A psychosocial expertise is a complete and impartial assessment of a child’s family situation, particularly in cases where custody or access rights are in dispute between parents, grandparents, or third parties involved in the child’s life. The expertise is conducted by a licensed professional, such as a psychologist or social worker who evaluates both the parental capacity of the parents involved in the child’s life as well as the needs of the child. The primary goal is to provide the court, parents, and lawyers with information about the family situation of the child and recommendations in their best interest.
The mandate to carry out a psychosocial expertise is ordered by a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, Family law division. In Quebec, a psychosocial expertise can be done publicly and privately. However, there are major differences between the two.
Public Psychosocial Expertise
Public psychosocial expertise can be provided by the Superior Court of Quebec’s “Service d’expertise psychosociale”, following a judge’s order. Public psychosocial expertise is provided by the public health and social services system, which is funded by the Government of Quebec. These services are offered at no direct cost to the parties, but there may be an extreme wait time due to high demand.
In the public sector, psychosocial expertise is conducted by members of the Ordre professionnel des travailleurs sociaux du Québec or the Ordre des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec, but not by psychologists. This means that a social worker or family therapists cannot diagnose parents or children, nor can they conduct psychological testing. Their role is to assess the family dynamic and overall well-being of the children, but they are limited in providing detailed recommendations, including but not limited to diagnoses and personality testing.
Private Psychosocial Expertise
Private psychosocial services are provided by independent practitioners, such as psychologists. These services are paid for directly by the parties. The wait time is not as long, but the cost is significant. Private expertise can be more tailored to families’ needs and often involves specific assessments such as personality testing and diagnoses, making their recommendations to the court more tailored to the needs of the child and the capacity of the parents or other adults involved in the child’s life.
Public psychosocial expertise offers general assessments of family dynamics but lacks access to psychological testing conducted by psychologists, while private expertise provides more detailed, tailored evaluations, and a recommendation in the best interest of the child. If one of the parents do not agree, you can apply to the court for authorization to do a counter expertise. The court will determine the credibility and the weight of the recommendations.
