These references are for an article appearing in the Family Law News of the California Lawyers Association, September 2018. It is not an exhaustive list. The article generally reviews the strengths and weaknesses of psychological test usage in family law evaluations. It cannot be reprinted in this blog because it is under copyright. A brief description of the relevance of each reference is included. MMPI-2 Ruth A. Baer, Underreporting of...

In the time since recent school shootings have taken place, there have been positive proposals made with the goal of decreasing the risk of violence in schools. A number of well-intended recommendations for how schools should operate attempt to afford those in schools greater protection and safety. However, some proposals and recommendations have not included enough careful thought about likely unintended negative consequences. For example, a...

There is a great deal of understandable concern about the effects of parental separation and divorce on children. Research has consistently identified that parental psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance misuse can increase the risk of harm to children, but there is a lot of confusion about it. Clarity about this serious concern has recently been provided by a recent Social Policy Report by the Society for Research on...

People are often aware that children who grow up in homes where there has been divorce have a bigger risk of facing problems in life. But what does that really mean? The best recent estimates are that there are over one and a half million children each year who experience the divorce or permanent separation of their parents. Although most of these children do not end up with significant life difficulties, an increased proportion do, compared...

It’s Gotten a Lot More Complicated: Ethics and Risk Management in the Age of Internet Communication and Information Technology For the mental health practitioner, there have always been challenges in terms of practicing effectively and ethically. In recent years, these matters are more complicated than ever. Technology has added the ability to communicate by visual access to voice across great distances, such as through Skype. That technology...