Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Part I Basic issues
- Part II Comprehensive assessment and treatment
- 6 ‘The same as they treat everybody else’
- 7 Formulation and assessment of parenting
- 8 Mentally ill mothers in the parenting role: clinical management and treatment
- 9 Perinatal mental illness: nature/nurture
- 10 Assessment and treatment issues when parents have personality disorders
- Part III Specific disorders: the impact on parent–child relationships
- Part IV Specific treatments and service needs
- Part V Child-sensitive therapeutic interventions
- Part VI Models for collaborative services and staff training
- Afterword
- Index
- References
7 - Formulation and assessment of parenting
from Part II - Comprehensive assessment and treatment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 August 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Part I Basic issues
- Part II Comprehensive assessment and treatment
- 6 ‘The same as they treat everybody else’
- 7 Formulation and assessment of parenting
- 8 Mentally ill mothers in the parenting role: clinical management and treatment
- 9 Perinatal mental illness: nature/nurture
- 10 Assessment and treatment issues when parents have personality disorders
- Part III Specific disorders: the impact on parent–child relationships
- Part IV Specific treatments and service needs
- Part V Child-sensitive therapeutic interventions
- Part VI Models for collaborative services and staff training
- Afterword
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
This chapter presents a framework for assessing parents and their families for both forensic and clinical purposes, and is intended to help ensure that children receive the best care available. The chapter will (1) outline principles that contribute to ethical assessment practice; (2) provide dimensions to consider when making a formulation; (3) offer ideas about the preparation of court reports; and (4) describe practical ways of conducting collaborative and therapeutic assessments.
The three authors come from different backgrounds: family therapy/social work (JW), child psychiatry (JN) and adult psychiatry/psychotherapy (MG). Each of us is frequently asked to contribute to parenting assessments and we all three believe that combining perspectives results in the best product.
Depending on resources, philosophy, culture, and service construction, there are wide regional disparities in the conduct of assessments. There are few areas that can provide the thorough comprehensive assessment service pioneered by Jacobsen et al. (1997) (see Jacobsen, Chapter 8). In most situations, staff from different disciplines contribute to the overall assessment and child-care social workers have the responsibility of coordinating perspectives from different agencies and, ultimately, ensuring the safety of the child.
Principles of ethical assessment practice
Commitment to the parent
Although most of the literature in the field focuses on the needs of the child, the needs of the parent who cares for the child are of great importance.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Parental Psychiatric DisorderDistressed Parents and their Families, pp. 93 - 111Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004
References
Anthony, E. J. & McGinnis, M. (1978). Counseling very disturbed parents. In Helping Parents Help Their Children, ed. L. E. Arnold, New York: Brunner/Mazel
& (1994). A cognitive perspective on ethnicity, race and termination of parental rights. Law and Human Behavior, 18, 249–68Google Scholar
, & (1998). The evaluation of parental fitness in termination of parental rights cases: a functional-contextual perspective. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1, 77–100Google Scholar
Barker, J. & Hodes, D. (2002). The Child in Mind: A Child Protection Handbook. London: City and Hackney Primary Care Trust
Berg, I. K. (1991). Family Preservation: a Brief Therapy Workbook. London: BT Press
Bettelheim, B. (1987). A Good Enough Parent. London: Thames and Hudson
(1993). On the use and misuse of psychological testing in child custrody evaluations. Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 24, 213–19Google Scholar
(2001). Assessing parenting competence in child protection cases: a clinical practice model. Clinical Child and Family Psychology, 4, 1–18Google Scholar
& (1996). Issues in clinical assessment of minimal parenting competence. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 25, 1–14Google Scholar
Budd, K. S., Felix, E. & Poindexter, L. (1998, revised 2000). Clinical assessment code book: Parent evaluations. Chicago: Clinical Evaluation and Services Initiative, Cook County Juvenile Court
, , & (2001). Clinical assessment of parents in child protection cases: an empirical analysis. Law and Human Behavior, 25, 93–108Google Scholar
(1999). Family group conferences: healing the wounds of juvenile property crime in New Zealand and the United States. Emory International Law Review, 13, 283–92Google Scholar
Daro, D. (1990). Confronting Child Abuse: Research for Effective Program Design. New York: Free Press
Department of Health (2000). Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. London: The Stationery Office
Department of Health (2001). The Children Act now: Messages from Research. London: The Stationery Office
(1997). Adult psychiatry – a missing link in child protection. Child Abuse Review, 6, 41–5Google Scholar
Forehand, R. & Long, N. (1996). Parenting the Strongwilled Child: The Clinically Proven Five-week Program for Parents of two- to six-year olds. Chicago: Contemporary Books
Forehand, R. & McMahon, R. (1981). Helping the Non-compliant Child: A Clinician's Guide to Parent training. New York: Guilford Press
Göpfert, M., Webster, J., Pollard, J. & Nelki, J. S. (1996). The assessment and prediction of parenting capacity: a community-oriented approach. In Parental Psychiatric disorder: Distressed Parents and their Families, ed. M. Göpfert, J. Webster & M. V. Seeman, pp. 271–309. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Göpfert, M., Harrison, P. & Mahoney, C. (1999). Keeping the Family in Mind: Participative Research into Mental Ill-health and how it Affects the Whole Family. Liverpool: Save the Children, Barnados, Imagine and North Mersey Community Trust
Greene, B. F. & Kilili, S. (1998). How good does a parent have to be? Issues and examples associated with empirical assessments of parenting adequacy in cases of child abuse and neglect. In Handbook of Child Abuse Research and Treatment, ed. J. R. Lutzker, pp. 53–72. New York: Plenum
(1992). The role of psychological testing in forensic assessment. Law and Human Behavior, 16, 257–72Google Scholar
& (1984). A comparative study of filicidal and abusive mothers. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 29, 596–8Google Scholar
(2000). Dual relationships in psycho-legal evaluations: treating psychologists serving as expert witnesses. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 18, 79–87Google Scholar
, & (1997). Assessing parenting competency in mentally ill individuals: a comprehensive service. Journal of Mental Health Administration, 24, 189–99Google Scholar
Jenner, S. (1999). The Parent/Child Game. New York: Bloomsbury
Jones, M. (1976). Maturation of the Therapeutic Community – an Organic Approach to Health and Mental Health. New York: Human Sciences Press
(2001). The problems and benefits of adopting family group conferencing for PINS (CHINS) children. Family Court Review, 39, 207–22Google Scholar
Lees, J., Manning, N. & Rawlings, B. (1999). Therapeutic Community Effectiveness. NHS Centre Reviews and Dissemination Report, No. 17. York: University of York
Lethem, J. (1994). Moved to Tears, Moved to Action. Solution-focussed Brief Therapy with Women and Children. London: BT Press
Mahoney, C. & Mackechnie, S. (2001). In a Different World: Parental Drug and Alcohol use. A Consultation into its Effects on Children and Families in Liverpool. Liverpool: Liverpool Health Authority
Marsh, P. & Crow, G. (1998). Family Group Conferences in Child Welfare. Oxford: Blackwells
Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Pouythress, N. G. & Slobogia, C. (1997). Psychological Evaluations for the Courts, 2nd edn. New York: Guilford Press
(1996). Putting families back into the child protection partnership: Family Group Decision Making. Protecting Children, 12, (3). Online: http://www.ahafgdm.org/what_is.htmGoogle Scholar
(1999). Psychiatric hospital admission and interpersonal ‘closure’: network meetings as a means of countering closure. Human Systems, 10, 35–48Google Scholar
Rueveni, U. (1979). Networking Families in Crisis. New York: Human Sciences Press
Schuff, H. & Asen, E. (1996). The disturbed parent and the disturbed family. In Parental Psychiatric Disorder: Distressed Parents and their Families, ed. M. Göpfert, J. Webster & M. V. Seeman, pp. 135–51. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
(2001). A multi-agency approach to assessment. Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review, 6, 16–20Google Scholar
The Expert Witness Group (1997). The Expert Witness Pack. Bristol: Family Law
, & (1996). ‘Good Practice’ for expert witnesses. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1, 365–83Google Scholar
Wall, N. & Hamilton, I. (2000). Expert Witnesses in Children Act Cases. Bristol: Family Law
, & (1999). Assessment of parents by approved social workers under the Mental Health Act 1983. Practice, 11, 5–18Google Scholar
Winnnicott, D. W. (1964a). The Child, the Family and the Outside World. Harmondsworth: Penguin
Winnicott, D. W. (19964b). The Family and Individual Development. London: Tavistock
Winnicott, D. W. (1965). The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of Emotional Development. London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psychoanalysis
- 3
- Cited by