Serving Davidson, Williamson, Wilson, & Surrounding Counties in Tennessee
Call/Text: 615-961-2349
Court-Appointed Psychological & Co-Parenting Evaluations
Court-Appointed Psychological & Co-Parenting Evaluations
Court-Appointed Psychological & Co-Parenting Evaluations
Dr. Spirko and Dr. Bender perform independent Rule 35/Rule 706 court-appointed psychological evaluations and parenting assessments. These comprehensive evaluations include formal psychological/personality assessment of both parents, as well as direct observation and in-home parenting assessments. We thoroughly review all applicable record
Dr. Spirko and Dr. Bender perform independent Rule 35/Rule 706 court-appointed psychological evaluations and parenting assessments. These comprehensive evaluations include formal psychological/personality assessment of both parents, as well as direct observation and in-home parenting assessments. We thoroughly review all applicable records, including medical, psychiatric, and substance abuse treatment records; legal proceedings and deposition transcripts; communications between parties and with their children (e.g., texts, emails, TalkingParents, OurFamilyWizard); audio/video recordings, and/or any other documentation deemed relevant by the parties or their representing attorneys. Collateral interviews are conducted with relevant third-parties, potentially including but not limited to teachers, childcare providers, coaches, therapists, Department of Children and Families (DCS) investigators, family friends, relatives, and others with potentially relevant knowledge or perspective.
Due to ethical concerns about real or perceived bias in child custody disputes, we do not accept referrals from attorneys to evaluate children or parents as either side's retained expert witness. Instead, we perform psychological/parenting evaluations exclusively in the context of a court-appointment as an independent mental health expert, initiated either directly from the Court or by mutual agreement from both parties with a corresponding order adopted by the Court.
Court-Appointed Individual & Family Counseling
Court-Appointed Psychological & Co-Parenting Evaluations
Court-Appointed Psychological & Co-Parenting Evaluations
We provide compassionate, effective psychotherapy services addressing a wide array of clinical and interpersonal concerns. We specialize in complex cases and are able to work with parents and families involved in active litigation if needed. Our forensic expertise ensures all parties are well-informed of the benefits and risks of court-in
We provide compassionate, effective psychotherapy services addressing a wide array of clinical and interpersonal concerns. We specialize in complex cases and are able to work with parents and families involved in active litigation if needed. Our forensic expertise ensures all parties are well-informed of the benefits and risks of court-involved therapy, including confidentiality rights and limits thereof while engaging in counseling services in the context of an impending or ongoing family or criminal court case. We are able to provide status/progress reports to the court and mental health expert witness testimony as needed, with a commitment to conveying objective, unbiased information and feedback centering on the best interests of children.
Our therapeutic focus centers on individuals and families involved in high conflict divorce and custody disputes. We provide court-appointed counseling services throughout Tennessee by collaborating with licensed therapists and providing the clinical oversight and administrative support necessary to ensure treatment providers are well-equipped to navigate complicated, high stakes, and sometimes clinically counter-intuitive cases. We have flexible options to fit varying family situations and degrees of symptom severity. Need-based sliding fee scales may be offered depending on the particular family situation and clinician availability.
Supervised Parenting Time & Monitored Exchanges
Court-Appointed Psychological & Co-Parenting Evaluations
Supervised Parenting Time & Monitored Exchanges
Our team of professionals facilitate in-home, community-based, and virtual supervised visitations for court-ordered parenting time and monitored exchanges. We work flexibly with families to optimize the quality and ease of visitations in compliance with court orders and in keeping with the child(ren)'s safety and emotional well-being. We
Our team of professionals facilitate in-home, community-based, and virtual supervised visitations for court-ordered parenting time and monitored exchanges. We work flexibly with families to optimize the quality and ease of visitations in compliance with court orders and in keeping with the child(ren)'s safety and emotional well-being. We can accommodate most scheduling requests, including weekend, evening, and holiday availability.
We understand that court-ordered parenting time is often implemented during times of crisis, or when the safety needs of children are uncertain or in flux. Our approach is uniquely suited to seamlessly respond and adapt to changes in a family system, maximizing the quality and feasibility of supervised parenting time while also minimizing unnecessary court-related costs and ensuring peace of mind regarding each child's safety and overall well-being. We begin each case with an intake process conducted by an experienced, licensed mental health provider who reviews the applicable court order and meets with the relevant parties to assess the unique circumstances and concerns of each family member. This process enables our team to assign the appropriate level of supervision and set any necessary parameters to optimize the quality of parenting time while minimizing risks to the physical safety or emotional well-being of the child(ren) involved.
All parenting supervisors are trained and supervised by licensed clinical mental health professionals to ensure competency and objectivity in observation and reporting practices. As an additional precaution, supervisors have access to an on-call licensed clinician in case any urgent concerns arise during the course of a visit. Our visit supervisors complete an observation report at the end of each session, which is then reviewed by a licensed clinician and flagged when a change in the level of supervision may be warranted. When a higher level of supervision is warranted, a member of our licensed clinical team will step in to provide direct clinical supervision of visits on an intermittent or temporary basis while intersecting with the representing attorneys and court system to adapt the parameters of court orders as needed. We also provide visit records and court testimony upon request.
Private Retainment & Forensic Consultative Services
Forensic (Neuro)Psychological Evaluations
We accept a variety of forensic referrals for general clinical and neuropsychological evaluations in the context of criminal and civil defense pleadings. Our experts have testified at the state and federal levels, with wide ranging expertise, including cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease and dementia, traumatic brain injuries, psychiatric/personality disorders, substance abuse, decision-making capacity, and neuropsychological factors affecting elements of competency to stand trial, mens rea, and mitigating circumstances for sentencing. Fees vary by referral and provider.
Case Review & Cross-Examination Prep
Sometimes mental health providers get it wrong, and the effects of incompetent or unethical expert witness testimony can be catastrophic to a case if not effectively challenged. Our experts can review medical/psychiatric records, expert witness reports, and consult with your legal team to arm you with the expertise necessary to expose errors in clinical decision-making and scientifically unsupported claims made by mental health evaluators and treatment providers. We can work behind the scenes in preparing you to depose or cross-examine an expert witness, attend depositions and court hearings to identify weaknesses in an expert witness's testimony in real time, or testify to scientific evidence and clinical/ ethical standards of practice that may have been overlooked or mischaracterized by an opposing expert witness. In addition to our team of (neuro)psychologists, we contract with highly qualified MD physicians as needed depending on the requirements of your case.
Client Management Services
Our team can play a valuable role in helping attorneys navigate challenging client dynamics and contribute to better case outcomes. Few experiences in life are more anxiety-provoking than being involved in a legal dispute, especially when it involves sensitive personal or family matters. For clients in crisis, their attorney often feels like their only lifeline - the one person who they can trust to have their back when feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders. Unfortunately, this close, trusting attorney-client dynamic can actually interfere with an attorney's ability to optimally represent their client when the attorney is having to spend time reassuring a client or managing their worry and anxiety, when that attorney's time is better spent focusing on legal strategy. Moreover, the stress of a legal dispute can often bring about emotional or interpersonal struggles, prompting or exacerbating problems with substance abuse, alcoholism, anger management, and poor impulse control at a time when a client needs to be making a positive impression to the court in order to achieve their preferred outcomes in a case. While counseling is always an option in these situations, we understand that some clients worry about the optics of seeing a therapist, fear their mental health records could be used against them, or are just frankly unwilling to consider it.
While our providers are all licensed, experienced masters- and doctoral-level providers, this service is NOT offered under the auspices of mental health counseling, and thus no mental health records are created from our interactions with these clients. We are not functioning as a treating mental health provider for your client. Rather, we are serving in the role of an expert consultant retained by the attorney. Therefore, rather than having doctor-patient privilege or clinician-client confidentiality that a client could feel pressured to waive if their mental health comes into question over the course of a case, we function as a retained expert consultant to the attorney, so our communications with your client fall under the attorney-client privilege umbrella. In this way, we can work proactively and seamlessly with your legal team to serve as an intermediary contact when a client is requiring more support and reassurance than is feasible for your legal team to provide, while assisting with a variety of behavior management and interpersonal coaching needs. From monitoring sobriety to screening co-parenting text messages and emails, we manage your client so you can manage their case.