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FAMILY ASSESSMENT IN CHILD CUSTODY DISPUTES *
Author(s) -
Everett Craig A.,
Volgy Sandra S.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1983.tb01522.x
Subject(s) - operationalization , child custody , psychology , family therapy , intervention (counseling) , family law , psychotherapist , genogram , family systems theory , social psychology , criminology , law , psychiatry , political science , epistemology , philosophy
This paper has operationalized family systems theory to explicate the interfacing dynamics between family dissolution and child custody disputes. The authors suggest that clinical assessment and intervention in these matters which focus solely on individual and marital, or child dimensions, fail to recognize the powerful influences of systemic family process. A family assessment model, evolved from clinical work with over 200 court‐referred custody cases, is described. The model involves a cross‐sex therapy team with each member responsible for a specific family subsystem. The role of each therapist and the functioning of the team is outlined. Specific criteria for determining custody recommendations are identified based on patterns of family process and dissolution.