This presentation provides skilled mental health and family law professionals with the foundation necessary to understand the purpose and process associated with child-centered family evaluation, a.k.a., child custody evaluation.

Dr. Garber’s emphasis throughout this training is on assessing the quality of the child’s “fit” within the changing and growing family system. Relevant best practice standards and guidelines are highlighted. Specific tools and methods are emphasized. Child interview techniques are reviewed.

Video material illustrates parent-child structured (cooperative and competitive) observations. Dr. Garber’s Process-Oriented Observational Protocol (Family Court Review, 2016) is promoted as a means of decreasing the stress, time and cost of evaluation while increasing the depth and variety of data available to the evaluator.