Our Clinical Director, William Smith, has worked extensively at the intersection of mental health and the court system since the beginning of his career. He has experience working within both juvenile and adult court systems and has developed a strong working knowledge of Georgia’s courts, diversion programs, and treatment resources.

Will’s forensic credentials include:

• Board Certified Forensic Mental Health Evaluator,

• Certified Provider with the National Association of Court Approved Treatment Providers

• Advanced Certificate in Forensic Social Work

• Certificate in Criminal Mitigation

• Certified Anger Management Specialist - Level 2 (CAMS-II)

• Certified Clinical Trauma Professional

• Registered Mediator

Will has also been trained in Stalking Assessment and Management, suicide assessments, and several types of violence and risk assessments.

At GAFC, Will will either work directly with the clients to complete forensic evaluations, and/or will closely supervise the treatment of clients who are involved in court matters.

At Greater Atlanta Family Counseling (GAFC), we regularly work with families and individuals involved in the court system. Our clinicians understand the complex intersection between mental health, family dynamics, and legal proceedings, and we provide structured, professional services designed to support courts, attorneys, and families in reaching informed and constructive outcomes.

GAFC offers a range of evaluations and court-related therapeutic services that can assist with family law, criminal law, and child welfare matters. Our clinicians are experienced in providing psychosocial evaluations, trauma-informed assessments, parenting evaluations, and other structured reports that help clarify psychological functioning, family dynamics, and treatment needs.

In addition to evaluations, we provide court-ordered therapy and structured treatment programs designed to address the underlying issues that frequently appear in legal disputes. These include:

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – A highly structured treatment model that helps individuals develop emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills. DBT is particularly useful in court settings when emotional dysregulation, conflict escalation, impulsive behavior, or trauma-related reactions are contributing to legal or family disputes.

• Trauma Therapy – Trauma frequently plays a significant role in legal matters involving family conflict, domestic violence, or criminal behavior. Trauma-focused therapy helps individuals process past experiences, reduce reactivity, and improve emotional stability, which can lead to healthier decision-making and safer family relationships.

• Intensive Family Therapy – Designed for families experiencing high conflict or rapid deterioration in communication, this approach allows clinicians to work intensively with multiple family members to stabilize relationships and develop workable patterns of interaction.

• Parent Coaching and Parenting Skill Development – Courts often seek evidence that parents are actively improving their parenting skills. GAFC provides structured coaching that focuses on child development, emotional attunement, discipline strategies, and building consistent routines that support healthy development.

• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) – An evidence-based intervention that helps strengthen the relationship between parents and children while improving behavior management skills.

• Coparenting Counseling – This service helps separated or divorced parents develop healthier communication patterns, clarify parenting expectations, and reduce conflict that can negatively affect children.

Because court-involved families often face complex emotional and relational challenges, GAFC’s approach emphasizes structure, accountability, and measurable progress. Our clinicians are accustomed to working within legal frameworks and can provide documentation, progress summaries, and professional recommendations when appropriate.

We also understand that court matters often require expediency and timely access to services. When clients or attorneys contact us and explain the circumstances of a court deadline or legal requirement, we are often able to schedule appointments very quickly—sometimes the same day or within a very short timeframe.

For most therapeutic services, GAFC accepts major health insurance plans, which helps make treatment more accessible and sustainable for families who may need ongoing care during or after the legal process.

Our goal is not only to assist the court process, but also to help families develop lasting skills that improve stability, reduce conflict, and support healthier long-term outcomes for children and parents alike.

Child Custody Evaluations

Criminal Mitigation

Comprehensive Mental Health Assessments

Anger Management Evaluations

Trauma Evaluations

Social Security Disability

Immigration Evaluations

Personal Injury Evaluations

Stalking Assessments

Violence and Risk Assessments

Personality Disorders

Please click here to visit our affiliated page to learn more about our extensive forensic evaluations.

Greater Atlanta Family Counseling offers services designed to support families navigating both amicable and contentious family transitions. Our goal is to help families reduce conflict when possible, promote healthy family functioning, and provide informed clinical insight when court involvement is necessary. Our extensive experience working with children and family systems in the Atlanta area, along with our ability to assess and explain parental mental health concerns, can provide valuable context within the legal process.

For families experiencing high conflict, litigation, or complex parenting disputes, we also provide services designed to help parents better understand the psychological dynamics involved in contentious family cases. This may include consultation, evaluations, and parental advocacy services intended to clarify concerns, identify risk factors affecting children, and support healthier parenting structures. These services are not intended to replace legal representation, but rather to provide mental health expertise that may assist parents and attorneys in navigating complicated family situations.

We are also an option for families who wish to address family concerns collaboratively, either without attorneys involved or prior to initiating formal legal proceedings.

Services for Amicable Family Transitions

• Coparenting Counseling

• Mediation

• Discernment Counseling (working with couples to determine whether they wish to continue the relationship or separate)

• Parenting Plan Development Support

• Family Adjustment Counseling for parents and children during separation

• To learn more about our amicable family law services, visit our affiliated practice, The Atlanta Marriage and Mediation Clinic

Services for Contentious or High-Conflict Cases

• Child Custody Evaluations

• Parenting Coordination

• Stalking, Harassment, and Temporary Protective Order (TPO) Consulting

• Parental Advocacy Services for complex custody disputes

• High-Conflict Family Consultation for litigation-related parenting disputes and significant communication breakdown between parents

• For more information about our contentious services, visit Georgia Forensic Consulting.

To schedule, email: wsmith@gafamilycounseling.com

Criminal Law Services

We provide specialized behavioral health services that support individuals, attorneys, and courts involved in criminal matters. Our clinicians offer trauma-informed evaluations, risk assessments, and therapeutic services designed to improve outcomes and support informed legal decision-making.

Evaluations & Assessments

• Comprehensive Mental Health Evaluations
  Diagnostic assessments to identify mental health conditions, trauma history, substance use, and treatment needs.

• Competency-Related Evaluations
  Evaluations addressing factors relevant to competency concerns, including cognitive functioning, psychiatric symptoms, and treatment recommendations.

• Violence Risk Assessments
  Evidence-informed evaluations examining risk factors for future violence, protective factors, and recommended interventions.

• Stalking Risk Assessments
  Specialized assessment of stalking behavior patterns, escalation risk, and recommended management strategies.

• Substance Use Assessments
  Clinical evaluations for alcohol and drug use, including recommendations for treatment and monitoring. Note: Cannot provide DUI Evaluations

• Anger & Impulse Control Assessments
  Evaluation of emotional regulation, anger management needs, and behavioral risk factors.

• Trauma & PTSD Evaluations
  Assessment of trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and their potential impact on behavior and functioning.

Criminal Mitigation Services

• Criminal Mitigation Evaluations
  Comprehensive psychosocial assessments designed to identify mitigating factors such as trauma, mental illness, neurodevelopmental issues, and environmental stressors.

• Trauma-Informed Case Analysis
  Identification of life history factors that may provide important context for the court.

• Psychosocial History Development
  Structured review of developmental history, family systems, education, trauma exposure, and social environment.

• Treatment-Oriented Sentencing Recommendations
  Evidence-based recommendations for treatment, rehabilitation, and supervision options.

Clinical Services for Criminal Matters

• Anger Management Counseling

• Impulse Control & Emotional Regulation Therapy

• Domestic Violence Intervention Support

• Substance Use Recovery Support

• Trauma Therapy (including EMDR through Atlanta Center for EMDR)

These services may be utilized to demonstrate treatment engagement, risk reduction, and rehabilitation progress.

Court-Related Support Services

• Plea Readiness Consulting
  Structured counseling for individuals experiencing significant stress or ambivalence related to legal decision-making.

• Treatment Compliance Monitoring
  Documentation of participation, progress, and treatment adherence when appropriate.

• Behavioral Health Progress Summaries
  Professional summaries that may be provided to attorneys when authorized by the client.

We assist attorneys in personal injury, civil, and criminal cases by:

• Evaluating clients for PTSD or other psychological conditions resulting from an experience that is connected to a court case

• Explaining the effects of the experience to the client, family, treatment team, and legal team

• Providing treatment plans or recommendations, including the costs associated with the treatment

• Treating the clients for the conditions

• Preparing documentation to be submitted to court

• Explaining the opinions, findings, results in court

To schedule, email wsmith@gafamilycounseling.com

GAFC clinicians can be hired to evaluate persons for guardianship/conservatorship cases. The purposes for the evaluation is to have major decision making duties transferred to a caregiver.

Typically, these cases are for minors who have already been diagnosed with intellectual or developmental disabilities and who are turning 18, adults who have experienced a serious medical issue that has led to cognitive disabilities (for example, a stroke), or adults who are suspected or confirmed to have memory issues and can no longer handle their affairs.

To learn more, email wsmith@gafamilycounseling.com

We provide court ordered anger management evaluations for a $250.00 flat fee and also offer individual and group anger management services. Interested parties can email wsmith@gafamilycounseling.com

We also complete anger management therapy at both an individual and group therapy level.

We have providers who are willing to see clients who are court ordered to attend therapy.

Please review your court order for specifics, or discuss with your attorney, or email us. To schedule a consultation, email wsmith@gafamilycounseling.com

Note: We do not accept cases that involve sexual violence or other certain types of violent crime (e.g., perpetrators of domestic violence)

We provide specialized mental health evaluations and therapeutic services to support individuals and families navigating immigration proceedings. Our clinicians conduct trauma-informed assessments commonly used in immigration cases and collaborate with attorneys when appropriate.

Immigration Psychological Evaluations

• Extreme Hardship Evaluations
  Assessments used in support of hardship waivers to document the emotional, psychological, and practical impact of separation or relocation on qualifying family members.

• Asylum Evaluations
  Trauma-informed evaluations documenting psychological effects of persecution, violence, or threats experienced in an individual’s country of origin.

• VAWA Evaluations (Violence Against Women Act)
  Clinical assessments supporting petitions for individuals who have experienced abuse from a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or family member.

• U-Visa Evaluations
  Psychological evaluations documenting trauma experienced by victims of qualifying crimes who are cooperating with law enforcement.

• T-Visa Evaluations
  Assessments supporting individuals who have experienced human trafficking and related trauma.

• Cancellation of Removal Evaluations
  Evaluations examining the psychological impact of potential deportation on qualifying relatives.

Trauma & Mental Health Assessments

• PTSD and Trauma Evaluations
  Clinical assessment of trauma symptoms related to persecution, violence, domestic abuse, trafficking, or displacement.

• Depression & Anxiety Assessments
  Documentation of emotional distress, adjustment difficulties, and related mental health concerns.

• Family Impact Assessments
  Evaluation of how immigration-related stressors affect spouses, children, and family systems.

• Child & Adolescent Evaluations
  Developmentally informed assessments of immigration-related trauma and stress in children.

Therapeutic & Support Services

• Trauma-Informed Counseling

• Adjustment & Acculturation Support

• Family Counseling

• Anxiety & Depression Treatment

• Trauma Therapy (including EMDR through Atlanta Center for EMDR)

These services may support emotional stability during legal proceedings and demonstrate engagement in treatment when appropriate.

Documentation & Professional Reports

• Comprehensive Written Evaluation Reports

• Clinical Findings Relevant to Immigration Proceedings

• Evidence-Based Diagnostic Assessments

• Professional Treatment Recommendations

Reports are prepared in a format commonly used by immigration attorneys and may be submitted as supporting documentation in immigration petitions.

Our Approach

GAFC clinicians emphasize:

• Trauma-informed evaluation practices

• Cultural sensitivity and respect for diverse backgrounds

• Evidence-based psychological assessment

• Clear and well-documented reports for legal proceedings

• Ethical and objective clinical opinions

Fees for forensic services vary depending on the type, scope, and complexity of the service requested. Please remember that all cases must be approved by Will.

The primary factor influencing cost is the amount of time required to complete the work necessary for the case, while also accounting for safety considerations, professional standards, and overall quality of the evaluation or service. The rates listed below are intended to provide general guidance.

Forensic evaluations that involve written reports typically range from $250 to $1,250, depending on the depth of the evaluation and documentation required.

Anger management evaluations are typically $250 when the evaluation is limited in scope, focuses primarily on anger-related concerns for a court or bond requirement, and can be completed in approximately one hour.

General mental health evaluations are typically $450 when the assessment focuses on overall psychological functioning, diagnostic considerations, and treatment recommendations, and can be completed within a standard evaluation timeframe.

PTSD evaluations - one of our most requested types of evaluations- are a $750.00 flat fee, provided that it is just the report and that no expert testimony is required.

Complex child custody evaluations, contentious probate evaluations, and comprehensive criminal mitigation investigations can be extremely time-intensive, often requiring extensive record review, collateral interviews, and detailed reporting. As a result, these services are typically retainer-based.

Depending on the circumstances, clients may expect to pay $5,000 or more, and in particularly complex or highly contentious matters, total fees may reach into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Expert testimony is available at a rate of $800 for four hours and $1600.00 per day.

For certain court-ordered therapy services, some GAFC providers may be able to accept health insurance, depending on the nature of the treatment and the requirements of the case.

Services in which William A. Smith, LCSW serves as the primary clinician are typically structured at approximately $250 per hour, or may be arranged through flat-rate fees or retainers depending on the scope of work.

For some services, package rates may also be discussed based on the needs of the case.

For Personal Injury and Workers Comp related services, a contingency fee may be approved. This means that fees are paid following a settlement. A $300.00 fee is added to the rate of the evaluaton for this scenario.