If you are engaged in a legal proceeding in which the mental health of you or someone involved is factor to making a determination in the case, a mental health assessment may be requested. The expert assessment from a mental health professional in this situation becomes very important. For one, the court is not qualified to handle such matters on its own accord. It is also a sign that the court may be considering an outcome that favors your interests, due to the nature of the circumstances. Court ordered mandated treatments and assessments generally involve an interview with the client and possibly other associated parties. During this process, the therapist will implement the appropriate methodologies that are used to measure and gauge mental health.
If you are in need of a mental health professional due to a legal proceeding, call HCH Therapy and Counseling for a free consultation. We will talk through what you are going through and map out a plan that best fits your particular situation. Here you are welcomed to be open and courageous in getting the help you need.
We’re available by phone or chat between the hours of 7:30am and 7:00pm, Monday through Friday.
Hardship Evaluations are reports written by a mental health professional in relation to a pending immigration case. The process of evaluation aims to predict the hardship or psychological distress that would be experienced by a US citizen as a result of the removal of the non-permanent resident relative from the US. **
Addiction to drugs and alcohol affects all areas of your life. The addiction can lead to poor decision-making, which may include things you would never do sober, such as committing crimes. In some cases, a judge sentences an offender to mandatory addiction treatment instead of jail time, but this type of sentence is not a “get-out-of-jail-free” card. Court-ordered rehab comes with a set of eligibility requirements and requires successful completion to satisfy sentencing in the case. *
Psychological assessment is a process of testing that uses a combination of techniques to help arrive at some hypotheses about a person and their behavior, personality and capabilities. When this is court ordered, a therapist performs a battery of psychological exams to generate a report for someone. **
Parent coordination is a form of dispute resolution that goes beyond mediation, psychotherapy, and other forms of resolving conflicts between co-parents. It’s often referred to as a child-focused alternative conflict resolution process that’s centered around the formulation and implementation of a parenting plan. **
If the court is involved with a mental health concern, the evaluating therapist will make recommendations based on the treatment required. This means, issues such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, PTSD, and other related mental health issues will need to be reported to the court. This may be a favorable outcome; as a court order implies that the result can influence the direction of the judgment.
Typically, a written report is provided to an attorney or probation officer – depending on the circumstances and usually with the client’s consent – following the evaluation. The degree to which an evaluator is involved however is determined on a case-by-case basis.