Pearce and Gough

In the matter of *Pearce and Gough*, Strickland J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application concerning the welfare of a child. The dispute involved the parents' respective capacities to manage emotional issues that impacted their parenting and the child's time with each parent.

The court was required to determine the appropriate orders to ensure the child's best interests were met, specifically addressing the emotional reactivity of the father and the anxiety of the mother concerning the child's contact with the father. The central legal issue was how to facilitate safe and beneficial time between the child and each parent, given the identified psychological challenges.

Strickland J ordered that both parents undertake therapeutic counselling. The father was directed to engage in counselling for his emotional reactivity and its management, and to provide his counsellor with specific psychological reports. Similarly, the mother was ordered to continue counselling for her anxiety regarding the child spending time with the father and to provide her counsellor with the same reports. Further consideration of the matter was adjourned, with leave granted for the father to attend the adjourned hearing by telephone.