Publications
Selected Books Authored/Co-Authored
- Dr. Saposnek is the author of the 1983 classic text, Mediating Child Custody Disputes, A Systematic Guide for Family Therapists, Court Counselors, Attorneys, and Judges.
- He is also the author of the revised 1998 edition, Mediating Child Custody Disputes: A Strategic Approach.
- He is co-author of the 2012 book, Splitting America: How Politicians, Super PACs and the News Media Mirror High Conflict Divorce.
- He is co-author of the 2019 book, The Child Support Solution: Unhooking Custody From Support.
Selected Chapters and Articles Published
Dr. Saposnek has published extensively in the professional literature on divorce, child custody and child psychology.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS by Dr. Saposnek (Articles in Professional Journals and Chapters in Books)
Aikido: A model for brief strategic therapy. Family Process, 1980, 19 (3), 227-238. Also in R. Heckler (Ed.) Aikido and the New Warrior, Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books, 1985.
Strategies in child custody mediation: A family systems approach. In J.A. Lemmon (Ed.) Successful Techniques for Mediating Family Breakup. Mediation Quarterly, No. 2. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, December, 1983, pp. 29-54. Also in L. Riskin (Ed.) Divorce Mediation Readings, Washington, D. C.: American Bar Association Special Committee on Dispute Resolution and Family Law Section, 1985.
Short-term psychotherapy. In N. Endler and J. McV. Hunt (Eds.) Personality and the Behavioral Disorders (2nd Edition). New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1984.
How has mandatory mediation fared? Research findings of the first year’s follow-up (with Hamburg, Delano, and Michaelsen). Conciliation Courts Review, 1984, 22, (2), 7-19.
What is fair in child custody mediation? In J.A. Lemmon (Ed.) Making Ethical Decisions. Mediation Quarterly, No. 8. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, June, 1985, pp.9-18.
Aikido: A systems model for maneuvering in mediation. In D.T. Saposnek (Ed.), Applying Family Therapy Perspectives to Mediation. Mediation Quarterly, no. 14/15. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, December 1986.
Parent-child relationships in family mediation: A synthesis of views. (with M. Samis). In D.T. Saposnek (Ed.), Applying Family Therapy Perspectives to Mediation. Mediation Quarterly, no. 14/15. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, December 1986.
Recent developments in joint custody: Definitions, issues, and recommendations. In P.A. Keller and S.R. Heyman (Eds.), Innovations in Clinical Practice: A Source Book. Volume 6. Sarasota, Florida: Professional Resource Exchange, 1987.
The family courts of California: A model of innovations. The California Psychologist, 23 (5), November, 1989.
The psychology of divorce. (with F. Rose) In D.L. Crumbley and N. Apostolou (Eds.), Handbook of Financial Planning for Divorce and Separation. N.Y.: John Wiley, 1990.
A guide to decisions about joint custody. In J. Folberg (Ed.), Joint Custody and Shared Parenting, 2nd Edition. New York: Guilford Press, 1991.
The value of children in mediation: A cross-cultural perspective. Mediation Quarterly, 1991, 8 (4), 325-342.
Clarifying perspectives on mandatory mediation. Family and Conciliation Courts Review, 30 (4), October, 1992, 490-506.
Child custody mediation: Practice opportunities for psychologists. The National Psychologist, March/April, 1997.
(Guest Editor) The art of family mediation. In D.T. Saposnek (Ed.), Beyond Technique: The Soul of Family Mediation. Special Issue, Mediation Quarterly, Vol. 11, no. 1, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Fall, 1993. Also in A.J. Hurder, F.S. Bloch, S.L. Brooks, & S.L. Kay (Eds.), (1997). Clinical Anthology: Readings for Live-Client Clinics. Vanderbilt University Law School, Anderson Publishing.
Style and the family mediator. In D. Hoffman and D. Bowling (Eds.), Bringing Peace Into the Room: The Personal Qualities of the Mediator. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
Working with children in mediation. In J. Folberg, A. Milne, and P. Salem (Eds.), Divorce and Family Mediation: Models, Techniques, and Applications. New York: Guilford Press, 2004.
The future of the history of family mediation research. In T. Jones (Ed.), Conflict Resolution in the Field: Assessing the Past, Charting the Future. Special Double Issue of Conflict Resolution Quarterly. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004. Also in: American Journal of Family Law, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Winter 2005)
(Guest Editor), Special Needs Children in Family Court. Special Issue of Family Court Review, Vol. 43, No. 4, Oxford, England: Blackwell Publisher. 2005.
Special needs children in family court cases. (with H. Perryman, J. Berkow, and S. Ellsworth). Family Court Review, Vol. 43 (4), October, 2005.
The use of temperament in clinical practice. Bulletin of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology Vol. 10 (1), Spring 2006.
The dynamics of power in child custody mediation. In M. S. Herrman (Ed.), The Blackwell Handbook of Mediation: Bridging theory, research, and practice. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 2006.
Reducing divorce conflict. (with K. Blaisure). American Association of Family Therapy’s Family Therapy Magazine, 6 (4), July/August, pp.44-52, 2007. Also in American Association of Family Therapy (Ed.), Clinical Updates for Family Therapists: Research and Treatment Approaches for Issues Affecting Today’s Families, Volume 3, Alexandria, VA: American Association of Family Therapy, pp. 209-224, 2008.
Co-parenting children with neurodevelopmental disorders. (with Birnbaum, R., Lach, L., and MacCulloch, R.). (2012). In K. Kuehnle & L. Drozd (Eds.), Parenting Plan Evaluations: Applied Research for the Family Court, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Ask the Experts: Ten tips for developing and drafting effective parenting plans. Association for Family and Conciliation Courts eNEWS, Fall, 2013, and at Mediate.com, on-line October 31, 2013 at (http://www.mediate.com/articles/saposnekparentingplans.cfm)
The Evolution and Importance of a Parenting Plan. Taiwan Family Mediator’s Society. Spring, 2014.
Mediation Going Forward: What Do We Know? What Can We Expect? Article for the Mediation Futures Project. On-line at www.mediate.com, December, 2014. Also, translated into Russian and republished in Russian Journal, “Mediation and Law. Intermediation and Conciliation,” January, 2015.
Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Parental Separation and Divorce (with Birnbaum, R., and Lach, L.) In M. Saini and L. Drozd and (Eds.), Parenting Plan Evaluations: Applied Research for the Family Court, 2nd Edition N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Share Empathy, Structure, and Play. In M. Lang & P. Nicholson (Eds.) Living Together, Separating, Divorcing: Surviving during a Pandemic. Ireland: OG Group. (2020).