Client and Counsellor Perceptions of the Process and Outcomes of Family Court Counselling in Cases Involving Domestic Violence

Abstract

The Family Court of Australia provides conciliation counselling to couples who are involved in disputes regarding their children following separation. In cases where domestic violence is involved, the appropriateness of providing counselling has been seriously questioned. This study is an extension of earlier work completed by the authors that specifically examined client satisfaction with counselling in cases involving domestic violence. This article examines client and counsellor perceptions of the counselling process and its outcomes.

Child Custody Mediation in Cases of Domestic Violence

“…Because of the typically confidential nature of mediation (Pruett, 2001), empirical evaluations of the effects of mandatory custody mediation in DV and non-DV cases are exceedingly rare. Thus far, evaluations of mandatory custody mediation have focused almost exclusively on retrospective self-reported satisfaction, with little regard for evaluations of equitable outcomes (Davies & Ralph, 1998;Hahn & Kleist, 2000;Jones & Bodtker, 1998;Walker et al, 1994). Because the primary goal in custody decisions is not parental satisfaction, but rather the health, safety, and welfare of the children, self-reported satisfaction may have little relationship to the critical outcome of safety for the victim and child.…”