Legal Relationship Work
Relationship Transformation Coaching
This is not therapy, or an evaluation, but rather the sharing of information gained in the field of family law, mediation and expert testimony in over 2000 cases. This is intended to help clients explore their options when relationships change. The focus is on education and ‘damage control’. It’s about keeping families together, even when the relationships between parents change. People are guided to realise that even after the divorce, they are still in each other’s lives and that it is important to put the children first. I also have extensive experience and knowledge in dealing with parental alienation/ alignment and estranged children.
Parenting Coordination & Mediation
The process of mediation is collaborative and aimed at empowering participants to circumvent cumbersome legal processes. The object is to keep the divorce out of litigation and to help people find their own solutions. When efforts at mediation fail, as a parenting coordinator, I have the authority to issue directives which are binding on the people involved – in the absence of a court order to overriding the directive.
Parenting Plans are best facilitated through mediation with an accredited mediator. I am accredited with KAFAM (KwaZulu-Natal Association of Family Mediators).
Psycho-Forensic (Legal) Expertise
I have been conducting psycho-forensic evaluations and providing expert testimony in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape and Zimbabwe since the early 1990’s. Numerous matters, in which I have provided expert testimony, have been reported in the South African Law Reports.
Forensic psychology (also known as psycho-legal evaluation), is where psychology and the law intersect. It involves an understanding of family law, criminal law and other legal disciplines relating to personal injury and labour disputes. The Forensic Psychologist assists the Court by providing psychological information, reports and by giving evidence during a trial.
I maintain a high degree of ethical impartiality in conducting the evaluations and providing opinions. Where children are involved, assessments are conducted in a sensitive and child-friendly environment. I have over 35 years of experience in the field of psycho-forensics.
The main areas of focus in which I am involved are:
- Evaluations of possible malingering
- Curatorship evaluations
- Child custody (care and contact) evaluations in divorce matters.
- Identifying parental alienation or alignment when children become embroiled in the divorce process and develop a strong collusion with one parent at the expense of their relationship with the other.
- Relocation evaluations where, by virtue of a parent’s relocation, the children may be separated from the other parent for extended periods of time.
- Competency to stand trial
- Assessment of personal injury
- Specialised forensic personality assessment
- Assisting couples to compile parenting plans
