Impact of Mental Illness on Parenting Capacity in A Child Custody Matter

Abstract

Recently, courts have seen an increase in cases where a parent has an alleged or documented mental illness. Understanding whether there is a mental illness and what the symptoms are and determining the meaning of this information for parenting and child functioning present a host of challenges for judges, custody evaluators, and attorneys. We offer an example of a custody evaluator's inquiry and present a functional-contextual model for considering the significant parental capacities and vulnerabilities that impact child functioning, in order to better make decisions about parent access and treatment. Practitioner Keypoints: Understand how to effectively integrate mental health information into matters of custody Identify parenting and co-parenting tasks and behaviors that may be affected by mental illness Identify parenting capacities that are linked to child outcomes Review a step-by-step decision-making process to effectively examine allegations of mental illness during a custody evaluation or dispute.