Should I Sign a Reintegration Plan with my Child’s Therapist?

When your child goes to therapy, things can get tricky.

When you’re going through a Utah divorce and your child goes to therapy, things can become a minefield.

When parents are going through divorce, one may start trying to use the therapist as a weapon against the other.

All of this is completely inappropriate, of course (kids deserve a therapist for them, not one who’s being tugged every which way by parents), but it still happens often.

One of the mines we’ve seen divorcing parents traverse with therapists is the reintegration plan.

A reintegration plan is a plan put together by a therapist that reintegrates a child with a parent.

That might not sound too frightening or dangerous, but a reintegration plan indicates the therapist believes there is a major breakdown in the parent–child relationship, and therapeutic intervention is needed to solve the breakdown and keep the child safe psychologically.

Because of this, if a divorcing parent is asking for custody, or wants anything more than minimum parent-time, signing a reintegration plan is not a good idea.

Here are three reasons why it’s not a good idea:

  1. Reintegration plans are not confidential.

Usually, what you say to your therapist is confidential, so you don’t have to worry about it getting out for others to hear.

When you sign a reintegration plan with your child’s therapist, it isn’t confidential.

Your child’s therapist isn’t your therapist, so there’s no therapist–patient confidentiality.

  1. The divorce court can — and will — use reintegration plans against you.

If you’re going through a Utah divorce and you sign a reintegration plan, that plan can be provided to the court, and the court can read it and use it against you in your divorce.

Courts reason that if a reintegration plan is necessary, and you voluntarily signed it, there is a major, major problem between you and your child.

This means the court will be less likely to give you custody of your child or large amounts of parent-time.

  1. Reintegration plans are often very vague.

Therapists aren’t lawyers and they don’t write reintegration plans with the law in mind.

This means the plans are often vague about timelines for reintroduction of parent-time, steps that need to be followed, etc.

The practical reality of this is: reintegration can take forever.

Forever is not something you want in divorce and custody situations.

Conclusion

If you’re going through a Utah divorce, it’s not a good idea to sing a reintegration plan with your child’s therapist.

Call Brown Family Law

If you find yourself facing a Utah divorce, please call 801.685.9999 for a legal in-person consultation, or use our online scheduling tool.

Published On: April 17th, 2018Categories: Child CustodyComments Off on Should I Sign a Reintegration Plan with my Child’s Therapist?
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
About the Author: Marco Brown
6d8a23cf114c43e68fc064216eff550b?s=72&d=mm&r=g
Marco C. Brown was named Utah’s Outstanding Family Law Lawyer of the Year in 2015. He graduated with distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2007 and is currently the managing partner of Brown Family Law, LLC.
Contact Us – We Are Here to Help You

Schedule a time to talk with us – we are here to help you. When you meet with your attorney, we will go over your entire case, your children, your money and everything else that’s important to you. Our goal is to remove the fear associated with divorce by protecting your money and maximizing your time with your kids, all within 3-6 months. We look forward to meeting with you!

Call us 24/7 at 801-685-9999 to Speak with a Live Representative
Get A Legal Consultation With An Experienced Utah Attorney
Your privacy is 100% guaranteed, your information will never be sold or shared.

While this website provides general information, it does not constitute divorce advice. The best way to get guidance on your specific divorce issue is to contact a lawyer. To schedule a divorce consultation with an attorney, please call or complete the intake form above.

The use of the Internet (or this form) for communication with the firm (or any individual member of the firm) does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.