Court Services

It’s hard enough to find yourself in the midst of a divorce or break-up. But, when there are children involved, it can become even more difficult and painful. The Family Court due process is often experienced as unwieldy and unpredictable given the various mental health professionals involved, petitions made, allegations lodged, and evaluations conducted; all with life-altering parent-child relationship consequences. This is where Fountain Hill Center for Counseling and Consultation can help.

For more than 20 years, FHC has assisted families, parents, and children through Court Related Collaborative Services (CRCS). Our team of highly trained, licensed mental health professionals offers evaluations, parenting coordination, parent-child reunification counseling, co-parenting counseling, individual counseling for family members, coaching, as well as testifying and non-testifying expert consultations, and trial and work product consultations.

• We provide timely and professional letters, emails, and reports to help attorneys and courts with depositions, status conferences, and trials. Each team member follows standards outlined by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) while adhering to strict protocols and ethics for court-related counseling, evaluation, and consultation.
• These services and interventions are informed by collective knowledge in this specialized field along with clinical expertise in the unique issues and complex family dynamics specific to court-related cases. High-conflict cases can present with multiple allegations such as domestic violence, neglect, abuse, substance abuse, mental illness, parental alienation, or estrangement. Given the stakes involved in these circumstances, we believe that good, valid, and reliable data is needed to make sound clinical judgments. We strive to understand the limits of various professional roles and humbly work in collaboration with other professionals to seek truth and clarity in the best interests of the children. When possible, we pursue healing and reconciliation in fractured relationships and family systems.
• One of the essential ethical considerations when providing forensic mental health services is to avoid conflicting roles while working to secure forensic integrity and due process. When engaged in a particular professional role, we aim to be true to the essence of that role.
• At FHC, the collaborative model provides the opportunity—when appropriate releases of information are in place—for professional collaboration on difficult cases where multiple professionals are involved. It can often help in discerning the best course of action. Each team member is able to provide specific services while leveraging the knowledge and expertise of other members. This type of collaboration facilitates progress for individuals and families. The CRCS team meets regularly to discuss cases where collaboration is permitted. Team members learn from each other's professional roles and feel comfortable in challenging each other’s clinical impressions and treatment recommendations as they work to coordinate appropriate services.
• Additionally, due to the complex nature of these cases, multiple professionals at FHC may be included in the process to effectuate the court’s intentions, and/or best interests of the family. This is not unlike specialty clinics in medicine (i.e., Cleveland and Mayo Clinics) working collaboratively in various professional roles on complex cases to pursue diagnostic clarity and successful pathways for treatment and rehabilitation.
• Separation and divorce are difficult enough. We believe families deserve specialized services by trained and competent mental health professionals. Our goal is to help implement court orders, as well as mediation and parent coordination when families in conflict aren’t able to do so. We strive to help families heal, grow, and transition in separation and divorce so they can improve their functioning. You can be confident that CRCS will provide you with competent, forensically ethical, and reliable court-related psychological services.