With increasing frequency, agencies concerned with child care approach developmental psychologists for expertise in the detection of 'emotional abuse' of children; often, the initial intention is an expression of professional opinion in a legal setting. This paper examines, through examples from three clinical cases, the nature of retrospective and present evidence, and prognostic opinion, based on psychological methods that courts have indicated as acceptable in the establishment of 'emotional abuse'. The examples provided argue strongly for early involvement of a developmental psychologist in such cases on the initiative of legal or child care agencies.
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