Dr. Lynn Steinberg warns family court experts are being driven out by intimidation

Clinical psychologist Dr. Lynn Steinberg says organized online campaigns, threats and public pressure are discouraging mental health professionals from taking family court cases. She argues the trend could leave children and families with fewer qualified experts and less reliable legal decisions.

Why it matters: - Family courts rely on psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists and expert witnesses to sort through high-conflict custody disputes. - Dr. Lynn Steinberg says intimidation campaigns can push qualified professionals out of this work. - Fewer experts could mean less informed decisions in cases involving child welfare, abuse claims and reunification.

What happened: - Dr. Lynn Steinberg published a statement titled "When Experts Become Targets: How Fear Is Silencing Family Court Professionals." - Steinberg is a licensed family therapist and clinical psychologist with more than 50 years of experience in family, dependency, civil and criminal courts. - She said organized campaigns are targeting mental health professionals who take part in high-conflict custody cases. - Steinberg said she has direct experience as a target of those campaigns.

The details: - Steinberg said scientific debate, peer criticism and scrutiny of expert methods are necessary. - She said social media has turned private custody disputes into broad public campaigns. - Steinberg pointed to Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram as platforms that can amplify emotional narratives faster than judicial findings or peer-reviewed evidence. - She said reputations built over decades can be damaged in days. - Steinberg said millions of people may see accusations without seeing the evidence courts reviewed. - She said that after a court-ordered reunification matter, she faced an extended online campaign. - That campaign included threats, demonstrations outside her home and courthouses where she testified, false accusations circulated internationally, and attempts to disrupt professional conferences and activities. - Steinberg said law enforcement advised her to take safety precautions. - She later relocated to Canada. - Steinberg said the impact spread beyond her own case and discouraged younger professionals from entering similar work. - She said many experienced practitioners walked away. - She compared the dynamic to the satanic ritual abuse cases of the 1980s and 1990s, when extraordinary accusations spread before careful investigation found many claims unsubstantiated.

Between the lines: - Steinberg is drawing a distinction between legitimate scrutiny and organized suppression. - Her argument is that criticism of experts is part of a healthy legal system, but intimidation changes the incentives for people willing to testify. - The broader concern is not only reputational harm, but a shrinking pool of experts available to contested family court cases. - The statement also frames misinformation and emotional narratives as a risk to evidence-based decision-making.

What's next: - Steinberg said she will continue providing expert witness testimony, clinical consulting and family reunification advisory services in the United States, Canada and internationally. - She is also available for media interviews, professional consultations and speaking engagements. - More information is available on her website. - She can also be found on LinkedIn.

The bottom line: - Steinberg’s warning is simple: if experts fear retaliation for participating in family court, children and families may lose access to the people best equipped to help them.