What Is Court-Involved Family Therapy?

​Court-involved family therapy is family therapy that happens inside a court case. The court sets the goal — most often addressing a parent-child contact problem — and the therapist works with the whole family to get there. It is very differnt from ordinary counseling, and it requires a provider who understands both the clinical work and the legal process surrounding it.
Families are typically referred when:

• A child is resisting or refusing parenting time with one parent
• A parent has been absent and is re-entering a child's life
• The court has ordered family therapy or therapeutic intervention as part of a custody or parenting time judgment
• Parents are stuck in conflict that ordinary co-parenting arrangements haven't resolved

​How Is Court-Involved Therapy Different From Regular Family Counseling?

In regular counseling, the family sets the goals and everything is confidential. In court-involved therapy:

• The scope of the process is defined by court order.  I review the order before we begin, and the goals in that order are the goals of the therapy.
• Confidentiality is limited. Depending on the order, I may communicate with attorneys, a parenting coordinator, an evaluator, or the court. Everyone signs an informed consent that spells out exactly who receives what information before we start.
• I do not make custody recommendations. My role in this context is treatment, not evaluation. If the court needs a custody or parenting time recommendation, that is a separate role for a separate professional. Keeping these roles separate protects your family and the integrity of the process.
• Records are kept with the courtroom in mind. Documentation is factual, behavioral and professional, because in these cases it may be read by attorneys and judges.

​Is This the Same Thing as "Reunification Therapy"?

​If you searched for reunification therapy and landed here — yes, this is the service you are looking for.

At one time, "Reunification therapy" was a catch-all label, but it is an imprecise term, because it assumes the goal before anyone has assessed the family.  In some cases a child's resistance is a reasonable response to real events, and so a focus on 'reunification' is not necessarily in the family's best interest.

The term also became associated with heavy-handed programs and camps that drew serious criticism, and with systematic patterns of ignoring legitimate safety concerns. 

Professionals working within current AFCC guidelines now talk about court-involved therapy for parent-child contact problems, and about resist-refuse dynamics — language that describes the situation without pre-determining the outcome. That is the framework I practice in.

The work begins with understanding why the contact problem exists, not with a predetermined destination. Where safety concerns are present, they are taken seriously.

If your court order says "reunification therapy," I can accept that referral — the label in the order doesn't change the standards of the work. 

When a Child Refuses to See a Parent

​Children resist contact with a parent for many different reasons. Sometimes the resistance is a reasonable response to things the child has experienced. Sometimes it reflects the conflict between the parents more than the child's actual relationship with either one. Most often, it is a mix of both.

Professionals call these situations resist-refuse dynamics, the first step is to understand why those dynamics exist.  A child who is protecting themselves needs something very different from a child who has been drawn into their parents' conflict.

I do not start with assumptions about whose "fault" the problem is. I start with the child and what the child needs in order to have as healthy a relationship with both parents as possible.  

If you are the resisted parent, please know: resistance is the reason most families are referred, not a sign the process will fail.

​If you are the favored parent, know this: your participation matters more than almost anything else in whether this works.

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​Court-Involved Therapy FAQ

Is what I say in court-involved therapy confidential? Partially. Court-involved therapy has limited confidentiality, and the limits depend on your court order. Before we begin, everyone signs an informed consent that explains exactly who may receive information and what kind. No one is surprised later.

Will you tell the judge who should get custody? No. I am a treatment provider in these cases, not an evaluator. I may report on attendance, participation and progress if the order provides for it, but I do not make custody or parenting time recommendations for families I am treating.

Our order says "reunification therapy." Is that what you do? Yes. Orders use a range of labels — reunification therapy, family therapy, therapeutic intervention, reintegration therapy. What matters is the substance of the order, and I practice this work under current AFCC guidelines regardless of the label the order uses.

What if my child refuses to participate? Resistance is the reason most families are referred, so it is expected — not a reason the process fails. The work is structured and paced to meet the child where they are. What matters most is that both parents participate in their part of the process.

Can you be our therapist if you were our mediator or evaluator? No. If I have served your family in another professional role, I will help you find a qualified court-involved therapist instead. Professional guidelines prohibit mixing these roles, and that protects you.

How long does court-ordered family therapy take? It depends on how entrenched the contact problem is, how consistently everyone participates, and the terms of the order. Some families need a few months; entrenched cases take longer. I discuss realistic expectations with every family at intake rather than promising a timeline.
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This didn't answer all of my questions. Whom should I call to get more information? You are welcome to call my office at (503) 482-9689 or email me.