The current state and problems of complex psychological and psychiatric evaluation in child custody disputes
In this article, pursuing the objective of highlighting the topical problems of forensic psychological and psychiatric assessment in civil cases of child custody disputes, we have analyzed the practice of carrying out such forensic expert studies at the V. Serbsky National Medical Research Centre for Psychiatry and Narcology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation since the year 2003. We point out the organizational, theoretical, and methodological problems in these assessments - their subjective and, increasingly, objective complexity; ambiguity in understanding the main forensic expert concepts alongside the insufficiencies of the scientific foundation; the need to develop reliable methods for studying families with the validity of these methods established within the framework of forensic assessment, as well as the methodology of testing for collaborative activities; the problem of third-party specialists helping individuals prepare for court-ordered forensic assessment.