Family Court Evaluation Services
30 years of experience working in the Maricopa County Superior Court system
Dr. Mellen is proud to put her knowledge and expertise to work in Family Court and has had over 30 years of experience working in the Maricopa County Superior Court system. She is well regarded by family law attorneys and provides a range of services to parents who find themselves involved in Family Court matters. These include:
Evaluation and interview services include:
- Comprehensive Family Evaluation
- Limited Family Assessment (LFA) or Focused Assessment (FA)
- Independent Psychological Evaluation (IPE)
- Best Interest Evaluation
- Child Interview or Parent Interview
- Child Interview and Assessment After Abuse Allegations.
Dr. Mellen provides these services upon appointment by the Court. When Dr. Mellen engages in any of these evaluation services under Court appointment, the findings of the evaluation are shared with the Court and with attorneys representing both parents. During an initial meeting with Dr. Mellen she will carefully review and explain what to expect during an evaluation and this is a time to ask questions and get clarification. Dr. Mellen works collaboratively with parents in her evaluator role and seeks information from them that will help guide her methodology.
It is Dr. Mellen’s goal to help parents use the assessment experience as a way to learn more about their family system and the specific needs and strengths of all family members involved in the evaluation process. Her role in this process remains that of a neutral and her written opinions and recommendations are understood when reviewing her final report as flowing from the data collected during the evaluation.
Whether Dr. Mellen’s appointment requires a written report or oral report to the Court, she provides a summary of the data relating to best interest factors defined by Arizona State statutes. It needs to be understood that data collection and review when performing court ordered evaluations is more extensive and time-consuming than when providing therapy services. Dr. Mellen is quite conscious of the costs involved and will make every effort to make the process as efficient as possible in order to help parents or individuals manage the expenses involved.
