The Child Specialist

The child specialist is a licensed mental health professional with specific training in and experience with family systems and child development. Further, he or she has training and experience in working with parents and children who are in the midst of a divorce or other child custody or parenting issue. The child specialist helps parents and the Collaborative professionals involved to remain focused on the feelings and needs of any children involved in a collaborative legal matter.

The child specialist has four primary responsibilities:

• To be the representative of the child or children’s feelings, needs, and interests.

• To be the child or children’s “voice,” in the collaborative process.

• To provide parents with information and guidance to help their children throughout their collaborative legal matter.

•To provide information to the collaborative professionals that will assist in developing an effective co-parenting plan that prioritizes the needs of the children.

Sometimes the role of Coach and Child Specialist will be performed by the same mental health professional. Sometimes, these roles will be divided between two mental health professionals.