CUSTODY EVALUATION AND MENTAL ILLNESS

A custody evaluation and mental illness often become a bad mix. One of the biggest myths is that having a mental illness means that you cannot be a parent. This could not be further from the truth. Let's take a look at the real issues:

1) During a custody evaluation there's a big difference between being a parent with a mental illness which is stable verses unstable brought up during a custody evaluation. Example: even a mentally ill parent who suffers from schizophrenia can be prescribed medication, be in treatment and stable. This is very different from having schizophrenia and not receiving any mental health treatment.

Like most things in life, being a fit parent depends on many unique factors in each family.

For example, if a parent is depressed and locks him/herself in the house for days at a time, that could certainly indicate a concern regarding parental fitness and custody issues. Every person is unique! Similarly, just because a parent has a history of mental illness such as suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from a past trauma, this does not mean they can't be a good and capable parent.

ALLEGATIONS OF BEING AN UNFIT PARENT

The Core Custody Evaluation and Mental Illness Threat

I know that in many custody evaluations one parent tries to paint the other as being "sick" or "mentally ill" and tries to convince the court that he/she is unfit to be a parent, and that he/she should not get custody or only supervised visits.

This is one of the easiest false allegations to disprove...if it's not true! Let me tell you how:

First, if you are involved in a custody evaluation with a false allegation of mental illness, the evaluator should be able to identify who does or does not have a mental illness (if there is any parent with a mental illness). If you feel that this is unfair, you can submit to a "second opinion" and get an evaluation from another psychologist. You must be honest with that second psychologist with regard to a) the reason for your request for an additional evaluation, and b) the custody matters that you are involved in. I would suggest telling them that you are in a custody evaluation and mental illness is an issue being challenged.

From my discussions with parents (Some of whom were mentally ill, some of whom were not) who have visited my office during a custody evaluation for this specific purpose, I learned two important facts: First Whatever the truth is, there is a 99.9% certainty that it will be discovered. So don't try to fool the psychologist. Liars are not well received. Second, if there is no mental illness or psychological issue, you will come out of that evaluation with scientific and expert findings to support your position of not being a mentally ill parent. If needed, that psychologist can write a report, go to a deposition or court and testify to those findings.

Second, if you are already in treatment, you can have a letter from your psychiatrist or therapist drafted identifying the reason you are in treatment, the nature of your mental illness or condition, and their opinion about you being a mentally ill parent or not, and your ability to parent.

This person can also be called in as a Fact Witness to testify on your behalf, if needed, at a court hearing or trial. It must be noted that these professionals can be perceived to hold less credibility, because it is assumed they are "on your side" and "not neutral"-as is the expert conducting the custody evaluation. As a result, their mental illness findings will probably be discounted slightly compared to another neutral evaluation. This is why most parents who are dealing with a custody evaluation and mental illness issue choose to have a second evaluation; this ensures that the findings will be compiled thoroughly and efficiently by an expert.