Trauma in the Family Court

A few weeks ago my colleague Amina Le Gall and I attended a conference in Milton Keynes about trauma in the family court. Whilst it is still reasonably fresh in my memory, I wanted to reflect on the talks and things that were brought to mind in an area which is so relevant to our practice as family law solicitors.

The conference was organised by the local family justice board and amongst the attendees was the president of the family division, Sir Andrew McFarlane. Local family court judges, Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), local authority social workers and managers, barristers, solicitors and many more people working in the family court were also present.

Fascinating talks were given by, amongst others, a psychologist on how trauma may present and affect a person, social workers on their work with struggling families, a family judge on his experience of vulnerable witnesses and a social worker on working with and understanding the alleged perpetrator of domestic abuse. Some of the talks were very hard-hitting, including two young women from an organisation run by young people who were involved in the family court as children. They discussed the trauma that being the subject of proceedings caused them and how they want to see the process improved.

What can we as family law solicitors take away from this? In our practice we see that the family court in and of itself can cause trauma. There are some practical things that we can do such as changing the format of hearings, the language used or things that are seemingly as simple as the layout of the court room. However, in my opinion the most meaningful thing we can do is to be aware of this issue, recognise vulnerability and provide the best support that we can to people in these situations. This might be in trying to resolve disputes outside of the family court – something that family lawyers, including Hawkins Family Law, have been regularly doing for many years.

It might also include encouraging additional psychological support as this can be so valuable following the breakdown of a relationship. At Hawkins Family Law we are fully behind this approach and have been working alongside our in-house psychotherapist and divorce coach Emma Chamberlain for over a decade. Emma has a wealth of experience working with people going through the family courts and has an in-depth understanding of the type of trauma which might be exacerbated or even induced. As part of our continued commitment to be able to offer counselling and additional emotional support we have recently started working with a second counsellor, Dirk Griffin. Both Emma and Dirk work with clients to build a real understanding of the person and their challenges and focus on achieving real and sustainable change and empowerment for them.

At the recent conference I learned that trauma is a concept that has only recently been properly recognised and that it is something we are still trying to fully understand. As family lawyers, we are in a privileged position of being able to work with and support people in these difficult scenarios.

Our team of leading family law specialists can advise and guide you from the moment we start working with you. Talk to us in confidence and find out where you stand. Get in touch – we’re here to help.

This article is intended for the use of our clients and other interested parties. The information contained in it reflects the author’s view and is believed to be correct at the date of publication. However, it is necessarily of a brief and general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional legal advice.