I am both happy and proud to have as a first official “supporter” of this
newsletter my colleague psychologist Ben Garber, PhD a noted and respected
evaluator, and prolific author on the interface of psychology and family law.
Ben has (as you will read below – and if you read to the end, there is a
link to a discount!) created a simple, engaging, neutral program
www.DefuseDivorce.com, to inform and educate parents about the process
they are about to undergo.
Here is Ben’s description:
Summary for those with very short attention spans: When parents
participate in advance orientation (AO) to the divorce-related services they
engage in, they are more compliant, and the service is more efficient and
effective.
DefuseDivorce.com now hosts AO programming for the divorcing
parents you work with. This article elaborates on this premise and offers you a
20% off coupon for all www.DefuseDivorce.com services through 2024.
When consumers are oriented to a service in advance of participating in
that service, they are more compliant, more satisfied and the service becomes
more efficient and more.

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 AO is neither informed consent nor coaching.
Informed consent educates consumers about their legal rights and the
risks associated with a proposed service. As such, informed consent can
contribute to consumer anxiety and undermine consumer satisfaction, service
efficiency, efficacy, and ecological validity. Coaching, of course, is a no-no in
family law. It is unethical and counterproductive to teach a litigant how to
respond to a psychometric instrument or how to “win” the custody dispute.
Advance orientation and www.DefuseDivorce.comdo neither. Our intent
is the humane, respectful, obvious first step of simply helping the people who
participate in court-ordered, custody-related services to know what lies ahead.
By defusing anxiety, I believe that parents will feel better heard and that
evaluators, therapists, mediators, parenting coordinators, and judges are more
likely to understand and serve the needs of each child.
Informed consumers are better organized, more likely to feel heard, and
more likely to find middle ground.
Please visit www.DefuseDivorce.com today and recommend it to your
clients. I am glad to provide you with a 20% discount using coupon code
COLLABORATE on all DefuseDivorce.com programming through the end of
2024.
 Please join in!
Many issues in this work intrigue and excite me, but none so much as the
work now underway through www.DefuseDivorce.com. AO programming is
easy to create, very low cost, low-tech, and can be made accessible everywhere
to everyone who seeks it. Your voice can help us defuse the anxiety associated
with court-ordered family law processes and better serve kids’ needs. Please
reach me directly at any time to learn more.
Ben Garber, Ph.D., of DiffuseDivorce.com, and enthusiastic supporter of the
Poliacoff, PhD/Expert Witness e-newsletter.
www.FamilyLawCosnulting.org
www.DefuseDivorce.com
bdgarberphd@FamilyLawConsulting.org
 Interested in reading more?

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Dale, M. D., & Gould, J. W. (2014). Science, mental health consultants, and
attorney-expert relationships in child custody. Family Law Quarterly, 48(1),
1-34.
Darville-Beneby R,, Lomanowska, A.M,, Yu, H.C., Jobin, P., Rosenbloom,
B.N., Gabriel, G., Daudt, H., Negraeff, M., Di Renna, T., Hudspith, M., &
Clarke, H. (2023). The impact of preoperative patient education on
postoperative pain, opioid use, and psychological outcomes: A narrative
review. Canadian Journal of Pain. 7(2):2266751.
Garber, B.D. (2024). Why the heck aren’t we doing this already? Advance
orientation (AO) can improve the efficacy and efficiency of court-ordered
family evaluations and interventions. Family Transitions.
Goldberger, J.J., Kruse, J., Kadish, A.H., Passman, R., & Bergner, D.W.
(2011). Effect of informed consent format on patient anxiety, knowledge,
and satisfaction. American Heart Journal, 162(4):780-785
Locat, F. (in preparation 2024). Psychological and psychosocial appraisal:
the point of view of appraised parents. [translated from the French].

Krouse, H..J. (2001). Video modelling to educate patients. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 33(6):748-57. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01716.x.
PMID: 11298212.