Psychosocial Assessments
Comprehensive clinical evaluation drawing on interview, collateral records, and standardized screening tools. Delivered as a written report admissible in court.
Court Services
Clinical rigor, when the stakes are highest.
Psychosocial assessments, expert witness testimony, and reunification work for court-involved families in Missouri. Grounded in evidence. Prepared under oath. Delivered with integrity.
Family law sits at the intersection of legal reasoning and clinical reality — and those two domains don't always speak the same language. As a Licensed Professional Counselor with specialized experience in court-involved work, my role is to bridge that gap honestly.
I work with attorneys, guardians ad litem, judges, and families across Missouri on matters where mental health, child welfare, and family dynamics are central to the proceedings. That includes contested custody, reunification after estrangement or abuse allegations, parenting plan evaluations, and cases where a child's psychological well-being needs an independent clinical voice.
My testimony is not for sale to one side. I'm engaged for what I actually find — and that's precisely what makes my work useful to the court.
Scope of Services
What I do — and what I don't.
Transparency about scope matters more here than almost anywhere else. Here's where I can genuinely help a case, and where I'll refer you elsewhere.
Expert Witness Testimony
Courtroom testimony on assessment findings, treatment progress, and clinical opinion. Prepared, clear under cross-examination, and tied to the clinical record.
Reunification Therapy
Structured, court-informed therapeutic work to rebuild parent-child relationships after estrangement, extended separation, or documented rupture.
Diagnostic Evaluations
Targeted clinical diagnostics when the court needs to understand a parent's or child's mental health functioning — including ADHD, mood, and trauma-related presentations.
Treatment Progress Reports
When the court orders therapy, I provide structured reports on progress, engagement, and clinical recommendations without breaking therapeutic integrity.
Attorney Consultation
Pre-deposition and pre-trial consultation with attorneys on mental health issues relevant to their case — including help interpreting existing clinical records.
Important: What I Am Not
I am not a custody evaluator in the formal sense (CCRC) — in cases requiring a full custody evaluation, I will refer to a licensed psychologist credentialed specifically for that work. I also do not conduct psychological testing batteries that fall outside LPC scope. My work is clinical and observational; I'll tell you clearly when a case calls for something I'm not the right person for.
The Process
How a court case engagement actually works.
01
Initial Inquiry
You or your attorney reaches out with a brief description of the case, the question before the court, and the timeline. I'll respond within 2 business days to confirm whether I'm available and an appropriate fit.
02
Engagement Agreement
If we move forward, we execute a written engagement that clearly defines the scope (therapy, assessment, or evaluation), fee structure, the role of collateral records, and — critically — the limits of what can and can't be said in court.
03
Assessment / Clinical Work
I conduct interviews, review collateral records with proper releases, administer any appropriate clinical measures, and — in ongoing therapy cases — I generally require at least 10 sessions before I'll offer court-facing opinions. Rushed conclusions don't serve anyone.
04
Written Report or Records
When requested, I provide a written psychosocial assessment or clinical summary prepared to be admissible and useful. For ongoing therapy, records are released according to the governing order and applicable law.
05
Deposition & Trial Testimony
I'll prepare carefully for deposition and trial. I testify to what's in the record and to the clinical opinions I genuinely hold — no more, no less. That's why my work holds up under cross-examination.
For Attorneys & GALs
A straightforward partner for complex cases.
I know your time is the constraint. Here's what working with me looks like from your side.
Clear engagement terms
Scope, fees, and boundaries defined in writing before work begins. No surprises. No scope creep.
Responsive communication
I return attorney calls and emails within 2 business days. Court-ordered deadlines are treated as hard deadlines.
Report quality
Reports are structured, sourced, and written to hold up to cross-examination. Opinions are clearly separated from observations.
Honest about fit
If a case needs expertise outside my scope — full custody evaluation, neuropsych testing, forensic interviewing — I'll say so and refer you.
Request a Consultation
Start with a case consultation.
Send the key facts, the question before the court, and your timeline. I'll respond within two business days with whether I'm available, whether I'm a fit, and what next steps look like.
What to include in your inquiry
01
Case posture
Pre-trial, post-decree, mid-litigation. Jurisdiction and case number if comfortable sharing.
02
What you're seeking
Assessment, reunification therapy, expert testimony, attorney consultation — or uncertainty about which.
03
Timeline
Upcoming hearings, mediation dates, or court-imposed deadlines. Flagging these helps me prioritize.
04
Parties involved
Attorney of record, GAL, opposing counsel — so I can flag conflicts early.
Attorneys & GALs
For retained expert work, please have your office send the initial inquiry — it helps me screen conflicts properly before any client contact.
Prefer to call?
Leave a voicemail at (816) 287-4040 — I return attorney calls within one business day.
Secure case inquiry form
Submitted directly to my SimplePractice inbox. Not standard email.
Ethics & Limits
Why I won't say what you want to hear.
Court work is where the ethics of our profession get stress-tested. A few commitments I hold firmly:
- I testify to findings, not outcomes.My job is to present what the clinical record supports — not to advocate for a specific custody arrangement unless the evidence genuinely leads there.
- Dual roles are avoided.If I'm someone's therapist, I generally should not also be the person evaluating them for the court. I'll help the court understand why — and refer out when the case requires a separate evaluator.
- Collateral matters.I take collateral contacts (teachers, pediatricians, prior providers) seriously. A clinical picture built only from the client's self-report is incomplete — and in contested cases, often misleading.
- Children are not evidence.In any work involving kids, their psychological well-being takes precedence over strategic value to either side. This sometimes means declining requests that would compromise a child's care.