The psychologist’s diagnostic competences in issuing psychological and judicial opinions in divorce cases involving children

Abstract

Divorce cases where divorcing spouses have minor children pose a particular challenge for psychologists and lawyers. The court decides on important matters regarding the child and the family, but formally does not have sufficient knowledge of the psychological functioning of family members, and the decision is based on a psychological and judicial opinion. The psychologist does not make legally binding decisions regarding the family, but acts as an expert with so-called special information in selected areas of psychology, which allows preparing a psychological and judicial opinion on the functioning of the family to support the court’s decision-making process. Particular diagnostic competence of a psychologist: knowledge, skills and ethical attitude increase the likelihood of accurate and reliable psychological diagnosis and contribute to making the psychological and judicial opinion more useful to the court. The article presents selected legal and psychological issues related to the role of a psychologist and the process of diagnosing in providing psychological and judicial opinion on divorce matters where the partners are parents of minor children. It presents the psychologist’s diagnostic competences: (a) knowledge, including the knowledge of research areas important in making psychological diagnoses and specific issues (including the concept of resilience, parentification, parental alienation, the child’s adaptation, conflict between partners, the child’s best interest clause as a principle of family law, evidence-based diagnosis), basic legal principles on divorce, the status of an expert psychologist and psychological and judicial opinion, as well as other provisions which are not source of law in the form of guidelines and standards; (b) skills relating to effective planning and execution of multi-person diagnosis, the construction of the psychological and judicial opinion, the selection of diagnostic tools, the presentation of hypotheses, transparent and comprehensive data analysis and the formulation of conclusions; (c) an ethical attitude taking into account the special status of the psychologist and diagnostic relationship in divorce matters, taking into account ethical dilemmas and separateness of diagnosis conducted out of court.