I am not an advocate. That is my value, that I am not an advocate. I’m a doctor.
Everyone fights around these children, their parents fight, the attorneys fight, the competing mental health experts fight. That’s a symptom feature of the pathology – a parallel process in the professionals called “staff splitting.”
I’m a clinical psychologist. I cure pathology, I don’t become part of it. We need to stop the professional fighting and bring the family conflict pathology surrounding the child to resolution.
We need a treatment plan to fix the problem – whatever that problem is. As a doctor, I don’t care what the problem is, we simply need an accurate diagnosis of the problem so we can fix the problem.
Whatever that problem is.
I’m a doctor in the healthcare system, I can fix whatever the problem is, I just need an accurate diagnosis of that problem. If we try to fix cancer with insulin, the patient dies from the misdiagnosed cancer.
My value to the Court is that I’m a neutral arbiter. When a child is rejecting a parent (a directional change in a primary motivational system for bonding), that is a symptom of child abuse by one parent or the other.
Either the targeted parent is abusing the child in some way, thereby creating an authentic attachment pathology toward that parent as a result of their abuse of the child – OR – the allied parent is psychologically abusing the child by creating a false (factitious) attachment pathology and shared persecutory delusion in the child for secondary gain to that parent.
One way or the other, one parent or the other is abusing the child because that’s the only thing that causes that symptom. I don’t care which parent is abusing the child, we just need an accurate diagnosis so we can protect the child from that parent.
The psychology doctors surrounding the child need an accurate diagnosis for treatment. All mental health professionals have a duty to protect.
The Court needs an accurate diagnosis of which parent is abusing the child for the Court’s decision-making surrounding the child.
I don’t care which parent is abusing the child – we need to identify which one and make it stop. The Court doesn’t care which parent is abusing the child – the Court just wants the child abuse identified and stopped.
My job in any matter I’m involved on is to ensure that the mental health system of psychology doctors returns an accurate diagnosis of which parent is abusing the child – for treatment – and for the Court in its decision-making.
I am brought in on matter to matter, not because I’m an advocate with an agenda to prove that one parent or the other is abusing the child. I’m brought on because I’m not an advocate, I’m neutral. My role is to ensure that the mental health system surrounding the child and family conflict responds properly and returns an accurate diagnosis – for treatment – for the Court’s decision-making.
I’m unique. I’m a clinical psychologist in the family courts. I have six domains of relevant specialized expertise supported by my vita, 1) attachment pathology, 2) delusional thought disorders, 3) child abuse & complex trauma, 4) factitious disorders imposed on the child (FDIA), 5) family systems therapy, 6) court-involved custody conflict.
Based on my specialized expertise developed over a lifetime in clinical psychology, I provide second opinion consultation on document review and active diagnostic assessments toward one goal – returning an accurate diagnosis – for treatment and for the Court’s decision-making surrounding the child.
If I assist in obtaining an accurate diagnosis for which parent is abusing the child, that does three things, 1) it assists the Court in its decision-making surrounding the child, 2) it assists the surrounding mental health system in developing an effective treatment plan to fix the problem, and 3) it protects the child from child abuse.
Protecting the child from child abuse will be in the service of the healthy and normal range parent who wants the child abuse to stop. But stopping the child abuse will be against the wishes of the pathological parent who want the child abuse to continue to meet that parent’s own emotional and needs.
One parent is normal-range. One parent is dark (Dark Triad, Vulnerable Dark Triad, Dark Tetrad). I don’t care which one it is, just that we protect the child from the abusive parenting of the dark personality parent.
That’s my value to the normal-range parent. That’s my value to the Court’s decision-making. That’s my value to the child.
I serve the child and I serve the Court. In serving the child and Court, I serve the normal-range parent who wants the child abuse to stop. One parent, however, won’t want my involvement.
I wonder why?
If the targeted-rejected parent is abusing the child in some way, then let’s identify how and place that parent’s abusive range parenting on a treatment plan and fix it. If the allied parent is abusing the child (i.e., by inducing a shared persecutory delusion and false (factitious) attachment pathology in the child), then let’s identify that and place that parent’s abusive parenting on a treatment plan and fix it.
I’m unique in my background and domains of professional expertise. I call myself a singular – there’s no one else who does what I do – there’s no one else who can do what I do.
With each case I’m building my reputation within the family courts nationally and internationally, with each case the courts become familiar with my position and explanations. I always say the same thing.
In all cases of court-involved custody conflict involving severe attachment pathology displayed by the child (a child rejecting a parent), a proper risk assessment needs to be conducted to the appropriate differential diagnoses for each parent.
All. Routinely. There is only one cause of a child rejecting a parent – the only question is, which parent is abusing the child?
Is the targeted-rejected parent abusing the child in some way? If so, we need to identify it and treat it. Or is the allied parent psychologically abusing the child by creating false pathology for secondary gain to that parent? If so, we need to identify it and treat it.
I don’t care which parent it is… the Court doesn’t care which parent it is… we just need an accurate diagnosis of which parent is abusing the child so we can protect the child from that parent.
I’m not an advocate. The legal system has advocates, they’re called attorneys. The child has advocates, they’re called parents. I’m a doctor in the healthcare system, my job is to return an accurate diagnosis 100% of the time.
Every time – all the time. When possible child abuse is a considered diagnosis, our returned diagnosis needs to be accurate 100% of the time. The consequences of misdiagnosing child abuse are too devastating to the child.
That’s my job, that’s my role, to ensure that the mental health system surrounding the child and family returns an accurate diagnosis 100% of the time regarding which parent is abusing the child.
So we can protect the child and fix the problem.
Craig Childress, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist,
WA 61538481
OR 3942 – CA 18857
Dr. Childress Consulting 