Separated Families Policy

Updated 1st December 2025

Policy for the provision of services to children whose parents are separated

When a family experiences parental separation or divorce, it is often very difficult for everyone, especially children. When the parental relationship is difficult, it is even more important that therapy is an emotionally safe environment.

Solution Psychology is clear about our position in providing treatment to children whose parents are separated or divorced, including but not limited to the following:

Our role

Solution Psychology works to assist children to achieve goals associated with several presentations including but not limited to anxiety, depression, autism and learning. Our expertise is not in assisting children to adjust to family breakdown and the change in family circumstances. Should this become the child’s primary focus in therapy we will refer on.

Solution Psychology manages the provision of feedback about a child’s therapy in cases of separated families as follows:

Encouraging parents to alternate bringing their child to session.

In the case of alternating sessions, and where therapeutically applicable, the presenting parent may be invited into the end of the session to be given feedback. The non-presenting parent is afforded the same opportunity during their presenting session.

Providing a short summary to both parents, shared in a joint email at the end of the child’s session. This is sent during the child’s session time. Additional charges apply to requests for session updates sent outside of session times.

While Solution Psychology welcomes email updates from parents between sessions, these communications should remain focused on information relevant to the child’s therapeutic goals and the purposes for which our service was engaged. Lengthy emails will be read and attended to at the commencement of and within the time allocated for your child’s session.

All sessions, regardless of which parent has paid for them, are provided to support the therapeutic goals of the child (the client). Payment for a session or report does not give one parent exclusive rights over the information. Reports, session notes, and other records form part of the child’s (our client) file and are managed in accordance with legal and ethical obligations. This means that information relevant to the child’s care may be shared with both parents who hold parental responsibility, unless restricted by a Court Order. Parents cannot direct the clinic to withhold information from the other parent when it pertains to the child’s wellbeing or treatment.

Solution Psychology prefers to work with both parents given that in the vast majority of cases; this is what best supports children. Every decision that we make is underpinned by our values, which we remain committed to. These include

We are world class

We collaborate

We care

We lead by example

Your role

It is assumed that an effective co-parental relationship involves ongoing communication between parents, about parental decision-making and day to day parenting issues (i.e. shared parental responsibility).

Each parent should recognise and, as necessary, reaffirm to the child/ren that their psychologist is their helper, and not allied with either party.

Separated parents are required to attend separate intake appointments. Each intake appointment is billed as a separate session, and each parent is responsible for the associated fees.

We do not

Solution Psychology does not provide recommendations about living arrangements for your child/ren (i.e. recommendations about time sharing or parenting schedules). If requiring this service, we are able to recommend forensic psychologists who are able to assist with this.

Solution Psychology does not write court reports or provide recommendations to solicitors / lawyers with regard to custody disputes.

Solution Psychology shall not be privy to, sight, or retain copies of any Family Court Reports (including Family Reports, Single Expert Witness Reports, or similar documents). If a Family Court Report is received by the clinic, it will not be read, stored, or uploaded to the child’s file. The document will either be securely deleted (if electronic) or returned to the sender (if physical). Parents will be advised that such reports cannot form part of the clinical record.

Legal matters

In the event of a subpoena, Solution Psychology will write to the Court and request to provide a report instead of an entire file. This report will be provided to the Court at the cost of the parent. This approach enables the psychologist to provide a cohesive and contextualised picture of the focus of therapy and intervention, which is not what case notes provide. The Court can refuse in which case we are obliged to provide the child’s file which will include case notes, results of screening tools, appointment history (attended, rescheduled etc.) and invoicing.

Solution Psychology must sight Court Orders (interim or final) before accepting any referrals for children where Court Orders are in place. This includes Intervention Orders that may be in place consecutively with Federal Circuit Court Orders. Orders are reviewed by a member of our leadership team who are the ultimate decision makers as to whether Solution Psychology is a suitable service.

 Where an Intervention Order (IVO), including a Family Violence Intervention Order (FVIO) or Personal Safety Intervention Order (PSIO), is in place and the child is named as a protected person, the individual subject to the order must not attend the clinic without providing at least 24 hours prior notice, and must not attend with the child present.

Where an IVO (including FVIO/PSIO) is in place, the clinic is not obliged to disclose specific scheduling information (e.g. dates, times, or locations) of appointments to the person subject to the order. The clinic may, at its discretion, confirm only that an appointment is scheduled in general terms, and will disclose specifics only with the protected person’s written consent or where required by law (e.g. subpoena/court order).

Financial Matters

Where a child is brought to a session by alternating parents and fees are settled by each parent, Solution Psychology does not take responsibility for processing rebates. Receipts can be emailed to the paying parent or printed for the paying parent to present to Medicare themselves.

Fees apply to the non-attending parent requiring feedback between sessions. Each parent is welcome to make appointments unless a Court Order states otherwise. Fees apply for non-attending parents requiring consultation.

Consent

To ensure the best interests of your child/ren are met, Solution Psychology requires the consent of both parents (or all legal guardians) before commencing services. This approach helps to ensure that therapy does not become a source of conflict between parents and that decisions are made solely in the best interests of the child.

In circumstances where one parent is unavailable or unable to provide consent (for example, in cases involving incarceration, lack of contact, or court orders limiting parental responsibility), supporting documentation may be requested to clarify consent and ensure that services proceed lawfully and appropriately.

The same limits of confidentiality apply to the disclosure of personal information as per Solution Psychology’s Confidential Consent Form.

Where consent is required as part of the course of treatment (e.g., liaison with external professionals, offsite visits to schools or kindergartens), consent will be obtained from the presenting and paying parent, unless both parents are actively involved in the child’s care. In such cases, consent will be sought from both parents

Children aged 14 years and older are generally considered capable of providing informed consent for psychological services. In these cases, the consent of one parent is sufficient unless the child is assessed as unable to provide their own consent.  This assessment will be made by the treating psychologist after the initial session in which the child is present

If the nature of a service changes, for example from therapy to an assessment, Solution Psychology will make reasonable attempts to obtain consent from both parents who hold parental responsibility. This may include written requests and follow-up communication. In circumstances where one parent does not reply within a reasonable timeframe, services may proceed on the basis of consent from the other parent. This approach ensures continuity of care for the child while still demonstrating a good faith effort to involve both parents.

Record Keeping

Where parent sessions are conducted for the purposes of supporting their child’s therapy (e.g., discussing strategies, formulation, or progress), records of these sessions will be included within the child’s clinical file. Each note will be clearly labelled as “Parent Session” to distinguish it from direct child sessions.

Information shared in parent sessions about the child cannot be treated as confidential from the other parent and may be disclosed where required. In the event of a subpoena or other legal request, the child file (including any parent session notes) will be treated as a single record and released in accordance with our legal obligations.

In circumstances where a parent later engages in their own individual therapy with a psychologist at Solution Psychology, a separate file will be created in the parent’s name. Any earlier parent session notes related to the child will remain in the child’s file and will not be transferred.

If a separate parent file is created solely for the purpose of conducting parent sessions, it will be clearly labelled “Parent Session – [Child’s Name]” to ensure clarity and alignment with the child’s record. Legal and ethical obligations remain the same as if those notes were part of the child’s file