When therapy meets the bench: subpoenaed clinical notes in family law

Laura Dodds; Dominique Moritz; Catherine Creamer

doi:10.1080/13218719.2025.2578538

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When therapy meets the bench: subpoenaed clinical notes in family law

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

When therapy meets the bench: subpoenaed clinical notes in family law

Laura Dodds, Dominique Moritz and Catherine Creamer

Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Vol.Advanced access

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2025.2578538

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Abstract

clinical notes

family law

human rights

mental health

parenting dispute

subpoena

therapy

UniSC Diversity Area - Life Stages

UniSC Diversity Area - Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

This study presents the first systematic examination of mental health practitioners’ experiences with the subpoenaing of clinical notes and their use by family report writers in Australian family law proceedings. The findings reveal that current subpoena practices can significantly undermine therapeutic relationships and compromise the emotional and psychological safety of clients, particularly children and parents involved in parenting disputes. These risks are further amplified when clients are victim-survivors of family violence. Mental health professionals and family report writers share concerns about the broader implications of this practice, including the erosion of trust in therapeutic settings and the limited relevance of clinical notes for legal decision-making. The study underscores the urgent need to distinguish between practices that genuinely support the rights and wellbeing of families, and those that risk causing unintended harm. It calls for critical scrutiny of compelled disclosure to ensure legal processes align with child-centred, trauma-informed and rights-based approaches to decision-making.

Details

Title: When therapy meets the bench: subpoenaed clinical notes in family law
Authors: Laura Dodds (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
Dominique Moritz - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
Catherine Creamer - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
Publication details: Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Vol.Advanced access
Publisher: Routledge
DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2025.2578538
ISSN: 1934-1687
Copyright note: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Organisation Unit: School of Law and Society; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991184279302621
Output Type: Journal article

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Web Of Science research areas: Criminology & Penology; Law; Psychiatry; Psychology, Multidisciplinary