Shrink Rap: Custody

26 Jun Shrink Rap: Custody

Dr. Susannah Smith

Divorce and custody issues are traumatic events, second only to death of a loved one. Nothing is more important to most parents than the welfare, safety, and nourishment of their children. Divorce, especially when young children are involved, shakes our reality and foundation. We deal with loss, threat, rejection, abandonment, complex logistics, and financial issues. Children suffer from the stress and emotional fears as well.

Many divorce issues concerning children are complex. Sometimes, children adjust very well; sometimes they are negatively impacted for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, excellent research now exists to help make decisions that are in the best interests of the children. When parents become aware of the research, they can make better decisions for themselves and for their children. In fact, I wrote this article to help parents understand what research, resources, and interventions are available, and how important it is to know and work with people who are aware of the current innovations and information in the field.

Each year, the amount that we know in the field advances in areas such as custody evaluations including international custody situations; how to assess and improve parenting skills and parent-child relationships; relocation issues concerning children, special issues regarding very young children; testing, and evaluation tools that may or may not translate into information regarding quality parenting; alienation, gate keeping, and social capital concepts regarding parenting; the latest research on attachment theory; domestic violence, substance abuse and other high risk assessment issues; the history of the parental alienation theory and lack of specific research; new information regarding attachment theory; and practicum models for parenting and custody evaluations, mediation, and interventions.

While impossible to cover in one article, it is important for all of us to know that we have new, useful information in all of these areas. Interventions have been designed for families with ongoing issues, such as CFI (Child Family Investigator), appointed by Court to investigate a specific issue and report to the Court; PRE (Parent Responsibility Evaluator), Colorado’s custody evaluation, also appointed by Court, but covering all issues relevant to the case; Mediation; GAL (Guardian ad Litems), or legal representatives for children; and PC or PC/DM (Parenting Coordinator/Decision Maker). In long-range broad studies, the new PC or PC/DM role has effectively kept over 80% of difficult cases from having to go back to court. Without these types of interventions, families must repeatedly go back to court on each disputed issue, which is cumbersome, expensive, stressful, and limited.

I have been attending conferences through AFCC (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts) for more than 30 years, and have been following the research for over 40 years. While divorce is very stressful for families, we are continually seeking ways to provide effective interventions that alleviate some of the stress.

Editor’s note: Dr. Susannah Smith serves as a mediator, Parenting Coordinator/Decision Maker (PC; PC/DM), Child Family Investigator (CFI), and Parenting Responsibility Evaluator (PRE). She takes cases from Durango to Glenwood Springs and has a private practice in Telluride and Ridgway, treating children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families, and including using horses with therapy in Ridgway.  

For more information, call 970-728-5234, or email shas14@gmail.com.