The Co-Parenting Solutions Treatment Program is a collaborative treatment model using  Multi Modal Family Intervention (MMFI). It is a therapeutic model that is research supported for working with families in which parental alienation is present. We use this model for all of our co-parenting interventions and scale it to a family’s unique needs. MMFI is not typical therapy because it incorporates education, consultation between multiple therapists, and coordination outside sessions.

Our program offers strategies that address varying degrees of co-parenting severity ranging from parenting skills and communication and improvement for parents, coping mechanisms for children, all the way to issues associated with estrangement and parental alienation. Sessions and contact are intended to be frequent, with objectives reached within a few months.

Treatment is available in Westport and Darien. For a full description of the program, download the brochure here.

UPDATED: In-Services & Consultations Available For Your School

Forensic risk assessment and risk management procedures.

How to set up a school threat assessment team.

Create policy, procedures, and guidelines for decision making for threats.

Student Re-Integration after acts of violence.

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Join me and Connecticut’s Educators for a half-day workshop this Thursday, March 31, 2011, for a presentation and discussion on School Safety Solutions/ Threat Assessment in Schools.

We will discuss bullying, cyber-stalking, and school threat assessment among many other issues our school communities face.

Registration information is here: http://www.conncase.org/

Sadly, even in the past few days, a local student You Tube video shows us how devastating this problem can be. Consider taking actionable steps now to be part of the solution that can curb these experiences for today’s youngsters.

The words “Time Sharing” became legislature in Florida for rulings on child custody decisions. This is a sharp change from traditional language of primary custody, primary physical custody and other derivations of child-splitting.

Florida law also has 20 factors that are considered for determining time-sharing by the parents such as “the flexibility of each parent to put the child’s needs before theirs”. Many of these factors fall under co-parenting, which often gets pushed to the side to be “figured out” after the divorce, even if a tight schedule is in place.

Some professionals agree that motivating and helping divorce litigants to be better co-parents throughout the divorce process can be beneficial and I have seen many instances where it has spared a child a lot of psychological distress. One of the most difficult aspects in co-parenting, is getting started while there is so much tension and disagreement. Working with a mediator, a therapist, or forensic psychologist who is knowledgeable and skilled at sifting through conflict to provide solutions that are child-focused can be of great value. Consider taking the first step.

In a recent custody matter in South Dakota the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled that a grandparent could be awarded custody of child prior to proving the parents are unfit. A legal blog review of the case is here.

This is breaking news since it may bypass the parental fitness issue, and ultimately allow a Judge to rule that it would be better for a child to be raised in the home of a grandparent because of abandonment, neglect, or special circumstances. One of the specific issues in this case is a substance abuse allegation against the parents. Will a drug-test or a drug arrest serve as adequate burden of proof to award custody?

In Connecticut, many dependency cases and guardianship matters with issues like these result in an Order For Psychological Evaluation. A major component of the evaluation is assessing parental fitness through a very comprehensive evaluation procedure. This will be one of the key factors to observe. With the Judge order a psychological evaluation of the parents to assess parental fitness? On what facts will the Court making a custody ruling for or against the grandparents?

To read another legal point of view on CT grandparents rights, check out this Blog Post.

What could have been done?

This is the question that will plague everyone in the aftermath of this school violence tragedy. Many of the news articles covering the Omaha School Shooting are printing quotes “I don’t know what would possess him to do that”.

Although the facts will unfold over time, at-risk students for school violence continue to be a group that is not well defined. Even more difficult is knowing how to have conversations with children who are “of concern” or how to screen children who do not show any obvious warnings signs.

Solutions:

What can be accomplished by schools can best come from a multidisciplinary approach that includes school administration, a forensic psychologist, and law enforcement support. This approach can structure a method for school administration and faculty to identify and refer children of concern for either mental health screening assessments or forensic evaluations to formally assess risk. Prevention is also key. Providing education to the entire student body how to look out for one another and promote safety as a form of social responsibility is critical to make an impact.

This month a school Threat Assessment Conference hosted by Conncase in Connecticut will feature  intervention strategies for schools, and team approaches for promoting safe schools by effectively assessing threats.

The opening session at AFCC last night was nothing less than a world class panel of experts discussing the pro’s and con’s of including Parental Alienation Disorder in DSM-V. Panelists included William Bernet, MD, Amy J. L. Baker Ph.D., Peter Jaffe, Ph.D., and Janet Johnston, Ph.D. and moderator Linda Elrod, JD.

Although there continues to be disagreement about the inclusion of Parental Alienation in the DSM, there is consensus about the clinical conceptualization. Simply put, no one refutes that parental alienation exists, that it is a form of psychological abuse, and that it can cause severe harm to children.

A few chief concerns expressed pertain to the need for more evidence-based studies, more training about parental alienation of mental health professionals, judicial professionals, and the public, and protecting the diagnosis of this disorder from being used as a weapon in court.

Clearly, this session was an important professional dialogue and historical moment for both the panelists and attendees as we continue to advance our work collectively and collaboratively in family law.

The 47th Annual AFCC conference begins tomorrow in Denver, Colorado and promises to pave the path with new research, scholarly discussion, and presentation on parental alienation. With 80 workshops and additional presentations it is the most intense training on child custody matters available in a continuing education environment which is international and multidisciplinary. New posts will be forthcoming throughout the conference.

Last Friday I attended the Massachusetts AFCC annual conference:

“The Compromised Parent: When Good Enough Isn’t” featuring keynote speaker Terry Ostler, Ph.D.:

The highlights of the conference featured discussion of the complex issues associated with cases involving a parent with a serious psychiatric illness or substance abuse disorder. As I have pointed out to parents, attorneys, as well as having testified in court, one of the most important issues pertains to the parents insight about the psychological problems.

Insight means recognizing there is a problem, the problem can be treated through therapy, medication, or both, and being consistently engaged in treatment is critical for predictable parenting. The fact that personality disordered individuals pose some of the greatest challenges was a recurring theme from prior conferences.

Drug-testing news also came from Jason Allen, a Toxicologist who reported there are new forensic hair test practices for assessing alcohol and synthetic opiates (Oxycontin, Percocet, etc.) For alcohol, EtG [Ethyl Glucoronide] Testing is a valid means of assessing same day alcohol consumption all the way up to 90 days. Breathalyzers will eventually be shelved. Expanded 5 and 10 panel opiate testing captures all classes of synthetic opiates. These new methods of drug testing are being added to my practice immediately.