Ethical Models in the Double Relationship Physician-Patient when Establishing Child Custody in Parental Divorce and Separation with Intense Conflictuality: Different Concepts for Physician and for Psychologist?

Abstract

"Introduction. Child custody judicial course usually are intense conflictual raising a lot of pressure both on adult parents as on children. Always require a forensic psychiatry set-up at the court request and a professional team, legal doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists of adult and children from the legal medicine institution and from the hospital. Children are carefully looked upon separately by psychologists in a special setu-up diregarding intruding and manipulation. Objective of this presentation is to identify ethical aspects of the relationship physician-patient (the adult parent and separate the child) and psychologist-patient (i.e. similar) in custody litigation. Material and methods. We have casuistry with a high diversity of parental alienation in child custody cases. Discussions: Does physicians (psychiatrist or legal doctor) and psychologists uses different ethical models and concepts to approache the adult parent or the child? Forensic psichiatry examinations are completed with psychiatry examination and psychology examination as much as documents examinations which are presented in the dossier. Social inquiry is very important. Conclusions: similar to physician-patient relationship in pediatry, psychologist-minor patient relationship is based on the same moral values and ethical principles: beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, loialty, trust, mostly in a paternalistic model to sustain always the best interest of the child/children. Lack of autonomy of the minor child creates correlativity obligations to protect his rights and to sustain the best interests of the child as a primary consideration. Beneficence in forensic psychiatry may take into consideration maintaining also beneficial emotional relationships with both parents after the separation. "