by Raymond J. Havlicek, Ph.D.

Therapeutic intervention for visitation may be recommended, if the court believes that the behavior of either or both parents is sufficiently disordered, and would result in further harm to the children should the disordered behavior continue. In making this recommendation the court acknowledges that the litigants are unable to agree upon or prioritize the best interests of the children without mandated mental health assistance. There are also circumstances where the judicial process in and of itself might inadvertently create additional harm to children.

Forensic evaluations are conducted with the goal of determining which parent is most suitable to receive the responsibility of custody. Other issues relating to visitation, decision-making, education and health, may also be dealt with in the forensic evaluation. While there are circumstances that may be effectively dispensed with by a court's decree, there are many more situations that do not seem to be meaningfully assisted by a custody decision without therapeutic intervention. In addition, the financial cost of long and drawn out litigation may represent an inappropriate allocation of scarce resources given the availability of an alternative recommendation.

Therapeutic intervention for visitation is a process in which separated parents and the children work with the qualified mental health professional to establish a healthful set of behavioral, cognitive and emotional responses to all aspects of the parent-child interaction. Parenting skills are carefully assessed and if needed taught to the party(s) requiring the skills. This process may be entered into voluntarily should both parents agree, or with the order of the court. Mental health professionals working within the context of court referred families must be prepared to give testimony should the professional make recommendations to the conflicting parties that one or both may resist. This requires the treating professional to seek the appropriate confidentiality releases from the litigants at the outset of treatment. Additional explanation and disclosure should be made in order that both parties understand the objectives and priorities in the procedure. The appointed professional must be prepared to make objectively based recommendations to the court to insure that the therapeutic intervention for visitation process continues in an appropriate manner.

In custody/visitation cases, family dissolution may follow a prolonged period of smoldering anger and projection of responsibility from one parent to the other, if not overt hostility and abuse. The separation process may only be a phase in the couple¹s enmeshment, followed by another period in which the children may become the battleground. Frequently, one or both parents may attempt to manipulatively portray the children's psychological distress as reflecting the inadequacy of the other parent. Interminable fighting with an ever escalating pattern of trauma and abuse may arise as the result of the absence of mandated assistance and intern bring further harm to the children. Each side's legal attempts to address the circumstances may worsen the children's condition in the absence of mandated therapeutic intervention for visitation.

The fundamental problem in most of these cases is the inability of either both or a particular parent to properly prioritize the needs of the child. Parental egocentrism is the tendency to see everything in terms of how circumstances may affect the parent rather than the children. Egocentric parents believe that the children only have anguished feelings to the extent that the other parent (never themselves) is acting in a harmful manner. Legal intervention frequently satisfies the need for legitimacy that the more egocentric parent has and consequently reinforces litigious behavior at the expense of the children's mental health. Mandated therapeutic intervention for visitation may provide an opportunity for an egocentric parent to learn more appropriate parenting behaviors.

Frequently, the anger and blame resulting from failed marriages are amplified by the parent¹s inability to separate healthfully. Codependent marriages frequently results in codependent separations. Projecting blame exonerates the blamer. Emotionally abusing the custodial parent may bring about the desired weakening of that individual and perhaps further harm to that parent and the children in his or her care. Sometimes the legal process is used as an instrument for harming the custodial or noncustodial parent. The pragmatic step of seeking a separation may not modify the codependent adjustment of either spouse. If one spouse is able to improve his or her adjustment following separation and the other separated spouse is not emotionally prepared to withstand the improved adjustment of the former spouse, a motivation for dysfunctional behavior arises. Another motivation for dysfunctional and aggressive behavior arises from the tendency of one-party to continue punishing the other for a major misdeed that occur during the marriage, e.g., infidelity.

The following hypothetical cases involve the use of therapeutic intervention for visitation:

(1) Psychological evaluation determines that the custodial parent is undermining visitation by creating an overwhelming fear and/or guilt in the child when visitation occurs. The appointed treating professional has meetings with the offending parent and gives court testimony, if necessary, to insure that visitation will occur. In many cases this type of custodial parent is extremely disturbed and may be unwilling to attend sessions. The noncustodial parent is counseled how best to handle the child's feelings of guilt or anxiety during visitation. The object would be to make the child feel as comfortable as possible during visits. If necessary, the actual visits could occur at the professional¹s office to enable the child to feel more secure and gradually become desensitized. The psychologist, if skilled, can gradually introduce the child to an increasing distance from the custodial parent in order to enable a greater separation as the child's confidence grows. In cases of this nature, children may recognize the controlling and manipulative behavior of their custodial parent and yet prefer to remain with that parent for a number of reasons. There could come a time when the child gives up hope that the custodial parent will change and become healthier. This could cause the child to desire a change in custody. If the intervention occurs early enough, a change of custody might be recommended if the offending pattern does not improve. In some cases the supervision and counseling provided by the professional to the custodial parent might enable this parent to realize how important it is for the child to have a relationship with the noncustodial parent. Teaching improved parenting skills might be of assistance.

(2) Psychological evaluation indicates that the visitational parent is acting out in emotionally threatening and abusive manner. The treating professional after determining the inflexibility the offending parent, may recommend that all unsupervised contact end. (Parents must learn that they are the temporary guardians of their children, not their owners.) The professional might schedule appointments with the offending parent to determine the motivation for change. When there is a lot of motivation these individuals work well with the professional because they know that they are acting in a harmful way and may actually appreciate guidance toward a more appropriate adjustment. The treating professional might recommend limited visitation contact at first to enable the appropriate acquisition of skills before advancing to more prolonged visitation contact. Referrals for drug and alcohol treatment might be appropriate in addition to personal psychological therapy. Drug testing might be appropriate. When the motivation is not good, more extensive treatment might be necessary in order to help the individual prioritize the needs to the child over the need to punish the former spouse. Participants within the process need to know that the treating professional could be asked to testify in court as to conduct of either party, and to make appropriate recommendations if asked.

(3) Psychological evaluation reveals a prior history of physical abuse against the custodial parent. Visitation occurs in the professional¹s office until such time as the offending parent has evidenced a sufficient improvement to have the privilege of seeing the child outside the office restored. Contacts outside the professional¹s office are initially limited and monitored telephonically or through a third party, if necessary. Referrals for private mental health treatment are made when necessary. Drug testing is conducted when necessary. The treating professional attempts to work with both parents together and, if needed, separately to insure a developing harmonious separation environment.

(4) Psychological evaluation indicates that the noncustodial parent is attempting to gain increased contact after a long period of erratic and/or infrequent contact. Children are very attached to the custodial parent and very resistant to the noncustodial parent. The growing distress of the children creates impairment in functioning, necessitating family therapy consultations. The offending parent needs to be educated as to the harmfulness of this behavior. Problems with blame and anger toward the custodial parent are discussed and behavioral/conduct goals are established as well as consequences for failure to abide by these principles. Parenting skills are carefully assessed and parenting education is conducted as needed.

(5) Psychological evaluation reveals impaired separation with anxiety, problematic pickups and drop offs, and poor telephonic contact. This is a major challenge to the professional working with therapeutic intervention. The professional must be able to analyze the source of the impairment in separation. It could be merely the result of the insecurity that family dissolution brings, or could be the result of an inappropriate parental influence. Once the source has been determined, the professional must work towards a resolution of this problem by teaching parents how best to handle the transitions and if necessary seek to prevent any inappropriate influence.

In all of the described cases the professional attempts to maintain a completely objective, sensitive and neutral position, although always prioritizing the needs of the children. Accurate session record keeping is essential, as is recording of information relevant to progress. While far from a panacea, therapeutic intervention for visitation offers the possibility of real service to the children and families of divorce. Beneficial outcomes may include substantial reductions in aggressive and distressful parenting behavior, improve quality of visitation, improved parental awareness as to the impact of divorce upon the mental health all vulnerable and dependent children, increased parental cooperation for the well-being of the children and, finally, faster and less traumatic conflict resolution. Therapeutic intervention for visitation is most likely to be successful when the professional is able to define behavioral objectives and then work objectively and sensitively towards the goal. In addition, the willingness of the court to create orders consistent with scientifically and/or clinically based recommendations may help treatment to succeed. While mental health professionals would prefer to not work in a setting in which controls are mandated, sometimes it is essential in ensuring the successful outcome of the procedure.