Although anyone might do a custody evaluation, in practice it is typically done by a psychologist, social worker or psychiatrist trained in working with children and families. Your therapist will not be able to do a custody evaluation because it is a conflict of interest. Custody evaluators, when they are professional, do their best to remain fair and impartial. They prefer to work for both sides, and in any event need to see both the husband and wife,(individually, and with the children).

In addition to their training in their respective disciplines (they should be licensed), a custody evaluator should have a lot of experience in working with kids and families. They should also have advanced training in forensic (court related) work, since the skills required are quite different from those that are needed in therapy.

Psychologists are typically very well trained in human development, personality, motivation, and psychopathogy, all of which come to play in custody evaluations. Only psychologists are trained in psychological testing, which can be helpful when one or more of the family members have special problems that need to be assessed. Sometimes, when the evaluation is done by a social worker or psychiatrist, they enlist a psychologist to consult for the psychological assessments that may be called for.

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