Traumatic Divorce and Separation

Laura Brown, University of Washington, Seattle, Psychology of Women Quarterly For professionals working in the area of child custody and intimate partner violence, this book is a must-read. The author deserves the thanks of those who work in the field of intimate partner violence for her painstaking attention to the details of abusive custody and divorce and for her suggestions about how survivors can come through this process empowered and intact.

Lisa Fischel Wolovick, JD, MSW, is an attorney who has represented battered women for almost thirty years. She helped to organize the first Criminal Court in New York State that specialized in domestic violence. Before becoming an attorney, she obtained her masters in social work and worked as a hospital social worker. She is currently teaching family violence and child abuse and neglect at the City University of New York, John Jay College's Graduate Program in Forensic Psychology, and has published and been a panelist in domestic violence, child custody, and trauma.

Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Identifying the Problem: Traumatic Divorce and Separation Chapter 2: The Impact of Divorce and Separation on Adults, Children, and Adolescents Chapter 3: The Struggle to Define Domestic Violence Chapter 4: The Effects of Trauma on Children Chapter 5: Gender Bias in the Family Courts Chapter 6: Intimate Partner Abuse, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Chapter 7: Economic and Legal Abuse Chapter 8: An Integrated Mental Health Response in Custody Litigation Chapter 9: The Response to Families Engaged in Traumatic Divorce: Judicial Trends and Reforms Chapter 10: Expert Testimony and Custody Evaluations Chapter 11: Recommendations and Conclusions: Building an Integrated Response Bibliography Index