Child Access and Custody Assessment
Separation and divorce are regrettably an increasing fact of life in our society. Where children are involved the situation can become more worrisome and difficult. For parents, the challenge is often how to communicate and to cooperate on what’s best for a child, when their ability to get along may have been strained even when they had been together. This is much more complicated now that they live apart and carry the wounds of a failed relationship.
For children, the challenge is often how to go about their lives now and into the future given what has occurred, and in particular how they can feel safe and secure when the family has broken up and mom and dad may no longer talk or even like each other.
A child custody and access assessment can help in developing an understanding of the issues and recommending a plan as to how decisions are to be made on behalf of a child and when the child ought to stay with one parent or the other. These questions become more complex when a child is an infant, when a parent wishes to re-locate, when a child refuses to visit or has special needs, and where there has been violence or abuse in the home. Furthermore, professional advice can be invaluable in helping parents and children move forward while dealing with the tensions that can still trail the family.
Contact Gilmour Psychological Services® in Ottawa to schedule a consultation with a psychologist who has an expertise in custody and access assessments