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Psychological Assessment: Evaluating the Evaluations

By David A. Martindale, Ph.D., ABPP (forensic)
December 27, 2004

In an article scheduled for publication in the April, 2005 edition of the Journal of Child Custody (in press), Gould-Saltman, an experienced family law attorney, opines that attorneys like tests because they “break things down to numbers, and we understand numbers.” She adds: “Tests give the sense [emphasis added] of objectivity to counterbalance the much more subjective clinical portion of a custody evaluation.” In commenting on the MMPI-2 in particular, Gould-Saltman expresses the view that it is “probably the most well-liked test among lawyers because it offers 'hard numbers' rather than ephemeral concepts.” If only it were this simple.

Functional Abilities

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