Expert psychology in cases of withdrawal of custody of children

This is how the expert psychology applied to cases of withdrawal of custody of children works.

Divorces and separations are especially hard not only for the couple, but also for the children. In the course of these breakups, minor children will have to decide with which parent they want to spend more time, and sometimes, the situation forces them to make this choice in the context of a judicial process. But not all variables have to do with the personal decisions of the children.

Although not all separations end in conflict, on more than one occasion it happens that the breakup is not amicable and this makes the decision of who has custody of the child involve resorting to lawyers and courts.

The expert psychology takes on special importance in the phenomenon of the withdrawal of custody, being by means of this branch of psychology that evaluates the suitability of a parent for single-parent or joint custody.. Let's see its importance and what aspects are taken into account during the processes of child custody decision.

Forensic psychology in cases of withdrawal of custody

The processes of divorce or separation are a consequence of the deterioration in the relationship of two spouses who, after not finding a solution to the relationship, choose to end it by resorting to the legal rupture. This process not only affects the couple's relationship, but also the children in common in case there are any..

In fact, the impact of separation or divorce falls directly on them as well, becoming a subject of disputes because there is often a clash of interests over who gets custody of the two parents.

The divorce of the parents means that their children have to adapt to a new environment, new homes and even see how the parenting style of the parents changes due to the stress caused by the process and the oversaturation of having to raise the children separately, since the efforts are duplicated. The family nucleus changes, which is emotionally upsetting for everyone involved.

On many occasions, the breakup of the parents is not amicable, starting a hard and stressful judicial process in which it has to be decided which parent is the most convenient to have custody of the children, either in single-parent custody or shared custody. The expert psychology in cases of withdrawal of custody is key in the resolution and decision of which is the best the resolution and decision of which parent should have custody of the child and, in the event of losing custody, which parent should have custody of the child. and, in case of having lost it, to recover it later.

The expert report

When parents do not reach an agreement on custody, they often turn to forensic and expert psychologists, both directly and through their lawyers, to understand what elements can make them win the custody trial, or what expert evidence can be provided.

It also happens that, after the conclusions of a psychosocial report made to both parents have been made known, a sole custody regime has been assigned, that is to say, custody is assigned to only one parent. The parent who disagrees with this decision, who is usually the non-custodial parent, has as evidence against this decision a report specifying that he or she does not meet the necessary requirements to have his or her child.For this reason the custody has been withdrawn.

Faced with the withdrawal of custody, the non-custodial parent is in the need to file a modification of measures, being able to be his ally (or enemy too) the psychological expert report in the course of a divorce or separation, requested by a judge or by the lawyer of the parent concerned. This expert report evaluates the possibility of joint custody, parental suitability or even an evaluation of the children to find some evidence to show that the non-custodial parent should have some degree of custody or not.

Psychological expert reports in cases of withdrawal of custody are of great help, since regardless of whether they are useful to the parent who disagrees with the court's decision to regain custody or not, these reports are useful to examine the family context and to identify the family context in which the children are living. serve to examine the family context and identify the most appropriate measures to be taken by the court in charge of the separation or divorce case..

Reports of this type can also be done with minors. In divorce and separation proceedings, child psychological expert reports can be provided if deemed necessary and, in addition, it should be noted that the authorization of both parents is not required, regardless of the custody regime they have. However, they should be informed that the child will be evaluated by a child psychologist, they should be informed that their child will be assessedAs specified in Article 42 of the Psychologist's Code of Ethics:

"When such evaluation or intervention has been requested by another person - judges, teaching professionals, parents, employers, or any other applicant other than the subject being evaluated - the latter or his or her parents or guardians shall have the right to be informed of the fact of the evaluation or intervention and of the recipient of the resulting Psychological Report."

Key aspects evaluated in cases of withdrawal of custody.

Sometimes, conflicts between parents precipitate legal proceedings in which usually only one parent can be assessed.

In these cases what is usually done is a report of parental competence or parental suitability, whose objective is to determine the presence or not of any problem or dysfunction on the part of the parent being evaluated that may affect the proper care and development of the child for whom he/she shows interest in acquiring custody, analyzing also his/her capacity to exercise maternal or paternal capacities.

It is also through these tests that we try to discard if the evaluated individual is trying to show the expert psychologist a distorted image of himself, assessing if he is trying to simulate and dissimulate personality characteristics, trying to give a positive image of himself instead of being honest and truthful.

In other words, parental suitability reports show the parental abilities of the parent being evaluated, using empirical tests to establish whether or not he or she is a good parent.

In order to carry them out, it is necessary to have previously carried out a thorough and extensive investigation and evaluation of the parent and/or child involved.:

• Interviews with both the parent and the child (both are expert witnesses).
• Interviews with extended family members if necessary.
• Application of empirical psychological evaluation tests.
• Exhaustive analysis of all the information provided.

Once the psychological expert report is done, it will give key information that will help the court to make the most appropriate decision, always thinking and prioritizing the best interest of the minor (ISM). The report in question will state the psychological state of the parent and, based on how far or close to what is considered to be the characteristics and behavioral style of a good parent, whether or not the parent will be given custody of the child, either as a single parent or as a joint parent..

This report looks at whether the parent being evaluated has the following strengths:

• Managing their emotions and having developed self-care skills.
• Ability to direct and control the children's learning.
• Ability to establish discipline guidelines in the form of rules and habits to prepare their children for life in society.
• Knowledge to enhance their children's ability to have good nutrition, hygiene and safety.
• Caring for and protecting their children from any environmental risks.
• Communicate effectively: show assertiveness, use of sense of humor, empathy....

Other aspects evaluated are:

• Presence of psychopathology that prevents adequate care of the children.
• Degree of adaptation to different vital environments as well as adjustment after separation/divorce.
• Parenting style or parenting skills of the person being evaluated.

In other words, during the preparation and presentation of the report, the existence or absence of dysfunctions in the parent is examined and the type of profile that this individual presents as a caregiver is established. The presence or absence of protective factors that are positive in the custody and guardianship is also analyzed.The court is informed about the functionality of the family nucleus.

When it has not been possible to make an expert report on the psychological state of the parent who wants to see if he or she is suitable to have custody of his or her child, other ways are used to see his or her suitability as a parent. Here the focus is on their level of income, work schedule compatible with the children's schedule, proximity or remoteness to the other parent's home, evidence that they have shown interest in their children (organization of birthdays, attendance at school meetings, AMPA, excursions...).

Child psychological expertise: psychological assessment of the child

As we have already mentioned, an expert psychological assessment of the minors involved in a separation case can also be carried out. When this assessment is carried out, the following procedure is followed:

• The psychopathological examination is reported.
• The child's personality patterns are analyzed.
• The child's pre- and post-parental breakup adaptation is evaluated.

In addition to these points just mentioned, the same will be done with any other factor that may be related to the objective of the report, in the case in which only the child is seen and not the parent.

It is also the task of expert psychology applied in custody cases to be able to propose to the court a series of recommendations that are considered interesting or necessary. recommendations that are considered interesting or necessary to improve the adaptation and emotional well-being of any of the examinees..

These recommendations are, as a general rule, of therapeutic type, recommending to go to a psychologist specialist in the mental disorder that has been observed in the parent or minor in case there is one or some type of therapy of anger management if there were problems of control of this emotion.

• Related article, "Parental divorce, how does it affect children?"

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