After counsel’s researcher interviews Richard for many hours, Richard mentions as an aside that he is concerned about Jane because she was coping during the last months of the marriage by drinking more. The researcher points out in the next defense team meeting that counsel must look into Jane’s drinking. Counsel should ask the defense team expert to communicate with Richard’s therapist and explore Richard’s denial and whether Richard and Jane have been in a “negotiated maladjustment contract.” This is a concept that grew out of marital therapy research. It pre-dates the notion of “co-dependence” and holds that in return for behaviors that meet the compelling needs of both partners, one or both of them perform behaviors that are self-injurious, deviant, or maladaptive (Carson, 1969; Gehrke & Moxom, 1969). Additionally, Richard’s therapist should be asked to deal with Richard’s lack of efficient thinking, inability to focus, anxiety, and multiplicity of storylines. The goal of pushing Richard’s therapy is to confront his denial, prepare him for two – maybe three – trials and help him be more effective in developing a plan for Adrian. As part of his recovery from this temporary disaster, Richard should be encouraged to go into “research mode.” Counsel should encourage him to begin by studying the famous abuse cases of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s – McMartin, Kern County, Kelly Michaels, and Wenatchee. Richard should watch Sean Penn’s documentary Witch Hunt and learn how
the manipulation of the children in the Kern County, California, case was done (Penn, 2008).
In the family case, Jane and her attorney are insisting upon the exclusive use of the marital home. Jane and Steven, one of the therapists at Richard’s clinic, have entered into an agreement to keep the clinic operating without Richard. Counsel’s investigator and researcher should be charged with looking into whether Jane and Steven might have a deeper relationship. As the researcher works on the chronology with Richard and the defense team expert, they realize that because Richard was in school for the last four years and working part time, Richard was the one around Adrian the most. Jane left for work at 7:30 AM, and was not home until at least 4:30 PM – sometimes not until 7:30 or 8:00 PM. This information should also go to Richard’s therapist, to aid in pushing on Richard’s denial.
Having been ordered to mandatory mediation, Jane and Richard file their narratives for the custody mediator. Jane’s narrative describes Jane as the primary caregiver for Adrian. Jane claims that she is the best candidate for the role of single parent for the child, and that she is more responsible. Jane accuses Richard of being a mama’s boy, dependent upon his parents to prop him up and extricate him from any messes. To counter this expected gambit, counsel has been vigorously conducting discovery in the family case, and the private investigator has uncovered several disciplinary actions against Jane at the high school where she teaches. These disciplinary actions were for tardiness, for absenteeism, and suspicion of intoxication. Richard is shocked – he had no inkling of the depths of Jane’s problem. Counsel’s private investigator finds that Jane’s relationship with Steven, the clinic therapist, has developed. Jane has begun attending support groups for “mistreated women” with Steven’s sister Janice, a militant advocate for abused women. Jane complains to Janice about the “inconclusive” finding from Adrian’s pediatrician that in three years of caring for Adrian, she’s never seen indications of abuse. Steven’s sister Janice refers Jane to a physician who is more oriented to their point of view. This physician has developed a reputation in the state for finding indications of abuse in little girls and boys. In the physical exam, Jane tells the physician that Adrian has often complained of being hurt by Daddy. The physician examines Jane’s photographs of Adrian’s facial injuries and repeatedly asks the child how many times Daddy has hurt her. One should remember what the philosopher Goethe taught: “We look for what we know. We find what we look for.” In next week’s blog we will be concluding the discussion on this topic.
Carson, R. (1969). Interaction concepts of personality. Chicago: Aldine.
Gehrke, S. and Moxom, J. (1969) Diagnostic Classifications and Treatment
Techniques in Marriage Counseling. Family Process, 1(2), 253-264.
Penn, S. (Producer) (2008). Witch hunt.