Many forensic psychologists lack the necessary knowledge in the attachment system, personality disorder pathology, family systems therapy, and complex trauma required for the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of attachment-related family pathology surrounding high-conflict divorce.
Because of their professional ignorance and incompetence in established domains of professional knowledge, these psychologists are conducting inadequate assessments of attachment-related family pathology, are making inaccurate diagnoses of family attachment-related pathology, and are providing ineffective and sometimes harmful treatments based on inaccurate diagnoses of the family pathology.
The harm being done to children and families is the direct result of ignorance by the forensic psychologist of established domains of professional knowledge:
The attachment system,
Personality disorder pathology,
Family systems therapy,
Causing harm to the client because of practice beyond the boundaries of professional competence is a violation of Standard 3.04 of the APA ethics code:
3.04 Avoiding Harm
(a) Psychologists take reasonable steps to avoid harming their clients/patients, students, supervisees, research participants, organizational clients, and others with whom they work, and to minimize harm where it is foreseeable and unavoidable.
Forensic Psychology and Harm
Forensic psychology is in violation of Principle D: Justice of the APA ethics code through the practice of child custody evaluations that deny equal “access to and benefit from the contributions of psychology and to equal quality in the processes, procedures, and services being conducted by psychologists.” (Principle D: Justice and Forensic Psychology).
To the extent that forensic psychology denies through the practice of child custody evaluations equal access to and benefit from, and equal quality in the processes, procedures, and services being conducted, this causes harm to the client children and families. This harm is both forseeable and avoidable through alternative scientifically supported assessment and evaluation practices that are more focused and limited-scope.
To the extent that forensic psychology, and its associated professional organizations, are harming children and families through the practice of child custody evaluations that deny equal access to and benefit from psychological services, and equal quality of processes, procedures, and services, forensic psychology, and its associated professional organizations are in violation of Standard 3.04 to avoid harm to the client population.
The American Psychological Association
To the extent that the APA is aware through the Petition to the APA signed by over 19,000 parents of the rampant and unchecked professional ignorance and incompetence in forensic psychology that is harming client children and families, and of violations by forensic psychology of Principle D: Justice (Principle D: Justice and Forensic Psychology) that are harming children and families by denying equal access to and benefit from professional psychology and equal quality of services provided, and yet does not act to correct the harm, the APA becomes complicit in creating the harm.
Silence is complicity. The American Psychological Association has a moral and ethical obligation to stand by its own ethical code, written and adopted by the APA, and to act when that ethical code is violated.