The Custody Evaluation Handbook: Research Based Solutions & Applications [Hardcover]

Barry Bricklin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0876307756 | ISBN-13: 978-0876307755 | Publication Date: September 1, 1995 | Edition: 1

Joint custody. Same?sex custody. Young children with the mother. Which is the best arrangement? Unfortunately, for those who seek a trustworthy solution, research has proven that there is no single best arrangement for all children. This timely volume, however, does offer a practical and realisic methodology with which to confront the challenging and often confusing issues facing the custody evaluator. THe only book of its kind, The Custody Evaluation Handbook offers a strikingly helpful model for evaluating and assigning weight to the mountains of disparate information accumulated during a custody suit. Written by an unparalleled expert in the field of custody evaluation, the book eschews what the author calls the "negative incident model" in which each parent responds to the custody process by compiling a long list of grievances against the hated "opponent." It advocates, instead a test?based approach that measures how successful each parent actually is at the job of parenting. The book describes numerous tests and tools for eliciting reliable information from both children and parents. With an eye to learning the actual impact a parent has on a child rather than what a given parent may or may not be doing, the book emphasizes obtaining measurements from the involved child. Parent tests are designed to reflect the effectiveness with which a parent responds to typical childcare situations, and the degree to which a parent truly knows ? and can satisfy the needs of ? a particular child. The volume also sets forth concepts derived from extensive research that are particularly helpful in understanding parent?child interactions, and provides a specific system of nonadversary communication strategies that can be used and modeled in all interchanges with evaluation participants, and in the wording of all written reports. Readers will also welcome the numerous suggestions from evaluators all over the country on specific custody dilemmas they have faced. The book is based on many years' meticulous research and is informed by a number of conceptual approaches that include: The proven premise that whatever certain parents intend to communicate is often not what their children are, in fact, perceiving and reacting to The "Utilization Model" of Milton E. Erikson The Thomas, Chess, and Birch "goodness?of?fit" model of parent?child interaction Bandler and Grinders' assertion that the meaning of a communication is the response it elicits, regardless of the intentions of the sender Clearly, spelling out the targets of a truly comprehensive and reliable evaluation, The Custody Evaluation Handbook will be an invaluable handbook for custody evaluators and marriage and family therapists, as well as other involved mental health professionals.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 278 pages
• Publisher: Brunner/Mazel; 1 edition (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876307756
• ISBN-13: 978-0876307755
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent book for the mental health professional, October 31, 1999

By 

Phyllis R. Cazares, PhD (Washington state) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Custody Evaluation Handbook: Research Based Solutions & Applications (Hardcover)

This book is a compendium of information, presented in the format used by and familiar to mental health professionals. It should be of interest to anyone working in the child custody evaluation field or considering a career move into this area. This book is not likely to be of interest to the general public, including people involved in divorce; it is not geared for or marketed to them.

14 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this book, January 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Custody Evaluation Handbook: Research Based Solutions & Applications (Hardcover)

Bricklin and Eliot are to be avoided. Their book, Psychologists' 1999 Child Custody Strategies for Men, was a major disappointment for the following reasons: In our worst time, when money is tight but priorities are on our children and not our bank balances, they scalp us to the tune of $60 for a 'book' that in reality is more like a first-draught of a college paper. No, worse: in college, one has to at least _spell_ correctly. Forget the presentation (tree-killing, single-sided pages and a notebook all designed to make it seem bigger and more important than it is), the writing is horrible and substance is in short supply. The title, 'Strategies for MEN' is a lie: it's written for both sexes and doesn't take into consideration the uphill battle we men have a this difficult time. I bought at the same time a $12 book by Steinbreder & Kent which had double the substance. There's a reason this 'book,' by Bricklin/Elliot doesn't have a publisher: it doesn't meet the grade. They should try proofreading, try a ghostwriter, try another profession. Since the book offered here is basically the same book, I strongly recommend not buying it.