Question

Can a forensic psychologist wear “2 hats” – that is, can they serve in multiple roles in a case? For instance, in a child custody evaluation case, can a psychologist who provides treatment to the family then become the forensic psychologist hired in the case to conduct a child custody evaluation to help the court determine custody arrangements? Why or why not?

Answer 1

a forensic psychologist treating the family cannot help in provision of child custody evaluation. This is because, the evaluation should be conducted by an independent psychologist. Independent psychologist is the one who would not have treated the family or any other member previously, be it the child, one parent or both the parents.

This is because, there is no law of confidentiality applying to the independent child custody evaluations. Which Implies that the psychologist could use this information against any of the parties. Also, the psychologist has to be neutral and fair while assisting the judge. If the psychologist has previous contact with the family or any other family members, it might lead to some of the other forms of biaseness.