In a previous post on how to avoid legal problems when engaging in a new counseling relationship, we mentioned that you never know when a client will become involved in a legal dispute, like a divorce or a child custody case, that will require your participation. Because of that,…

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Mental health professionals have to switch hats between different roles when their clients become involved in legal proceedings. While a counselor typically has a patient-focused therapeutic approach in normal counseling sessions, the requirements and expectations are quite diffe…

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We’ve previously covered the differences between lay witnesses and expert witnesses, as well as who is qualified to testify as an expert witness and the limitations on expert testimony. Essentially, a treating provider is limited to providing lay testimony on the observable fac…

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In our last lesson in our ongoing series, Tips for Testifying in Legal Proceedings, we looked at the differences between lay witnesses and expert witnesses, and pointed out that a lay witness on the stand can generally only testify about facts, while an expert witness can testify…

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Our series of Tips for Testifying in Legal Proceedings continues! In Lesson 4, we explored the courtroom procedure of direct and cross examination. Lesson 5 is a little more specific, focusing on when a mental health professional is allowed to give their opinion on the facts wh…

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This series of Tips for Testifying in Legal Proceedings is designed to help witnesses understand courtroom procedures, so they can be as comfortable and prepared as possible for giving their testimony. Our last lesson looked at how to handle trick questions during testimony, and…

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Welcome to the second installment of MyFamilyLawyer.net’s series of Tips for Testifying in Legal Proceedings In Lesson 1, we discussed the basics of providing courtroom testimony. This lesson, on how to respond to questions on the stand, will describe more sophisticated techniq…

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Most non-lawyers are unfamiliar with how our legal system operates and the often adversarial nature of the process. Testifying in court routinely creates stress, worry and high anxiety for anyone untrained and unfamiliar with its nuances. As with any other new endeavor, gaining s…

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