Wishes & Feelings Assessments

Understanding the child’s voice in family law proceedings

What is a Wishes & Feelings Assessment?

A Wishes & Feelings Assessment helps everyone understand what your child wants and feels during family law proceedings. It captures both what your child says and what they might not be able to say directly. This assessment is important when parents have different views on what is best for their child, and it helps the Court make informed decisions.

How We Conduct the Assessment

Our approach to Wishes & Feelings Assessments is focused on your child. We start by building a good relationship with them to make them feel comfortable and safe. We gather information from both of you as parents and other important people in your child’s life. Our team is skilled at understanding children’s true wishes and feelings, even when they are not clearly expressed.

We use different methods to engage with children of various ages. For younger children, we might use colours to help them label their emotions. For older children, we adapt our approach to suit their preferences, such as avoiding formal settings and using creative activities.

Techniques we use to gather a child’s Wishes and Feelings

Children might not always be able to express their true feelings directly. We use several tools and techniques to uncover these hidden wishes and feelings:

Creative Activities

We use games, art, and flashcards to help children express complex emotions.

Theraplay

This involves activities that build trust and attachment, sometimes including filming interactions for later analysis.

Naturalistic Observation

We observe children in informal settings, like playing in a tent or a Wendy house, to gain insight.

Marshak Interaction Method (MIM)

This is a structured technique where children interact with their parents using toys, and we assess their attachment and relationship.

Why the Child’s Voice Matters?

Understanding your child’s voice is essential in family law proceedings. It helps ensure that decisions are made in your child’s best interests. Their wishes and feelings are a key part of the information that the Court needs to make decisions. This is especially important for older children, whose views carry more weight in Court.

Our assessments provide a clear and honest picture of your child’s needs and preferences. We make realistic and child-focused recommendations that aim to improve the situation for your family. By capturing your child’s voice, we help create solutions that support their well-being and future relationships.

FAQs

What happens if a child's wishes and feelings are not validated?

Social workers are required to consider the child’s wishes, but also assess how realistic and safe those wishes are. The Welfare Checklist helps guide this assessment. The final recommendations balance the child’s views with other factors, such as risks, parenting ability and the potential impact of proposed changes on the child.

How to help children process their feelings?

We use a range of creative and therapeutic resources to support children, including play and art-based methods, narrative tools and counselling techniques. These approaches help children express complex feelings in a safe space and allow us to build trust and understand their emotional experiences more deeply.