William G. Austin, Ph.D., Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
(970).846.1157
Evergreen, Colorado
Raleigh, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Email: wgaustinphd2@yahoo.com
   

Introduction to www.parentalgatekeeping.com
 

A GATEKEEPING APPROACH TO SERVICES FOR

SETTLEMENT FACILITATION & PARENTING PLAN DEVELOPMENT

CO-PARENTING EDUCATION & COACHING FOR RELOCATION & LONG DISTANCE PARENTING

CO-PARENTING EDUCATION & COACHING FOR PARENTS IN HIGH CONFLICT

PARENTING COORDINATION/DECISION MAKING

LEARNING TO COOPERATIVELY CO-PARENT

SHARING THE CHILD

LEARNING TO BE A FACILITATIVE GATEKEEPER

BUILDING EXCELLENCE IN PARENTING & CO-PARENTING

EFFECTIVE CO-PARENTING IS PART OF RESPONSIBLE PARENTING

Greetings. Welcome to my gatekeeping website. My name is Dr. Bill Austin. I am a licensed psychologist in Colorado and North Carolina. You can read about me and my credentials on the “About Dr. Austin” webpage.

I conduct parenting-child custody-parental responsibility evaluations; offer expert instructional testimony in my three areas of specialization (relocation, intimate partner violence, and parental gatekeeping/alienation); and provide trial consultation services including conducting work product reviews of evaluations performed by colleague psychologists. These services are described on my forensic evaluation, consultation, and training website at www.child-custody-services.com.

This website is dedicated to describing new services that are direct applications of the gatekeeping model that I have developed with my colleagues to assess and educate parents about co-parenting following separation and divorce. The publications are available on the gatekeeping webpage.

The gatekeeping perspective and forensic model is a fresh and original approach to understanding parent conflict and for improving the co-parenting relationship. I am excited about these new services and believe they hold promise for helping parents develop their own parenting plan at the time of separation/divorce and to learn to contain and reduce their conflict for the best interests and well-being of their children. One goal is to help the parents contain their legal fees or even avoid the need to hire a lawyer, or a mediator, to work out a viable parenting plan and parenting time schedule. This service is for an early intervention to facilitate settlement and for parents to voluntarily develop their own parenting plan with the assistance of Dr. Austin. When divorcing parents are successful at voluntarily working out their own parenting plan, they are more likely to be able cooperatively co-parent in the future. S.A.F.E.

The direct gatekeeping services described on this website are provided at my offices in Colorado (Lakewood and Steamboat Springs) and North Carolina (Raleigh and Wilmington). Trial consultation and giving expert testimony on parental gatekeeping and alienation are available for other states. www.child-custody-services.com

Parental gatekeeping refers to how parents’ attitudes and actions affect the involvement and quality of the relationship between the other parent and child, either positively or negatively. Scholars have proposed a gatekeeping continuum that varies in degrees of facilitative to restrictive on the issue of supporting the other-parent–child relationship. The gatekeeping framework is described in more detail on the gatekeeping webpage. The gatekeeping articles can be downloaded as well as the lists of behavioral examples of restrictive and facilitative gatekeeping. The gatekeeping continuum can be downloaded.

My published articles (with my colleagues) on the gatekeeping model and research support are available on this website and the evaluation-consultation website.

The gatekeeping model has direct application as a perspective for co-parenting education when (1) the parents are in high conflict and may be making allegations of alienation, or (2) need to make a long distance parenting plan work in anticipation of relocation of a parent and child, or just a parent thus creating a long distance parent-child relationship.

I also use the gatekeeping model for co-parenting education and to contain conflict when working as a Parenting Coordinator/Decision Maker after an appointment by the court.

For all of these services I combine the co-parenting education with coaching the parents on how to improve parenting and co-parenting and to resolve conflicts that arise after separation and divorce. Parents receive training on how to “better manage the gate” to increase involvement between parents and child and improve the quality of their relationship. Parents are encouraged to strive for excellence in the parenting and co-parenting. Parents learn how to apply the gatekeeping model. Parents learn to “manage the risk of harm to the child” and to child-parent relationships due to conflict, poor communication, long distance, or other issues.

Each service is organized with same structure:

  • Screening Assessment to identify the problem and issues
  • Educational component to discuss relevant research & knowledge and to describe the gatekeeping model on co-parenting
  • Identification of specific gate-opening and gate-closing behaviors
  • Feedback and Coaching to address the issues to either create a parenting plan or make an existing plan a more workable, viable gatekeeping plan

Each service has a different emphasis and purpose.

Fees are discussed on the forms and fees page. Forms can be downloaded on the Forms and Fees page.

New Gatekeeping-Based Services

    Early Intervention for Voluntary Development of a Parenting Plan (S.A.F.E.)

  • May not need a lawyer
  • Cost Effective

    Co-Parenting Education & Coaching for High Conflict Parents

  • Contain Parent Conflict
  • Learn to better share the children
  • Minimize Legal Costs
  • Improve Communication
  • Be Child Focused
  • Problem solve when there are concerns about harm to the child

    Co-Parenting Education & Coaching for Relocation and Long-Distance Parenting

  • When relocation is going to occur
  • How to make a long distance parenting plan work for parents and children
  • Work towards mutual facilitative gatekeeping
  • Revisit the parenting plan and co-parenting when the long distance relationships are not working well
    Parent Coordination by court appointment: specializing in high conflict cases involving long distance/relocation;
    involving past intimate partner violence; involving high conflict with allegations of restrictive gatekeeping or alienation
  • Court appointed parenting coordinator/decision maker
  • Gatekeeping model used for co-parenting education as PC
  • Gatekeeping model used to contain conflict and solve problems
  Services Available in Colorado and North Carolina Locations
Evergreen, Colorado
Cary and Wilmington, North Carolina