You Want Me To What??? Considerations for When Family Court Enters the Therapy Room.

More and more therapists are being asked to provide information or services specifically for family law purposes – especially when there are cross allegations of domestic violence and mental health concerns. Attorneys, evaluators, and/or the courts want to know what’s going on in therapy, what someone said or didn’t say, and how that impacts their current situation. Clients may or may not want you to provide information. You might believe your notes or opinions could help your client or conversely, you might fear they could make things worse! So what do you do? Join Fran Schopick and Tracee Parker for an overview of Family Court and how it can create very challenging dilemmas for mental health practitioners. We’ll explore the risks, benefits, and options that may be available to you and possible impacts on the care you provide. We will also review State laws, agency rules, documentation, and potential threats to confidentiality to help you thoughtfully and confidently respond to court-related requests. 


Learning Objectives:

As a result of this workshop, participants will:

• Understand common Family Court terminology and the roles of various court-related professionals.
• Have increased knowledge of how Family Court can impact therapy.
• Be able to develop a thoughtful response to court-related requests from clients and others.

Earn 2 Ethics CEUs from WA State Society for Clinical Social Work

About the Presenters:

Frances Schopick, JD, MSW

Frances Schopick is an attorney with an extensive background in clinical Social Work and psychiatric research. She served on the Psychiatry Faculties at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NYC and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA to research the underlying contributors seen in people with mood, personality, and psychotic disorders. She worked clinically with perpetrators as well as survivors of domestic violence and coercive control. Her experience has given her insights into the dynamics of high conflict families as well as the complex and nuanced challenges posed to the counselors who work with them.

Now an attorney in WA State, Fran represents health care providers undergoing Board investigations. To help licensees avoid such complaints, Fran develops Disclosure and Informed Consent resources tailored to individual practice, so that providers can simultaneously minimize counselor risk and maximize client care. Fran provides legal consultation to agencies, counselors, and other healthcare providers working with individual adults, children, couples, and families, often in “high conflict” situations. Fran speaks nationally on the importance of well-administered Informed Consent as well as the many factors that can affect clinical care.

Tracee Parker, Psy.D.

Dr. Parker is the Justice for Families Project Manager at the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence, where she has co-authored (with Dr. Anne Ganley) Intimate Partner Violence Impact Assessment – A process for collecting, analyzing, and presenting information. Her background includes domestic violence advocacy, supervised visitation for domestic violence cases, domestic violence perpetrator treatment, training and consultation, mediation, nonviolent conflict resolution training, and expert testimony. Her doctoral research focus was post-separation battering via access to children and working with men who batter. Dr. Parker is also adjunct faculty at Seattle University in the Social Work Department where she teaches a 10-week course entitled, Domestic Violence in the U.S.