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The experience of separation and divorce comes alive in this panel through film, case material from child and adult analyses, and from observational data of infants and toddlers and research interviews of adult children of divorce. Important questions are raised regarding how these separation and divorce processes and associated fantasies are intertwined with developmental progression and its variations. We have had the opportunity to view two analyses, one child and one adult, up close, to see how separation and divorce issues play themselves out in treatment and how they are skillfully addressed. We have also become more aware of how unsettling transitions back and forth between two homes remain prominent in the memory of children of separation and divorce. They never feel on solid ground, and their sense of \"home\" is adversely altered. Parenting declines as parents become preoccupied and frightened. Loss, intermittent decathexis, interparent hatred, pathological envy, and parental alienation distract these parents and they actually harm their children. Furthermore, the toll of separation and divorce on the now adult child of divorce is addressed. Fear and dread of marrying, having children, and then divorcing, are unbearable in anticipation of these steps. It is at this moment when we realize the scars of separation and divorce that have remained in the background until now come to the forefront in visible and dramatic ways.

This paper highlights the results of two research studies, the first of adults who experienced separation and divorce prior to their 14th birthday, and the second, a preliminary observational study of infants and toddlers whose parenting time with their second parent included day visits and overnights. There are striking parallels between these populations when reviewing the adverse effects of separation and divorce. The preverbal behaviors of the infant and toddler group are precursors of the effects reported by adult children of divorce that include states of missing, sadness, and loneliness; instability regarding a sense of home; and difficulty establishing both an integrated sense of self and self-constancy.

Separation and divorce are not isolated events in a child's life, but rather, must be understood as processes that influence and reverberate throughout the life trajectory. This panel, which was presented at the 2016 American Psychoanalytic Association Winter Meetings, explores the impact of separation and divorce on children going through the court process (Sarezky film, Talk to Strangers); discusses the psychoanalytic treatment of the child (Bram) and the adult (Lament); and is the focus of observational research of infants and toddlers and research interviews with adults (Gunsberg). Our discussant (Straus) raises important questions regarding how separation and divorce influence developmental progression and become critical to the life narrative of the child and adult, and how these processes affect the parents' ability to parent. The parent is consumed with loss: loss of the spousal relationship, loss of the family as it was previously known, loss of contact with the child, and loss of one's own self as previously constructed. Straus concludes by considering the high-conflict parental relationship in which one parent's preoccupation with loss leads to destructive thoughts and behaviors toward the other parent and children.

Separation and divorce are not isolated events in a child’s life, but rather, must be understood as processes that influence and reverberate throughout the life trajectory. This panel, which was presented at the 2016 American Psychoanalytic Association Winter Meetings, explores the impact of separation and divorce on children going through the court process (Sarezky film, Talk to Strangers); discusses the psychoanalytic treatment of the child (Bram) and the adult (Lament); and is the focus of observational research of infants and toddlers and research interviews with adults (Gunsberg). Our discussant (Straus) raises important questions regarding how separation and divorce influence developmental progression and become critical to the life narrative of the child and adult, and how these processes affect the parents’ ability to parent. The parent is consumed with loss: loss of the spousal relationship, loss of the family as it was previously known, loss of contact with the child, and loss of one’s own self as previously constructed. Straus concludes by considering the high-conflict parental relationship in which one parent’s preoccupation with loss leads to destructive thoughts and behaviors toward the other parent and children.

The Handbook of Divorce and Custody brings together mental health professionals and forensic specialists dedicated to working in the legal arena with families in crisis. Section I provides the individual perspectives of experienced clinicians, all of whom share a psychodynamic and developmental purview, and supplements their accounts with the viewpoints of a lawyer and a judge.  Section II examines  parental psychopathology, which is often at the root of family conflict and turmoil.  Section III deals with the nature and extent of the state's potential involvement with the family, from ensuring parents' rights to raise their children to identifying those circumstances that justify the termination of parental rights.  The remaining three sections follow the progressive issues engaged by divorcing families as they work their way through the legal system: forensic evaluation, post-divorce legal arrangements, and the emotional aftermath of divorce, including indications for various types of therapeutic intervention. Through the Handbook, contributors pay special attention to a set of core issues that underlie - and complicate - the evaluations, recommendations, and judicial determinations that enter into the divorce/custody process.  Specifically, they focus on  the inherent conflict between the family's right to privacy and the state's commitment to the best interest of children; the increasingly uncertain question of what constitutes a family and who has the right to legal standing; the problematic role of fathers in the lives of their children;  the nature of the evaluation process and the role of the forensic expert in a \"good enough\" evaluation; the important differences between the role of therapist and the role of evaluator; and, finally, the impact of divorce itself on the lives of today's children.

The Handbook of Divorce and Custody brings together mental health professionals and forensic specialists dedicated to working in the legal arena with families in crisis. Section I provides the individual perspectives of experienced clinicians, all of whom share a psychodynamic and developmental purview, and supplements their accounts with the viewpoints of a lawyer and a judge. Section II examines parental psychopathology, which is often at the root of family conflict and turmoil. Section III deals with the nature and extent of the state's potential involvement with the family, from ensuring parents' rights to raise their children to identifying those circumstances that justify the termination of parental rights. The remaining three sections follow the progressive issues engaged by divorcing families as they work their way through the legal system: forensic evaluation, post-divorce legal arrangements, and the emotional aftermath of divorce, including indications for various types of therapeutic intervention. Through the Handbook, contributors pay special attention to a set of core issues that underlie - and complicate - the evaluations, recommendations, and judicial determinations that enter into the divorce/custody process. Specifically, they focus on the inherent conflict between the family's right to privacy and the state's commitment to the best interest of children; the increasingly uncertain question of what constitutes a family and who has the right to legal standing; the problematic role of fathers in the lives of their children; the nature of the evaluation process and the role of the forensic expert in a \"good enough\" evaluation; the important differences between the role of therapist and the role of evaluator; and, finally, the impact of divorce itself on the lives of today's children. Linda Gunsberg, Ph.D., is Chair, Family Forensics Training Program, Washington Square Institute for Psychotherapy and Mental Health, New York, and Co-chair, Psychoanalysis and the Law Discussion Group, American Psychoanalytic Association. Paul Hymowitz, Ph.D., is Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, New York Medical College, and Co-chair, Interdisciplinary Forum on Mental Health and Family Law. I. The Courtroom: A Multidisciplinary Collaboration Interlude I - Linda Gunsberg 1. What Judges Want (and Children Dream) - Alison Whitmer Tumas 2. A Lawyer's Considerations in Selecting a Mental Health Expert - Robert Z. Dobrish 3. Representation of the Child to the Court: The Law Guardian and Guardian ad Litem - Patricia Ann Grant and Steven Klee 4. Considering Custody Evaluations: The Thrills and the Chills - Bernice H. Schaul 5. Ethical and Legal Considerations in Child Custody Evaluations - James S. Wulach and David L. Shapiro II. Parental Psychopathology and Its Impact on the Child Interlude II - Paul Hymowitz 6. Home Is Where the Hurt Is: Developmental Consequences of Domestic Conflict and Violence on Children and Adolescents - Ava L. Siegler 7. Soul Blindness: A Child Must Be Seen to Be Heard - Jack Novick and Kerry Kelly Novick 8. Betrayal of the Family: The Parental Affair as Family Incest - Linda Gunsberg 9. Parental Alienation: The Creation of a False Reality - Moisy Shopper III. Parents' Rights and Responsibilities Interlude III - Paul Hymowitz 10. When Should Courts Be Empowered to Make Child-Rearing Decisions? - Martin Guggenheim 11. Divorce and Custody in a Changing Society - Albert J. Solnit and Barbara F. Nordhaus 12. The Rights of Parents and Stepparents: Toward a Redefinition of Parental Rights and Obligations - Alan J. Klein 13. When the State Has Custody: The Fragile Bond of Mothers and Their Infants on the Prison Nursery - Susan W. Silverman 14. When Families Cannot Be Healed: The Limits of Parental Rights - Michele Galietta IV. The Forensic Expert's Challenge: Making Recommendations in the Best Interests of Children Interlude IV - Linda Gunsberg 15. The Developmental Evolution of the Family Forensic Evaluation - Linda Gunsberg 16. Empirically Assisted Assessment of Family Systems - Barry Bricklin and Gail Elliot 17. Parents' Sensitivity to the Child's Creative and Spiritual Core: An Overlooked Consideration in Child Custody Determinations - Elaine Schwager 18. Evaluation of Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse in Child Custody Disputes - B. J. Cling V. The Dilemma of Visitation Interlude V - Paul Hymowitz 19. Tailoring Parental Visitation Orders to the Developmental Needs of Children of Divorce - Cynthia Dember and Vivian Fliman 20. An Attachment Theory Framework for Planning Infant and Toddler Visitation Arrangements in Never-Married, Separated, and Divorced Families - Judith Solomon 21. Visitation in High-Conflict Families: The Impact on a Child's Inner Life - Barbara B. Hauser 22. Supervised Visitation: Preserving the Rights of Children and Their Parents - Alan J. Tuckman 23. Relocation: Parents' Needs, Children's Interests - Paul Hymowitz VI. Aftermath and Healing Interlude VI - Linda Gunsberg 24. Experiencing the Absent Father: In Sight and Inside - Lora Heims Tessman 25. Psychotherapy with Children and Parents During Divorce - Diana Siskind 26. Clinical Work with Parents in Entrenched Custody Disputes - Janet R. Johnston 27. Parental Divorce and Developmental Progression: An Inquiry into Their Relationship - Judith Wallerstein and Deborah Resnikoff Epilogue - Linda Gunsberg \"This book is must reading for everyone - mental health professionals, attorneys, judges, policy makers - committed to understanding the psychology of child custody. It is unique in that the contributors share a clear focus on the central issues of child custody: the child's experiences and their role in the child's development. It includes succinct summaries of decades of work by many of the leaders in child custody research as well as insightful clinical discussions. Read it and come away with a clear picture of this rapidly developing field.\" - Robert M. Galatzer-Levy, M.D., Lecturer in Psychiatry, University of Chicago \" A Handbook of Divorce and Custody: Forensic, Developmental, and Clinical Perspectives is a wonderful contribution to the literature dealing with the intersection of the courts, family law, and mental health issues. It serves as a vibrant reminder of how much psychodynamic and particularly psychoanalytic perspectives and insights have to offer those who work at these crossroads. I am particularly impressed with the breadth of the contributions to the volume. The chapters touch on practically every concern that one might encounter in thinking about how courts, parents, and children interact and the consequences of those interactions.\" - Jesse A. Goldner, Professor of Law, Center for Health Law Studies, St. Louis University “This book is an excellent resource that I highly recommend as a guide to help your patients navigate their way through the storm and stress of divorce.” - Kathleen Hushion, CSW, NMCOP Newsletter

The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, it offers the reader a psychoanalytic/developmental conceptualization or frame work that can be used in evaluating children, parents, and their families for the court. Second, a case is presented that follows the psychoanalytic methodology offered. This is not a \"how-to\" chapter; rather, it attempts to expose the reader to the multiple variables that need consideration when doing family forensic evaluations.