Counselors Working in Family Courts ─ Diversify Your Practice

Conflict Resolution, or Alternative Dispute Resolution, has the potential to be a rich and lucrative niche for counselors who work with families. Michelle Mitcham, a counselor educator with more than 10 years of experience in this unique field, explains the very specific and various roles that professional counselors may take on if they are interested in working in the court system or with clients involved in family forensic matters, especially high-conflict divorce or other high-litigation cases. Each chapter in her book highlights specialized roles counselors may perform for the court as a way to diversify their private practice and create a niche for themselves. The scope of each chapter includes how the counselor works with the parents, the children, and if necessary the lawyers, judges, and courts. The book illuminates how a counselor navigates through the family court system, differentiating the process with each role. Take-away points at the end of each chapter highlight the challenges and opportunities for working under each hat.

Michelle Mitcham, PhD, CFM, has a diverse background. Her primary identity is Counselor Educator and she has a unique specialty in conflict resolution and forensic family interventions such as family mediation, parenting coordination, expert testimony, court report writing for court-ordered parents, social investigation, collaborative law consulting, and related roles.