Abstract
Psychiatrists are frequently invited to give expert opinions to Courts about children's emotional welfare, their parents' capacity to care for them and issues of placement and access. Previous child abuse/neglect may have been suspected or confirmed or the parents might suffer from psychiatric symptoms. Assessment may be required of parents' mental state with a guide to prognosis, but, in addition, factors in parent–child relationships will be crucial to overall assessments of parenting.
Highlights
OPpsyincihoinastristots Caoruertsfreaqbuoeunttlcyhilidnrveinte'sd etmo ogtiiovnealexwpeerlt fare, their parents' capacity to care for them and issues of placement and access
Parent-child relationships are influenced by family factors, both from the past and in the present. rBeepceaautesde coanreetagkeinnegrateioxnperoinen, caespamreanyt'sunawwiattrienngelsys boef the impact of his/her own parenting on the ability to look after children helps inform our assessment of whether change is possible, such as through therapy
Unresolved family conflicts may colour the mean ing of the child to the parent so that an identity is attributed to the child which is not who she/he truly is but instead what the parent wants him/her to ben. t'Ts helifceh,ioldr parents may unreasonably hope that their conflicts will be resolved through the child
Summary
OPpsyincihoinastristots Caoruertsfreaqbuoeunttlcyhilidnrveinte'sd etmo ogtiiovnealexwpeerlt fare, their parents' capacity to care for them and issues of placement and access. From our perspective as child psychiatrists we shall present the framework that guides our Court cahsseecskslmiset notrs.raTtihnigs sfcraalme eowf'noorkrmaisl' nobtehinatveinoduer,d baust iat suggests a range of themes to be assessed, some of which may be more relevant than others in any par ticular case. Trehlaetefadctoclrusstweresa:sstehses cpaanrebnet'sgrorueplaetdioninsthoipfouwr,ithinttehre child; the parent's relationship to the role of parent ing; influences from family relationships; and relationships with the external world.
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