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Many psychologists in the United States and Canada provide child custody and access (C&A) assessments as part of their clinical services. There are guidelines based on ethical standards that inform this specialization, which include the recommendation that providers be familiar with the empirical bases of their work. This article provides an overview of guidelines, the assessment process, and the empirical basis for C&A assessment. Although there is limited evidence of traditional standards of direct empirical utility of such assessments, there are relevant research areas that include the impacts of separation and divorce on children, family relationships, and coparenting processes. Each is critical to understanding children's welfare, a parent's capacity to act in the best interests of a child, and the coparenting environment that may follow separation and divorce. Given the importance of minimizing postdivorce conflict within a coparenting environment, the indirect scientific evidence that supports C&A assessment can also be used to pursue more amicable solutions through mediation and parent education. Although research is growing supporting these alternative practices as well as C&A assessment itself, much more is needed. Psychologists who offer these services will find this article to be a useful overview of current practice and science, and for those contemplating involvement in these services, the article highlights issues to be considered. Keywords: custody and access, coparenting, separation and divorce, children's needs, best interests of a child DOI: 10.1037/a0019271

The issue of whether to release a minor's treatment records to a parent presents a complex ethical dilemma for clinicians. This is made more complex when the child is an adolescent and when the parents are involved in a custody dispute. The author presents a case summary followed by a review of the literature. A section on court rulings in similar cases is included. In general, courts have ruled in favor of maintaining the privilege for mature minors involved in custody proceedings. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations pertaining to minors whose parents may not be acting in their best interests are also reviewed. Procedural recommendations by several experts in the field are offered that may serve to establish the child's rights to privacy at the outset of treatment and thus avert ethical conflicts. The author concludes with the case outcome and an advisory for the clinician. Keywords: adolescents, child custody, children's rights, confidentiality, treatment records DOI: 10.1037/a0017419