This course is designed to give you a solid foundation to begin work as court-involved therapist, and to add to the clinical skills you already possess. Following the training, therapists will likely need consultation to support how to implement the skills and navigate difficult client situations (I still attend monthly consultation!). To really provide competent and leading-edge services to your clients, you will need to commit to ongoing education (typically through the AFCC). It is also highly suggested that you participate in a 40-Hour mediation course if you are going to niche as a court involved therapist.

Court involved therapists typically specializes in the following treatment areas:

1. Individual therapy for parents or children
2. Co-Parenting Therapy
3. Family Therapy (aka Reunification Therapy)

There are many other professional roles, such as a custodial evaluator, supervised visitation monitor, mediator, attorneys, minor’s counsel, and/or a parenting coordinator. These are people you may come into contact with, but they are not court involved therapists.

No. There is not a certification or specific credentials that make you a court involved therapist, per se. However, you do need to meet the competencies outlined in the AFCC Guidelines for Court Involved therapy as well as follow these guidelines as you practice. These will be addressed throughout this training. You may also already have many of the skills and knowledge from graduate school and from your experience.

One thing that I have discovered during the COVID pandemic is the *magic* of telehealth for co-parenting counseling. The platform creates a much more conducive environment for co-parenting counseling than in office visits. Family therapy may be better served in-person, but there is definitely a place for you in this work if all you want to do is telehealth.

Yes 😁. Whether you want to specialize and do just co-parenting counseling, or you just want to work with kids, it is important to understand and hold the bigger picture and system that these families are involved in. So, while there may be some parts you won’t implement, they will be important for you to have the knowledge in whatever role you have.

Court involved therapy is almost always private pay. This is because there may not be “Medical Necessity” and most insurance companies won’t pay for co-parenting or family therapy. You will also get paid for your time outside of sessions, such as consulting with other therapists or occasional conference calls. Many of these families are TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS deep in attorney fees. Part of the beauty of this work is you can help support families to rely on the Court and their attorneys as they begin to make agreements outside of Court. Their work with you is not only an investment in family wellness, but also has a tangible savings by reducing court and attorney involvement.

Yes. The types of therapists that thrive in this specialty are curious yet decisive, able to hold several hypotheses for family discord, demonstrate strong yet compassionate boundaries, are able to engage with conflict and model healthy problem solving, know their own triggers and biases, and are committed to ongoing learning. This specialty is not a good fit for therapists that tend to shy away from conflict, are stuck in scarcity mindset, who are not ready to network and engage with attorneys and legal professionals, or who would rather hide in a hole than join the “Bad Google Review Crew”.

Yes. Because this is a training/course, any therapist at any level may enroll. As a mental health professional, you are always responsible for practicing ethically and within the bounds of what you and your clinical supervisor agree upon.