025: “Family” Restructuring Post-Divorce with Dr. Premela Deck

When a divorce or separation occurs, despite the complicated emotions that accompany it, a family remains a family.

 

On this episode of Children First Family Law, Krista sits down with Dr. Premela Deck, a Boston-area family law attorney and forensic social worker with a Ph.D. in her field who is creating innovative solutions to integrate law and social work to help children and parents navigate conflict amid family law disputes. As an attorney, Dr. Deck is a family law litigator, mediator, parenting coordinator, and guardian ad litem. As a mental health professional, she primarily serves as a custody evaluator, parenting coach, and therapist for high-conflict families, couples, or individuals caught up in family situations. She also has a unique practice that allows for deep coparenting and therapeutic intervention to help improve outcomes for kids and parents going through divorce.

 

During their conversation, Krista and Dr. Deck explore the important work Dr. Deck is doing in her practice. She shares what her early work for the city of Boston taught her about mental health considerations in court settings, leading her into social work/law integration. You’ll hear the unwillingness professionals often have to work in forensic mental health and the difficulties faced when trying to limit therapeutic options to those covered by health insurance as they require a diagnosis that often is not possible or warranted.. Dr. Deck explains the difference in language attorneys and mental health professionals use and the importance of bridging that gap for families. You’ll hear about therapeutic jurisprudence and reforming the law based on understanding mental health, Dr. Deck’s unique practice of blending law and mental health resources, and the nationally available programs she uses to help with high-conflict co-parenting. Finally, Krista and Dr. Deck discuss building a foundation of respect between co-parents, the nuanced approach Dr. Deck recommends for parent-child contact problems, and the importance of handling conflict in a healthy way for the benefit of children.

 

Creating a healthy co-parenting dynamic is possible, but it requires work from both parties. Dr. Premela Deck lays out her unique methodology to help parents find common ground for the benefit of their children.

 

In this episode, you will hear:

 

• Dr. Premela Deck’s law and social work background and how she ultimately pulled the two disciplines together with her Ph.D. and now with her unique practice with options available across state lines
• The need for mental health considerations in family court, similar to what Dr. Deck saw in her early work condemning homes of hoarders
• Realizing these legal challenges need delicate care that considers the mental health of individuals, leading her into social work/law integration
• The serious challenge of so few mental health professionals going into the area of helping families embroiled in family court conflict
• The limitations of seeking only  insurance-covered mental health options in family law dynamics
• Language differences between attorneys and mental health professionals and the need for a bridge between disciplines to help families
• The concept of therapeutic jurisprudence and reforming the law by understanding mental health
• Dr. Deck’s unique practice that blends law and mental health resources, including multi-faceted family therapy, group and private parent coaching, and co-parenting restructuring
• Nationally available programs offered by Dr. Deck to help with high-conflict coparenting
• The importance of a foundation of re