Conference Program 2023

This Institute focuses on identity issues impacting children and young people as these are emerging as important considerations within the family justice field. Article 8 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989 requires States Parties to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity. This, however, seems to be a right which is hiding in plain sight, more easily recognised by law than by policy and practice. The Institute considers the psychological perspective of identity, what it means, and why it matters. We’ll consider a child’s established sense of self in the context of significant life events that affect children’s identity. Relocation disputes between parents and international child abduction will be addressed as examples of the areas of law and practice in which the issue of children’s identity may arise and have significant effect. Interactive exercises will then enable participants, working together in groups, to consider a range of diverse situations within the family justice field for their impact on a child’s identity (e.g., child protection / violence, surrogacy, adoption, gender dysphoria, forced marriage etc). The final session will include time for group discussion and consideration of identity issues in relation to participants’ own fields of practice.

Exposure to high levels of parental conflict is an Adverse Childhood Experience posing a substantial risk to children’s mental and even physical health. Parental conflict may interact with other stressors such as family violence, substance abuse, mental illness in a parent, special needs in a child or other issues. Much has been learned about the factors that promote resilience and healthy development in children. Therapy and other services are likely to be most effective when the professional is able to remain objective and address all factors contributing to the family’s dysfunction. Many obstacles to effective services remain, including polarization extends beyond parents to include extended family, professionals who have taken sides, and advocates from the broader community. Professionals may find themselves under attack from other professionals or advocates who are sincere in their beliefs but may misunderstand or misrepresent both scientific research and the professional’s role. Parents may also present with distorted expectations based on inaccurate information from advocates or the press. Dr. Greenberg will present the best available research and practical methods relevant to intervening with resist-refuse and other high conflict dynamics. She will provide strategies and tools for matching services to families, developing clear and defensible treatment plans, recognizing inaccurate information and distorted research, and anticipating and responding to challenges. She will also address key questions that attorneys and judicial officers may want to ask, tips for differentiating between appropriate and inappropriate professional conduct, and approaches for defending quality services. She will use active case discussion to demonstrate advanced techniques.

The two Phil’s have been giving evidence in court, and teaching practitioners how to give expert evidence, for total of about 75 years. Dr Stahl has honed his skills through a fairly litigious US court system, while Dr Watts is familiar with the dynamics and foibles of the local system. Together they present a dynamic duo of knowledge. This half-day workshop is about how to give expert evidence in the witness box and will help you polish up your ability to enable you to shine as a top tier expert. Watts and Stahl will give multiple tips on style and substance as well as things to avoid. While a good report is essential for expert evidence, your demeanour and style in court will contribute greatly to the weight and value that report has on the case.

Children are referred to the Institute of Family Therapy-Malta from various settings, most
already carrying a diagnosis of one or more disorders, the most common of which include
ADHD, ADD, ODD, deliberate self harm, or suicide contemplation. Our work has revealed
that most of these children concurrently experience marital/parental discord and fearfully
anticipate marital separation. Other children witness high conflict parental relationships,
marital separation and foster care. Occasionally a child vehemently and aggressively refuses
to see a previously loved parent. This is typically visible during high conflict legal separation
processes or in foster care situations. Much attention recently focused on crisis management
and reunification programs, assessment tools, and legal interventions. Research on the very
early signs of Parental Alienation (PA) is non-existent. Both clinical experience and literature
have taught us that the process of marital separation starts much earlier than the actual legal
filing of the request (Dominion 1979, Gottman, 2000), and in a much calmer space. Most of
the children’s behavioural problems encountered at family therapy clinics are often systemic
metaphorical homeostatic (Minuchin, 1981) self-protective representations of the children's
worries about their family’s anticipated doom. Such behaviours can potentially be alienation
from impending parental alienation. Early detection of these signs can help identify and
predict risk of PA. The development of a Risk Assessment tool is now inevitably needed to
guide front line professionals to intervene timely to prevent Parental Alienation in which the bestinterest of the child remains a priority.

This workshop by psychologists Dr Phil Watts and Dr Phil Stahl and barrister, Rachel Oakeley will cover
Parameters of work
o Family Law Rules - what experts could, should, shouldn’t do
o Terms of Reference & Questions to experts
• what you should get, what you can refuse to answer,
• Fees
Cases
• Makita - what an expert actually is
• Key family law cases where experts feature
• The Toe cutters – APHRA complaints
• Shadow experts – trips & traps
• Preparation for XXN

Complex Cases which come before Family Courts around the world need the best possible information about all those involved, adults and children. In most Family Court matters it is the vast knowledge base of the social sciences and especially psychology that is best going to aide in high quality decisions making and successful outcomes. This presentation will look at how current and up to date psychological science and its knowledge base can inform and support both the participants and decision making in the more complex cases that come to Courts (High Conflict, Resist Refuse, Hague etc).For practitioners it encourages a review of how up to date your engagement with your science is and for lawyers and judges (and indeed parties) it will give you a sense of what you should be seeing in the reports coming before you.

This workshop introduces participants to unconscious bias, its implications for rational decision-making, the neuroscience behind it and the effects it plays on daily interactions with people from many diverse backgrounds. Through some powerful storytelling, participants are expected to learn, reflect and challenge traditional notions of self-awareness.

The Longitudinal Study of Separated Parents and Stepfamilies in Quebec is a large population-based study dealing specifically with issues of parental separation with a representative sample of mothers and fathers (1551 parents, mothers = 761; fathers = 790, separated for about 2 years, completed 3 online questionnaires with 24-month intervals). The study was designed to capture the complexity of the issues and impacts of family separation, the evolving nature of family transitions. and more specifically the individual, family, and social factors associated with the development of a conflictual co-parenting relationship after separation. Most studies on parental separation generally collect data from the mother. The reality of father is thus often little studied, but our study helps to fill this gap. The elements that distinguish fathers from mothers in their experience of conflictual separation will then be developed. The presentation will allow for a better understanding of the trajectory of separated families and will contribute to the development of targeted practices based on individual parent characteristics.

Despite more than 40 years of workshops and trainings, Guidelines, and journal articles related to Parenting Plan Evaluations (PPE), many Family Report Writers still have considerable challenges understanding this challenging work. In this workshop, the presenters, who have more than 50 years of combined experience with these cases, will identify the mindset and the skills needed to assess and write a high-quality reports. The presenters will also provide examples of defective work, biased evaluations, and fatal flaws to help participants use the new AFCC Guidelines and research to understand ways to improve the quality and consistency of their work.
For Family Report Writers, this workshop will teach critical skills to help learn what makes a good assessment and how to avoid bad or ugly evaluations. For lawyers, this workshop is designed to teach them how to critique a report. For judges, this workshop will help give guidance on the weight to give to a report, or elements of the assessment or even when to throw out a report as being inadequate, when making decisions in complex family court matters.

Client centric legal services – where clients are heard and feel heard

Concerns about the quality of single expert reports has prompted the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) to recommend an accreditation scheme aimed at improve the quality and consistency of single expert reports (also known as Parenting Plan Evaluations (PPEs). However, little is known about what consistitutes high-quality reports, the quality of reports submitted to courts in Australia, or how to improve them. A series of four Australian studies recently sought to address this gap by using a mixed method design. The presentation will summarise the research aims, methods, and findings. Findings can be used to assist evaluators in improving the quality of their work and can also assist legal professionals to better assess the quality of reports provided to the court and decide the weight accorded to the PPE.

Learning Objectives:
1) Learn about Australian research on the quality of expert reports.
2) Apply findings to your practice.