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2023 IPV Update

Interested in our latest annual update? Learn more and enroll here >

altCourse: 2023 IPV Update

altInstructor: Lori A. Love, Ph.D., Judge Margo Lewis Hoy (Retired), and Sandra Mayberry, CFLS

alt Approved for 4.0 Hours of CE Credit

altFulfills License Requirements

Lori Love Margo Lewis Hoy Biosandra mayberry bio

Program Description:

Participants will be provided with updated information regarding working with Parent Child Contact Problems (PCCP) within the context IPV (Intimate Partner Violence / Domestic Violence). They will understand the dynamic of parental alienation (PA) as a form of coercive control. Participants will learn about the current trends occurring as methods of coercive control. Participants will learn from Retired Superior Court Judge Margo Lewis Hoy on how mental health professionals can assist the court in working with families with (PCCPs) and IPV. Participants shall be updated by Sandra Mayberry, CFLS on the status of Kayden’s Law and how it may impact current practices.

 

Goals & Objectives:

At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

  1. Identify noteworthy issues regarding working with families who have experienced IPV in family court.
  2. Describe different modalities for intervening with the families with whom they work who are experiencing Parent Child Contact Problems (PCCPs), Family Violence (FV), & Parental Alienation (PA).
  3. Give examples of the multiple effects of a variety of behaviors that impact the entire family system.
  4. Apply the current status of Kayden’s Law into their current work with families.

Registration Information

View and Enroll in the 2023 Annual IPV Update on portal.sfrankelgroup.com

Our Annual Updates are now hosted at our Learning Portal site: portal.sfrankelgroup.com

Visit the Annual Update Hub

Have questions about this change? Learn more about the transition here >

Please note that our Learning Portal site and this site (our Classic site) use different login accounts, though both sites are run by the same staff at the Steve Frankel Group. 

This move helps us ensure the quality and integrity of your learning experience by complying with JCC, APA and other regulations.
  $165.00

 

CE Approval Information

  • The Steve Frankel Group, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for Psychologists. This course is also approved by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) for its licentiates' CE license renewal requirements.
  • Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rules 5.225(d)(1), (2), (3) ,(4b,d), (5) ,(6), (9), (13), (14), (15) ,(20), (21), the outline or agenda submitted satisfies the requirements of the rule for 4 hours toward initial 40 hours evaluator training, and annual 4 hours of evaluator continuing education.

2025 Annual CCE + IPV Bundle

2025 Annual CCE + IPV Bundle

Bundle and Save on your 12.0 Annual Update Requirement!

2025 Update Bundles feat: Love, Lange, Mayberry and more

Our 2025 Annual Update CCE + IPV bundle is now hosted at our Learning Portal site: portal.sfrankelgroup.com

View Bundle Details >

These courses, released in late 2025, contain our full, 12.0 hour, Judicial Council of Council approved, annual update for child custody professionals. Featuring a well-respected and expert line-up of speakers, learn the latest in the custody evaluation field from 2024 through the course's release. Legal and Judicial perspectives will help professionals understand another point of view, resist/refuse dynamics are covered, and a best practice booster is covered. Additionally, learn the latest about power dynamics and their influence on IPV, legal changes and safety challenges.

Bundle Contains:

Christy Bradshaw Schmidt, LPC, MA

Christy Bradshaw 

Christy Bradshaw Schmidt, LPC, is a seasoned mental health professional and expert consultant in family law based in Texas. Following six years of service with Dallas County Family Court Services, she launched her private practice in 2006, specializing in contested child custody evaluations, adoption evaluations, and expert consultation statewide.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Bradshaw Schmidt has completed more than 600 comprehensive child custody evaluations. Her work is recognized for its depth, precision, and practical recommendations offered with the intention of helping high-conflict families restructure their lives after divorce. Her evaluations have played a pivotal role in guiding family courts, attorneys, and families toward healthier post-separation dynamics.

In addition to evaluation services, Ms. Bradshaw Schmidt provides expert consultation and testimony in complex family law matters, including relocation, issues related to children under age three, and Parent-Child Contact Problems. She regularly conducts work product reviews of other evaluations and mental health services in court-connected cases and serves as a strategic advisor to attorneys navigating challenging family litigation. Ms. Bradshaw Schmidt is the President-Elect of the Texas Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), with her presidency commencing in the fall of 2026. She is also an active member of North Texas Families in Transition, the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Throughout her career, she has remained deeply committed to mentoring emerging professionals working with court-involved families, emphasizing ethics, best practices, and thoughtful collaboration.

Her policy and advocacy work has made a meaningful impact on Texas family law. As the Mental Health Liaison to the Family Law Foundation, she contributed to the development and passage of critical statutes—including those governing child custody and adoption evaluations, parenting coordination/facilitation, and the expert testimony of therapists and mental health professionals. She remains actively engaged in legislative efforts aimed at strengthening practices that protect and support Texas families.

Learn more at her website.

Her CV can be found here

Christy Bradshaw Schmidt's Courses:

All of Christy's Courses are now hosted on our Learning Portal portal.sfrankelgroup.com. Visit her faculty page there to see her full list of courses!

View Christy's Courses (Learning Portal) >

Leslie Drozd, Ph.D.

Leslie Drozd 

Leslie Drozd, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and marriage, family, and child therapist and works clinically with families in the various stages of divorce including coparenting therapy, family therapy, reunification therapy, and parent coordination. 

She has been a child custody evaluator for over 32 years, trains other evaluators, serves as a consultant to attorneys, and as a testifying expert in family law matters. She helped write the Association of Family Conciliation Courts Model Standards for conducting child custody evaluations (2006) and guidelines for parenting plan evaluations involving allegations of domestic violence (2016).

Dr. Drozd is currently on the board of directors of the Association of Family and Conciliation (AFCC) and Overcoming Barriers; and she is an associate member of the American Psychological Association’s Ethics Committee.

She was the founding editor of the peer-reviewed international Journal of Child Custody (2004-2013) and is currently on AFCC's editorial board for Family Court Review. She has taught professionals and published in peer-reviewed journals on parent-child contact problems and resist-refuse cases. She has co-edited books and book chapters on domestic violence in child custody cases, relocation, psychological testing, child sexual abuse, treatment of trauma, alienation, step-up parenting plans, and family therapy with families in which a child resists or refuses contact including a National Council of Juvenile Court Judges' bench book on Navigating Domestic Violence in Child Custody Cases (2006), Professional Resource Press Book, Parenting Plan & Child Custody Evaluations: Using Decision Trees to Increase Evaluator Competence & Avoid Preventable Errors (2013) and Oxford University Press books, Parenting Evaluations: Applied Research for Family Court (2012 & 2016).

She received AFCC’s highest honor for distinguished service, the John E. Van Duzer award, in 2013.

Learn more at her website.

Her CV can be found here

Dr. Drozd's Courses:

All of Dr. Drozd's Courses are now hosted on our Learning Portal portal.sfrankelgroup.com. Visit her faculty page there to see her full list of courses!

View Dr. Drozd's Courses (Learning Portal) >

Sally Lynch, LMFT

Sally Lynch 

Sally Lynch, LMFT, spent 10 years as a teacher in grades Kindergarten through Second and also facilitated integrated learning with children with special needs.  She completed her Master’s Degree in Psychology at the Phillips Graduate Institute in San Fernando Valley and became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, working in both the Los Angeles and San Diego areas. 

Sally enjoys counseling individuals, families, and couples.  She utilizes research-based therapy techniques to assist families and individuals to overcome target behaviors to enhance their productivity and lead healthier and happier lives. Sally has received specialized training as a custody evaluator and is honored to assist families in recommending a blueprint towards their children’s best interest.

Her CV can be found here

View all courses available by this faculty member (87):

Weston Lange, PsyD, LCSW

Weston Lange 

Weston Lange, PsyD, LCSW is the Family Court Services Director for the Superior Court of California in Stanislaus County where he provides oversight and training of child custody recommending counseling and court investigations for the Family Law Division. He has operated a private practice for the past twenty years in which he receives court appointments for child custody evaluations, as well as specializing in therapies for post-separation issues including coparenting, family conflict and child adjustment.

Dr. Lange completed a doctoral project focused on the study of triadic relationships in families who have experienced dissolved parental unions. He has developed a unique approach to conducting child custody evaluations which incorporates current research on family systems.

His CV can be found here

Dr. Lange's Courses:

All of Dr. Lange's Courses are now hosted on our Learning Portal portal.sfrankelgroup.com. Visit his faculty page there to see his full list of courses!

View Dr. Lange's Courses (Learning Portal) >