Engaging the Child in Family Law Assessments

This workshop focuses on the essential task of meaningfully engaging children during family law assessments. Designed for clinicians conducting expert assessments within the Family Court context, the session provides practical guidance and clinical insights to support ethically sound, developmentally appropriate, and legally defensible engagement with children. The workshop is planned to include a mix of content and reflective practice.

Part 1: Foundations of Effective Child Engagement:

This session explores the core elements of engaging children of parental separation in the assessment process, including:

• Preparing children by preparing parents and managing expectations.
• Contracting with the child – setting the frame, explaining purpose and limits.
• Building rapport with children within the family law assessment context.
• Developmentally informed interviewing techniques across different ages.
• Accommodating and responding to child neurodiversity, including communication, sensory, and processing needs.
• Crafting interview questions that are non-leading and aligned with the child's cognitive and emotional stage.
• Adapting to various child presentations.

Participants will gain tools to build rapport, manage reluctance or anxiety, and maximise opportunity for the child's voice to be respectfully heard and accurately represented within proceedings and beyond.

Part 2: Engaging with Complexity – Risk, Allegations, and Disclosures

The second half of the workshop delves into navigating complex terrain involving children of Family Law proceedings, such as:

• The impact of exposure to parental conflict and how this may be evident (or not) within children’s presentation at interview.
• Identifying signs of possible coaching or influence.
• Using extant research literature to analyse disclosure and risk issues in a way that is helpful for the Court’s decision making and determinations.

The overall aim of this workshop is to strengthen participants capacity to confidently engage children within Family Law assessments in a way that balances empathy, neutrality, and forensic rigour.

Who Should Attend?

This workshop is intended for clinicians who act as Single Expert Witnesses in Family Law proceedings, including psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists. It is suitable for practitioners with varying levels of experience in Family Court reporting.

To tailor the workshop to participants’ needs and professional backgrounds, a pre-training questionnaire will be distributed. Responses will help shape the focus and depth of content covered throughout the session. You will be encouraged to discuss your own practice and experiences within the workshop, as you feel comfortable.

About the Presenter:

Dr Robyn Goodwin, Clinical Psychologist, LSC Psychology

Dr Robyn Goodwin is a clinical psychologist specialising in matters relevant to separation, family violence, child safety, and forensic assessment. She works in private practice at LSC Psychology and brings a diverse background across public, private, educational, and not‑for‑profit sectors.

Robyn holds a Bachelor of Psychology (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney, a Master of Clinical Psychology from Macquarie University, and a PhD from the University of New South Wales. She is a full member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), Fellow of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists and an accredited supervisor under the Psychology Board of Australia. She was formerly the senior clinical supervisor at Uniting Counselling and Mediation (formerly Unifam) Sydney office where she worked extensively with families experiencing high conflict post separation.

At LSC Psychology, Robyn conducts assessments, therapeutic work, and expert reports; particularly within Family Court and family violence contexts. She is also trained in child investigative interviewing and is an accredited facilitator of the Black Box parenting program.

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Host or Publisher LSC Psychology