information for judges and other referral sources

frequently asked questions about online training/education/testing/intervention

What Role Will the Internet Play in Court Interventions involving mental health/mediation services?

In 1985 when personal computing was in its infancy, Peter wrote one of the first education references manuals for computing in education called Educator's Guide to Microcomputer and Learning (Prentice-Hall). In this book Peter predicted that what the future would hold for us would be a vast system of interconnected computers that people would rely on to communicate and more importantly learn. Since self-improvement is largely an educational process, it is only natural to extend that kind of thinking to the kind of changes in thinking about the best interests of children that judges would like to see in the people they preside over. Speaking of 1865, that was the year the first dot-com name was formally registered and now, less than thirty years later there are billions of them.

are there privacy and authenticity issues we need to be concerned about?

Yes, Of course they are, but they are not very different from the privacy issues we face in "real world" settings. For one thing, the matrimonial parts of the judicial system offer virtually no privacy regaring many aspects of people's personal and marital lives. But, what about people who engage in online mediation, anger management, parentiing coordination, parenting training and the like? Well, there are many steps that can be taken to protect privacy. For instance, on this site virtually everything that people do in a mediation, coaching or evaluation format is password protected. Password protection schemes can be broken with enough knowledge and effort. People can fraudulently represent themselves in communication environments like chats. However, with enough effort people can fraudulently represent themselves off lne as weill. In my "real world" sourt related practice, I have had people try to lie their way through standardized tests, falsify information about drug tests, send imposters in for treatment, falsify requested documents and information. The bottom line is that devious people are going to behave deviously no matter what they are doing, how they are doing it, where they are doing it.

has New york state taken a position on any of this?

No. the state, to my knowledge has not. HIPPA has enacted protocols for the sharing of information on line for health related information, however. Ultimately in the coming years we will hear that there are some people who believe that the internet is not a secure enough place to conduct matters of such highly personaly signifiance. We will also hear that the advantages of online outreach in terms of saving people time, money; and the ability to bring important educational materials to people who might be shut in, or otherwise not able to travel to receive service. For service providers, it will be possible to present information to people who do not read very well, or who need information in their native language, in a highly effective way. The safe way to proceed is to keep people informed with disclousures conerning the potential risks involved with electronic methods of service delivery, and to be certain that effort has been taken to guard against potential risks concering privacy.

How can I make a referral for a moderated service?

Moderated services include moderated message boards, moderated emails, moderated chats/meetings for the purposes of mediation and/or parenting coordination can be made simply by filling out a contact form here.

After a judge or lawyer contacts Peter, we will arrange a telephone call to discuss fees, scheduling and answer any questions concerning the service required. Referral sources can always call 516.883.5747 to speak with Peter directly.

can I arrange for Peter to demonstrate any of these services for me in person or online?

Sure. Just give Peter a call at 516.883.5747 and hs will talk to you about setting up a demonstration online or coming to your organization to speak on changing roles of mental health professionals in modern matrimonial litigation, forensic evaluations, visitation challenges and issues or another topic regarding psychology and matrimonial law you might be interested in hearing about.