Mother argues psychologist assigned by court is not regulated

A mother from Croydon has claimed a psychologist assigned to her by the court was not properly regulated. She stated the psychologist’s assessment should be removed from her case, which involves a dispute with her husband over their children.

The mother researched the psychologist and stated she was not properly regulated. She stated that the psychologist was not registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or the British Psychology Society (BSP).

Judge Delia Coonan, who was not the judge who appointed this psychologist, appointed another psychologist to assess the family for “pragmatic reasons”. She did acknowledge, however, that the psychologist disputed these claims.

This comes after a separate family law case judge said family courts need better guidance over what clarifies as a “psychologist” due to concerns about it causing disputes about the validity of psychological reports.

The mother argued that “judges should establish once and for all” whether this psychologist is properly regulated, or not. She continued:

“My research shows that this psychologist, who is paid public money to write reports which can have enormous effects on people’s lives, is not properly regulated. I don’t believe there’s a regulatory body which could properly deal with any complaint.

Someone in authority should establish whether I’m right. Other parents have a right to know. It’s a matter of public interest.”

Judge Coonan ruled the psychologist cannot be named in any media reports.