MAGAL Conference: Bungles, Biases, & Boundaries: What Can Possibly Go Wrong?

Massachusetts Association of Guardians ad Litem, Inc. Presents:

Bungles, Biases, & Boundaries:

What Can Possibly Go Wrong?

Keynote Speaker

Sol Rappaport, Ph.D. ABPP

 February 10, 2023

8:30am-4:45 pm

Lunch included

The Conference Center at Waltham Woods, Waltham, MA

Please plan on joining your peers and colleagues, in person and live stream.

Working in the family forensic field as a mental health professional or attorney, whether as a GAL, PC, legal advocate, or therapist, involves enormous challenges and many areas in which to make mistakes.  The goal of this conference is to explore some of the more complicated situations and traps that make even the most seasoned professional vulnerable to attacks at court, and which can lead to unfortunate consequences for court-involved families.  We will uncover pitfalls for the unwary and how to avoid them in the context of many circumstances, such as maintaining proper boundaries, managing biases, testifying at depositions and court, writing reports, utilizing psychological testing, and interviewing family members and collaterals in high conflict cases.  Regardless of your role, avoiding costly mistakes and adhering to best practices will lead to better results for the court-involved families we all serve, and increase the quality and consistency of our diverse professional work.  

 Learning Objectives

• to conduct scientifically sound, bias-free evaluations and present the information to the court in a balanced, effective, and reasoned manner
• to testify at court or deposition, and withstand cross-examination, credibly, consistently and with competence
• the dos and don'ts for GALs, parenting coordinators, clinicians and legal advocates when working with court-involved clients.
• the role psych testing can and should play in evaluations and other work with court- involved families

• skills for working in professional roles with high conflict personalities