Working as a psychologist expert witness in the Family Court

In recent years, there has been a decline in the number of practitioner psychologists engaging in family court expert witness assessment work. 

As a consequence, there has been a noted effect on the court's ability to instruct in a timely manner, impacting on the welfare of the child.

While challenging, this can be a rewarding area of work, shaping the life outcomes for children and families.

This workshop aims to provide practitioner psychologists with essential knowledge of:

• the family court system in England and Wales, the Family Procedure Rules and associated Practice Directions
• effective contracting and navigating the terrain as a Single Joint Expert
• issues around competent assessments of children, adults and families and their management
• mitigating the possibility of complaints and concerns
• recent developments including transparency orders and FJC guidance

Date: Monday 1 December 2025

Time: 13:30-16:30

Duration: 3 hours

Cost: Members: £110.00 (+ VAT) / Non-members: £183.33 (+ VAT) 

This workshop is available to book until 13:30 on 30 November 2025 and is available in English only. 

Attendees of this workshop will receive a Certificate of Attendance. 

This workshop will not be recorded. 

Book your place now

Learning outcomes

By the end of this workshop, you will:

• have more confidence in your practice as family court instructed expert witnesses
• have more confidence in contracting and assessment management as a Single Joint Expert
• be better able to provide impartial, evidence-based, reports which meet legal and ethical standards
• be able to uphold your duty to the court while maintaining professional ethical practice

Is this course right for me? 

This workshop is designed for practitioner psychologists who:

• have experience in expert witness work in other areas and are considering family court work;
• have been working in the family court for a number of years and would benefit from updating their knowledge;
• are new to expert witness work, who have already completed generic expert witness training, and would benefit from a specific focus on family law.

Delegates must be HCPC registered practitioner psychologists.

Some experience of working as an expert witness and/or generic training around expert witness work would be beneficial prior to joining the workshop. 

Workshop facilitator 

Dr Sue Whitcombe CPsychol AFBPsS

Sue is a counselling psychologist with experience in both public and private family law work.  She is a former member of the BPS Expert Witness Advisory Group and co-authored the BPS Best practice guidelines for psychologists as expert witnesses, and the BPS/Family Justice Committee joint guidance on Psychologists as Expert Witnesses in the family courts in England and Wales.

Sue delivers training and offers consultation to legal, social care, psychology, health and education professionals around complex family dynamics and separation.

She continues to work therapeutically with children, adults and families impacted by these issues and teaches part-time on the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Metanoia Institute.