There is an excellent introductory article for psychologists who are considering expanding their practice as a parenting coordinator.
APA’s Good Practice interviewed Helen T. Brantley, PhD, about the new guidelines for the Practice of Parenting Coordination. This hyperlink will take the reader directly to the .pdf file from APA.
Here are the first three paragraphs of the article.
The process of parenting coordination is designed to help parents or guardians involved in high conflict custody disputes implement and comply with parenting plans, make timely decisions consistent with children’s developmental and psychological needs, and reduce the amount of damaging conflict between caretaking adults to which children are exposed.
The American Psychological Association (APA) Practice Directorate has been involved for the past several years with developing parenting coordination as an emerging practice area for psychologists. The association appointed a task force in 2008 to draft parenting coordination guidelines. APA’s Council of Representatives approved the proposed guidelines as policy in February 2011.
Good Practice interviewed Helen T. Brantley, PhD, chair of the guidelines development task force, about the content and uses of the guidelines and how psychologists can prepare themselves to practice as parenting coordinators.
In order to access the article, the reader needs to be an APA member. This magazine is another benefit of membership from our national organization.
These guidelines will help psychologists understand the role of the psychologist-as-parent-coordinator, minimum requirements of this specialized role, and ethical issues related to becoming a Parent Coordinator.