APA child custody evaluation guidelines applied to a family law case

¶ … American Psychological Association's Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Family Law Proceedings to the presented case study dealing with a family of five experiencing a turbulent time within the relationship.

The guidelines presented in this article are divided into three separate areas: Orientating Guidelines, General Guidelines and Procedural Guidelines. This essay will take an example from each one of these sections to help describe three important issues that are present within the case study in question.

The first and most glaring issues in this case study is the fundamental disagreement of the father being able to see his children. It appears that he really wants to be part of their lives but the mother is strictly forbidding this action. This is a very disruptive and troublesome problem. The first guideline under orientating principles suggested that "The purpose of the evaluation is to assist in determining the psychological best interests of the child." A forensic psychologist has enough evidence in this particular example to go ahead and do any forensic work that may be needed under this guideline in the children's best interests. It appears that some sort of resolution must be developed from outside sources and it is imperative that a solid psychological analysis of the situation is completed.

Guideline # 6 is presented as " Psychologists strive to engage in culturally informed, nondiscriminatory evaluation practices." This is guideline can help in sorting out the custody issues related to the eldest daughter's unknown father. In society, the stigma attached to these situations are very strong and it is important that forensic psychologists, as trained, informed and non-biased participants, treat these custody challenges with balance and understanding and incorporating empirical evidence that can assist in making the best decision for the family as a whole unit.