Assessment of Family Custody Issues Using Mental Health Evaluations: Implications for Mental Health Counselors.

In the past 30 years high-conflict families seeking resolution of child custody disputes have inundated family courts. Custody-related evaluations conducted by mental health counselors provide family courts with a thorough and unbiased assessment about the functionality of a family and offer recommendations about custody issues. The authors present (a) a description of mental health evaluations in child custody disputes; (b) ethical considerations involved in the evaluation process; (c) recommendations for conducting custody-related mental health evaluations; and (d) a format for the written report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]