Dr. Lynn Steinberg Speaks Out on Silencing of Family Court Experts
July 28, 2026
Dr. Lynn Steinberg highlights the growing silencing of family court experts and its impact on child welfare, justice, and informed legal decisions.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, July 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Veteran clinical psychologist and author calls attention to organized campaigns targeting mental health professionals in family court, warning that vulnerable children and families will pay the price if intimidation drives experts from the field
VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA, July 9, 2026 — Dr. Lynn Steinberg, Ph.D., a licensed family therapist and clinical psychologist with more than 50 years of experience in family, dependency, civil, and criminal courts, has published a formal statement raising concern about what she describes as a growing pattern of organized intimidation directed at mental health professionals who work in high-conflict custody cases.
Dr. Steinberg, who is also the author of “You’re Not Crazy: Overcoming Parent/Child Alienation,” draws on her own direct experience as a target of such campaigns to make the case that the profession itself, and ultimately the families it serves, is being placed at serious risk.
“A society should be deeply concerned when professionals become afraid to speak,” said Dr. Steinberg. “When those who are willing to do this difficult work are systematically targeted, children and families lose something that is very difficult to replace. They lose the people willing to help.”
The statement, titled “When Experts Become Targets: How Fear Is Silencing Family Court Professionals,”argues that while scientific debate, peer criticism, and scrutiny of expert methods are healthy and necessary, a different phenomenon has taken hold in recent years. According to Dr. Steinberg, social media platforms have enabled private custody disputes to become global campaigns, with algorithms amplifying emotional narratives far faster than judicial findings or peer-reviewed evidence can reach the public.
“Reputations built over decades can be damaged in days,” Dr. Steinberg notes. “Platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram have transformed the way these disputes are waged. Millions of people may encounter accusations without ever seeing the evidence that courts considered.”
Dr. Steinberg states that she experienced this directly following a court-ordered reunification matter in which allegations against a parent had been investigated and found unsubstantiated. In the aftermath, she became the subject of an extended online campaign that included threats, demonstrations outside her home and outside courthouses where she testified, false accusations circulated internationally, and attempts to interfere with professional conferences and activities. Law enforcement advised her to take safety precautions. She eventually relocated to Canada.
“The most disturbing aspect was not what happened to me,” Dr. Steinberg said. “It was what happened to the profession. Once one expert had been successfully targeted, attention shifted to others. Younger professionals watched what was happening and understandably questioned whether involvement in these cases was worth the risk. Many experienced practitioners simply walked away.”
Dr. Steinberg draws a historical parallel to earlier periods in which emotional certainty overrode clinical evidence, including the satanic ritual abuse cases of the 1980s and 1990s, in which extraordinary accusations tore families apart before careful investigation found many of the claims to be unsubstantiated.
“History has shown repeatedly that societies are vulnerable to moral panics,” she said. “The lesson was not that abuse never occurs. Genuine abuse exists and must always be taken seriously. The lesson was that fear, ideology, and emotionally compelling narratives can sometimes overwhelm evidence and reason.”
Her statement draws a clear distinction between legitimate criticism and organized suppression. Experts, she argues, should be questioned. Courts should be scrutinized. Research should be challenged. But there is, in her words, “an enormous difference between criticism and destruction, between debate and intimidation.”
Family courts depend upon the availability of qualified psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, and expert witnesses willing to undertake some of the most difficult and contested work in the legal system. Dr. Steinberg argues that if the personal and professional costs of that involvement continue to escalate, fewer experts will be available to families who need them most.
“Children deserve protection from genuine abuse,” she said. “They also deserve protection from misinformation, ideology, and the suppression of honest inquiry. Knowledge advances through evidence, argument, and replication. It does not advance through threats or campaigns designed to eliminate dissenting voices.”
Dr. Lynn Steinberg continues to provide expert witness testimony, clinical consulting, and family reunification advisory services to clients in the United States, Canada, and internationally. She is available for media interviews, professional consultations, and speaking engagements.
About Dr. Lynn Steinberg
Dr. Lynn Steinberg, Ph.D., LMFT, RCC, is a licensed family therapist and clinical psychologist with more than 50 years of clinical experience. She has served as an expert witness in family, dependency, civil, and criminal courts across the United States and internationally. She is the author of “You’re Not Crazy: Overcoming Parent/Child Alienation” and was named Mental Health Advocate of the Year in 2024. Learn more at lynnsteinberg.com.
Contact:
Dr. Lynn Steinberg, Ph.D.
lynnsteinbergphd@gmail.com
lynnsteinberg.com
Dr. Lynn Steinberg, Ph.D.
Dr. Lynn Steinberg, Ph.D.
lynnsteinbergphd@gmail.com
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
