Izaak Lim1, Fleur Ward2, Nicole Milburn3
1Monash Health, 2Accredited Children’s Law Specialist, 3Clinical Psychologist in Private Practice
Abstract:
Professionals working with infants must grapple with a unique constellation of ethical challenges . For example, how does the infant’s dependence on caregivers influence how we think about the infant’s interests? How do infant “rights” and parental “rights” interact with each other? What should be done when the interests of the infant do not neatly align with the interests of caregivers?
Such ethical tensions are thrown into sharp focus in the child protection and family law space where the best interests of the infant and each parent can diverge.
Infant mental health and development is generally poorly covered in most mental health and legal trainings. All too often infants’ best interests are evaluated by professionals who have insufficient knowledge and experience in infant development, infant parent relationships, and attachment. This can result in decision making that is dominated by the view of adults and deny the rights and subjective experience of the infant. To mitigate this risk, the infant’s interests require careful and systemic evaluation.
This presentation aims to elevate the discussion of ethics in the field of psychology, psychiatry and the law to assist practitioners in the work and to identify gaps in existing professional ethical codes that are heavily focused on the concept of the individual, rather than on the profoundly important relational context between infant and caregiver.