of psychology and
   human behavior.
2. Comment on available research as it pertains to
   the courts questions without application to the
   current case.

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What do the clients want?

• The children
• The family fixed.
• What do they get?
• The parents
• To win.
• What do they get?
• The judge
• An understanding of the situation or specific
  psychological considerations and principles.