For parents in a custody evaluation or GAL investigation
Your evaluator doesn’t need a perfect parent. They need to understand your child.
A self-paced course by Suzanne Dircks, M.A., LMHC, the person courts have appointed to conduct more than 1,000 guardian ad litem investigations, on what custody evaluators and guardians ad litem actually look for, and how to take part calmly, honestly, and with your child at the center.
Self-paced · about two hours · instant access · downloadable home-visit checklist and interview worksheet.
See what’s inside
1,000+ GAL investigations
Suzanne Dircks has been the person across the table, appointed by courts to investigate families and speak for children.
44 years in family court and counseling rooms
Licensed mental health counselor, certified family mediator, former guardian ad litem.
Licensed counselor, not a coach
Clinical training and a license behind every lesson. No scripts to game an interview.
Written from the evaluator's chair
What an evaluator is actually trying to learn, and what gets in the way of learning it.
If this sounds familiar
- An evaluation or GAL interview is on the calendar and nobody has told you what happens in the room.
- You have searched “what not to say to a guardian ad litem” at 2 a.m.
- You are afraid the other parent will perform better than you.
- Your child will be interviewed and you do not know what to tell them.
- You have hundreds of screenshots and no idea which ones matter.
- Someone said “just be yourself” and that made it worse.
That fear is normal. It is also the thing most likely to work against you.
Why trying to win the evaluation backfires
A custody evaluation is not a contest to see who can look flawless, or who can collect the longest list of accusations. The evaluator is trying to give the court useful information about your child, both parents, the family, and the arrangements the court is considering. That is the whole job.
Fear pushes perfectly capable parents into talking too much, attacking the other parent, trying to look perfect, or coaching a child. Every one of those reactions is understandable. Every one of them makes it harder for the evaluator to see the parent you actually are.
The least useful question a parent can ask is “How do I win?” A much better one is “What does the evaluator need to understand to make a sound, child-focused assessment?”
“Whenever you feel pulled into the adult battle, return to your child’s safety, stability, development, relationships, routines, and emotional well-being.”
What you’ll be able to do
Not theory about evaluators. The specific things you can do, starting with your next conversation.
Explain a concern in three sentences
What happened, how it affected your child, and what would help. Then name your source and stop.
Describe behavior, not diagnoses
Turn “he is a narcissist” into dated, observable facts an evaluator can use, without guessing at motives.
Prepare your child without coaching
The one thing you may say before an interview, and the seven things not to do.
Know what a home visit is, and is not
A safe, workable home and ordinary family functioning. Not a competition between houses.
Choose the few records that matter
Evaluators do not decide cases by the pound. Pick relevant, organized, labeled documents.
Read the report without losing your footing
Separate factual errors from opinions you dislike, and route each through your attorney.
Written from the other side of the table
Suzanne Dircks, M.A., LMHC
Licensed Mental Health Counselor · Certified Family Mediator · Former Guardian ad Litem
“In more than four decades of working with parents and children in custody cases, I have seen how frightened people become when they feel watched and judged. I have watched capable parents talk themselves out of credibility in a single interview, not because their facts were weak, but because fear was doing the talking.”
“This course is what I wish every parent knew before they sat down across from me: what I was actually trying to learn, what made that easier, and what made it nearly impossible.”
44 years in family court and counseling rooms. More than 1,000 guardian ad litem investigations. One point of view you will not find on a forum.
How it works
Enroll and start now.
Instant access on any device. Pause and resume whenever you need to.
Five modules, fifteen short lessons.
A three-question quiz after each module. You retake it until you pass; it is there to make sure the ideas stick, not to trip you.
Download the checklist and worksheet.
Print the home-visit checklist, the card for your child, and the preparation worksheet, and walk in prepared. About two hours in all.
What’s inside
Fifteen lessons, in the order an evaluation actually unfolds. Four of them come with a printable download.
Start here
How to Use This Course
What this course will and will not do, the safety-first rule, and how to work through it.
Module 1 · The right goal and the right people
Begin With the Right Goal
The evaluation is not a contest. The useful question is what the evaluator needs to understand.
Know Who Is Conducting the Investigation
GAL, parenting evaluator, psychological evaluation, and the version with a parenting component.
Let the Court Order Define the Assignment
The appointment order is the job description. Answer the question the court asked.
Module 2 · How you participate
How to Behave During the Investigation
Eight behaviors that support credibility, and the answer pattern that keeps you concise.
- Three Questions worksheet
Present Concerns Without Building a Prosecution
Three questions for every concern.
Do Not Diagnose the Other Parent
Why labels damage credibility, and how to translate them into observable information.
Module 3 · Safety, children, and honesty
Discuss Serious Safety Issues Clearly
Child-focused does not mean neutral about danger. Accurate, sourced, and specific.
- What to Tell Your Child card
Prepare Your Child Without Coaching
What to say before an interview, and what never to do.
Module 4 · Home visits, observations, and records
- Home Visit Checklist
What to Expect From a Home Visit
Ordinary is believable.
Parent-Child Observations
Not a grade. Follow the child's lead while remaining the parent.
Records, Witnesses, and Other Sources
Five properties of useful information, and how to write a document note.
Module 5 · Credibility, the report, and your worksheet
Common Mistakes That Hurt Credibility
Twelve fear-driven mistakes, and the five questions to ask before you send anything.
After the Interviews and Report
One brief clarification, not a stream. Reading a report you disagree with.
- Preparation Worksheet
Child-Focused Preparation Worksheet
Your statement, ten prompts, and the final review.
$49.95 · Self-paced · About two hours · Instant access
Compared with what you’re reading now
Written by
ElsewhereLaw-firm blogs and Reddit threads
This courseA licensed counselor who has done the job more than 1,000 times
Point of view
ElsewhereAdvice from the parent's side
This courseFrom the evaluator's chair
Cost
ElsewhereFree and contradictory, or $300+ an hour with an attorney
This courseOne course, $49.95, keep it for life
What it teaches
ElsewhereHow to look good
This courseHow to be understood
Your child
ElsewhereAn afterthought
This courseThe center of every lesson
What this course will not do
It will not tell you how to win. It will not help you coach your child or stage a home visit. It will not predict the outcome or promise a result, and it is not legal advice. Follow your court order and your attorney.
If that is what you are looking for, this is the wrong course, and we would rather tell you now.
Refunds
You may request a full refund within 7 days of purchase, provided you have not completed more than 25% of the course. Refunds go back to your original payment method.
When you finish, you receive a certificate of completion titled “Child-Focused Participation in Custody Evaluations.” No court requires it and nothing in the course depends on it. It is a record of what you did, and it is yours to use or not.
From parents who have taken Suzanne’s courses
About her courses generally. Reviews from this course will appear here as parents complete it.
“I cannot recommend Suzanne’s courses enough. As a father navigating a difficult custody dispute and fighting for 50/50 time with my daughter, these courses, particularly the Co-Parenting course, have been a turning point in my life.”
“I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated taking your course on high conflict parenting. During the course studies, it forced me to step outside of my ‘high conflict comfort zone’ and reevaluate how I handle situations with my ex.”
Frequently asked questions
Walk in as the steady parent.
Enroll when you are ready. Work through it at your pace. Print the checklist and the worksheet, and bring your child, not the contest, into the room.
$49.95 · Self-paced · About two hours · Instant access
Available 24/7. Your privacy is absolute.
Also available
Other courses and focused tools
Each path is designed for a different court, custody, or co-parenting pressure point.
See the full course library- High-Conflict Co-ParentingThe flagship 12-module certificate course for difficult co-parenting dynamics.
- Parental Alienation CourseA structured path for documentation, reconnection, and court-aware next steps.
- Parallel Parenting CourseA lower-contact framework for parents who need clearer boundaries and routines.
- Co-Parenting Communication CourseFocused BIFF practice for emails, texts, exchanges, and written records.
- Alienated Parent ScriptsA practical script library for hard moments with a child, co-parent, or attorney.