court ordered services by lauren "Gay" Coleman, JD, lcsw

This court service is ordered by a Judge when a parent and child are estranged or separated because of a divorce or custody fight, allegations of abuse, parental alienation, or the return to the home of a child who has been removed. Family members may be ordered by a court to attend—or seek out on their own—reunification therapy, an intensive practice with the goal of rebuilding trust and connection between parent(s) and child(ren).  

Reunification therapy has a clear, single goal: the re-establishment of connection between parent and child and the restoration of their roles within the family and/or between separated parental households. 

Pricing: Reunification therapy is not a type of counseling, per se, but a mandated intervention typically conducted by a mental health professional with experience working within the legal system. Again, this is not a mental health service, but rather a court ordered service in which insurance will not cover. In this situation, we are charting to the court, not to the treatment of a mental illness, to create a treatment plan, which is required by all insurances. 

Pricing for this service is $1500 per parent ordered PLUS $1000 per child ordered. If another collateral person is asked to join that is not listed on the order, it will be an additional $400 per person. Collateral is a person not on the order and can be a sibling, partner of an ordered parent, grandparent, etc. The court report, including court certification, is $400. 

Family counseling is a commonly used type of therapy in reunification of a family. It focuses on resolving problems within the context of the family unit by helping each member understand the group dynamic and how each of their actions and words can affect it. A core premise of the approach is that what happens to one member of a family happens to everyone in the family.

In sessions, each family member is given an opportunity to state their view of how they have been affected by the words or actions of the others. Together with the therapist, family members then work together to help each other resolve the strains they experience and better define and understand their particular roles within the family to restore a healthy family system.

The court appointed therapist will chart to the court to aid The Judge in decision making pertaining to the family. General court ordered family counseling is $160 per hour. The court report, including certification, is $400.

The child custody evaluation process involves a comprehensive compilation of information and the formulation of opinions pertaining to the custody or child access. It also involves the dissemination of that information and those opinions to the court, to the litigants, and to the litigant’s attorneys so that judges have adequate information about the family that allows the court to make custody decisions that promote the welfare and best interest of the child.

The purpose of a child custody evaluation is to determine what is in the psychological best interest of the child. While parents’ concerns should be respected and considered, the child’s best interest should be the most important consideration. Becoming a child custody evaluator is a specialty area of practice involving an advanced level of education, knowledge, training, and supervision.

Pricing for this service is $1500 per parent ordered PLUS $1000 per child ordered. If another collateral person is asked to join that is not listed on the order, it will be an additional $400 per person. Collateral is a person not on the order and can be a sibling, partner of an ordered parent, grandparent, etc. The court report, including court certification, is $400. 

Parenting Coordination is a non-adversarial dispute resolution process that is court ordered or agreed upon by divorced and separated parents who have an ongoing pattern of high conflict and/or litigation about their children (Coates, Deutsch, Starnes, Sullivan, & Sydlik, 2004; Deutsch, Coates, & Fieldstone, 2008; Kelly, 2002, 2008). The underlying principle of the Parenting Coordination intervention is a continuous focus on children's best interests by the Parenting Coordinator (PC) in working with high conflict parents and in decision-making. 

Parenting Coordination is designed to help parents implement and comply with court orders or parenting plans, to make timely decisions in a manner consistent with children's developmental and psychological needs, to reduce the amount of damaging conflict between caretaking adults to which children are exposed, and to diminish the pattern of unnecessary re-litigation about child­ related issues.

This service is performed at $160/hour. The court report, including court certification, is $400. 

A divorce therapist may help with teaching coping skills during the grieving process that many former couples may experience. Those who have started families may also want to address tangible aspects of the separation, including child custody, with a professional present. If you feel you and your spouse are at a point in your marriage where you have issues you’re struggling to resolve on your own, or if you've already decided to end your marriage, divorce therapy could help you both cope with the situation. 

The rate for divorce counseling is $160/hour. Some insurance may cover this therapy, please check with your insurance carrier. BCBS Louisiana does NOT cover this service.

Any pre-court preparation work done by ACC, or the ACC counselor, will be billed to the client at $250 per hour. This will be required to be paid upfront by the client.

Any time Acadian Counseling Center, or Gay Coleman, is subpoenaed as an Expert Witness there is a deposit of $3,000 due 5 business days before the appearance or deposition. The $3,000 deposit will cover 1/2 day of court. Any additional time that is required by the court to spend over a half (1/2) day would be billed at the rate of $375.00 per hour, including travel time.  Follow-up fees of $150 per hour will be charged for any time required outside of the office.

Mental Health Court Ordered Evaluations are billed at $180 per hour with a $400 report and scoring fee.

Court Reporting: Any court letter that needs to be produced by Gay, or any ACC counselor, will be $400. This includes court certification*. If the letter does not need to be certified, the cost is $350. Please consult with your personal attorney to determine if the letter needs to be certified*. 

*Certified reports can be entered into court as evidence.