[Solved] Medical evidence of mental issue

Hi Info

I'm afraid to say that if I was in the position where my ex had attempted suicide, I would be looking for supervised contact for quite some time to ensure my children's welfare. In my opinion, I would be inclined to agree to supervised contact for some time, but try to get the supervision reduced over a period of time as contact progresses.

im going though the same with my ex but shes stoped all contact and comunication with me but im afraid to get to see him though court as i no i would have to agree to supervised visits but on the other hand if i do proceed with it and agree i may never see my son again so what do you do? my son is very inportent to me

I think one issue here (and it's common) is that often supervised contact is perceived as some sort of punishment, and it isn't that at all - the court are not seeking to penalise either parent, their primary concern is for the welfare of the children. Whilst the parent with care may hold it out as a threat, contact centres are often a good idea for both parties on many occasions, and they are usually only intended as a short term solution until everyone is satisfied that the children are safe and good alternative arrangements have been made. It is also somewhere warm in winter, where the kids can play with the NRP and also with other children - the only thing you need to ensure is that you take things with you to occupy the time.

In my own case, I insisted on my daughter going to a contact centre as my ex had problems with alcohol so I knew that at the contact centre, she wouldn't be allowed to see my daughter if she had been drinking. However, on the other side, it also meant that if she hadn't been drinking, there was no doubt about that - I couldn't claim that she had been (I wouldn't have done so, but that was beside the point) and stop contact. My daughter was more than happy as she felt safe, and in winter, it's somewhere warm if they don't want to go out. Six years on (a very unusual length of time for it to continue), we continue to use the contact centre solely as a handover - it's up to my ex and my daughter whether they stay there or go out, but the arrangement certainly works well.

thanks for your reply.

my concern is-
1) Can i deny that i have had any suicidal attempt
2) if my GP says its been an year since i attempted suicide but im totally fine now. Can my ex ask for any further confirmation from mental health team
3) What is the procedure for her to initial the supervised contact, and in what ways i can deny it

Hi

The simple answer is that you need to be completely open and honest with the court - if you try to hide anything like this, the court will certainly find out (your ex is going to make sure of that) so the court wouldn't be impressed at all. Your wife can ask the court for further evidence of your mental state, but it's up to the court to order those if they think it`s necessary - a letter from your doctor may help with this, but there's no guarantee either way.

To be honest, in my opinion, you should seriously consider agreeing to supervised contact but ask the court to specify a timetable for reducing the supervision aspect.

As ACTD has pointed out supervised contact is essentially a safeguard for the child, rather than a punishment for the parent. I would suggest that you be open to this opportunity and again, as ACTD suggests, ask the court whether they would be able to specify a timetable that phases out the level of supervised contact and, over time, introduces longer periods of unsupervised contact.

Mental illness isn't a crime, but trying to cover up your issues doesn't sound like a very good idea. If the court feels that the concerns of your ex merit further investigation they will want an expert professional opinion, so I doubt a letter from your GP is going to cut it. The court would probably ask for your full medical history and a further phsyciatric evaluation or report.

It may actually work in your favour to be upfront about all of this, so perhaps you should try and concentrate on the positives. And these are that you were ill over a year ago and have made a significant recoverery. You really want to show the court that you're trying to put the past behind you and move forward in a way that's in the best interests of your child.

i think im in trouble!

last time when we went to the court, i denied any suicidal attempt(which was duly noted at the court). Now court is asking to file GP's report surronding physical and mental health.

Whats going to happen if court finds out that i lied before?
if I wants to agree for Supervised Contact, how long should I agree it for?

Hi info

I think you need to admit to the court what the true situation is, and you'll need to apologise to the court. I don't know how best to go about this, so hopefully others on here may have an idea. It's certainly best if the court finds out from you rather than the reports.

It does show the need to be absolutely honest with the court as you have put yourself at a real disadvantage for now.

It's tricky to say how long you need supervised contact for, it will depend on the report, the court will always have the welfare of the child as their paramount concern, so you need to be realistic about what you are asking for.