For a forensic psychologist, child custody evaluations, increasingly referred to as parenting plan evaluations, represent some of the most impactful and challenging work in the field. These assessments place practitioners in the center of high-stakes, adversarial litigation where recommendations directly shape the future of children and families. To navigate these complexities, forensic psychologists must move beyond clinical intuition and embrace a rigorous, multi-method approach grounded in psychological science.
Central to this evidence-based practice is the use of structured assessment tools. Among these, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) has emerged as a critical instrument for providing objective data to assist the court. This blog post explores how you, as a forensic psychologist, can effectively interpret and integrate MMPI-3 results to create defensible, child-centered recommendations.