CPD listing

Expert Evidence in the Family Courts: A relational approach (CPD5)

Court proceedings are complex and challenging. Participants and decision makers struggle to make sense of complicated psychopathology and interpersonal dynamics in the legal process.

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All parties involved in such proceedings, including Judges, legal representatives and Social Services wish to make the right decision. They rely upon good quality psychological and psychiatric expert witness evidence to guide them in making sense of the complicated issues with which they are  presented.

Good quality evidence is highly valued, yet  psychologists, psychiatrists and allied professionals often feel daunted by the task of applying their knowledge to this area of work. Our aim is to provide an introduction to the necessary skills and to facilitate participants in the application of what they know to the legal process. This will give young professionals confidence in carrying out this important task.

This two-day course focuses of the particular area of family courts, where psychological evidence is heavily relied upon in the decision making process around children. This course offers an innovative framework for assessing parents in proceedings. It offers psychologists, psychiatrists and allied professionals an introduction to using a relational model to assess parents who are involved in proceedings in the family courts.

Applications are invited from psychologists, psychiatrists and allied professionals.

Content

Participants will be introduced to the elements of the relational model as applied to court proceedings, including assessing a parent's internal working models of attachment and how this impacts upon their capacity to parent children to a satisfactory level. We will address the areas to challenge individuals undergoing assessment in order to address the issues of risk.

The two day course will involve a combination of teaching sessions and case discussion. Topics to be covered are as follows:

- The legal context

- The role of the relational approach in the family courts

- History taking and implications for parenting

- Use of the court bundle in assessment

- The attachment framework

- Risk assessment and formulation

- Formulating an opinion

Date and Time

The course takes place over two consecutive days from 9.30am - 4.30pm. Dates will be published here in due course. 

To register your interest in the course, please contact us at events@tavi-port.ac.uk or 020 8938 2285
 

Course Facilitators

The course will be led by Dr Stephen Blumenthal, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Adult Psychotherapist, Dr Judith Freedman and Dr Jessica Yakeley, both Consultant Psychiatrists in Psychotherapy. They have extensive knowledge and experience of applying the relational model to expert witness work.

For an informal discussion about the course, please contact Stephen Blumenthal on 020 7794 8262 or
sblumenthal@tavi-port.nhs.uk