Therapy with Coerced and Reluctant Clients
Dr. Brodsky,At the end of your book you invited readers to give feedback.I was recently hired to teach Child Custody Evaluations for the PsyD program at Antioch University in Santa Barbara, CA. The program director asked that, in addition to evaluations, the course include other services provided to child custody litigants. I've selected your book as required reading for the course.When I told the title to a colleague he remarked, Therapy with prisoners has nothing to do with child custody litigants. I wholeheartedly disagree. Child custody litigants might be one of the most coerced populations. (I gave my colleague a copy of your book as a gift.)It is hoped, in teaching my course, the approaches offered in your book will greatly improve the skills of the student therapists and increase potential for success, compared to the current situation when parents are court ordered to enter counseling as a condition of access to their children.When I interview therapists seeing court ordered parents, they strongly support their client's position in the custody battle. (It is rare to find a therapist who conveys neutrality.) When asked about the process of a typical session with their client, questions are asked by the therapist and empathy expressed for their client, who learned to provide weekly reports of the terrible acts committed by their ex-spouse. Typical treatment is advice how their client should deal with the disordered, evil other parent.You can imagine the dismay of their client when, armed with the support of their therapist, the parent is even more assertive (if not aggressive) to reduce the other parent's custody at the next court hearing. Instead, the client neither gains custody or perhaps even loses custodial time because they are viewed by the Judge as remaining unmoved, not rehabilitated and certainly not appreciating their role in the custody problems. Family Law court isn't a parole board but try telling that to a mom or dad whose parenting is being micro-managed by the state of California!If you don't mind, I will keep you posted how the students in my class receive the propositions in your book. Thanks for all of your service to our field, but thank you, thank you, thank you for this book! --MARLENE W. VALTER, PsyD, Clinical-Forensic Psychologist