Psychologist Report - Philippines

For applicants adopting in the Philippines with ICANZ, below are the requirements for a report from a psychologist. These requirements are set by the Central Authority of the Philippines, the Inter Country Adoption Board,in Manila.

The Board decided that the following will be the requirements for the psychological evaluation of PAPs effective January 2019:

1. The psychological evaluation should be undertaken by a licensed psychologist. A copy of the psychologist’s license or registration certification should be attached to the report. The psychologist’s specific experience in evaluating PAPs adopting internationally should be noted and described in the report.

2. In the case of those who had been diagnosed with psychological issues in the past, the psychological evaluation report should include an account of the treatment that the prospective adoptive applicant received and an assessment of the risk of the recurrence of the condition, including a discussion of the basis for such an assessment.

3. The psychologist should be “adoption-competent”, that is to say one who is familiar with the parenting needs of an adopted child, particularly a child adopted internationally. The psychological evaluation should focus on assessing the psychological resources and conditions which the applicants possess that are relevant to the capacity to provide for such a child’s needs. The evaluation should not simply render an expert opinion about the applicants’ ability to be good parents but should speak to the applicants’ potential to be good adoptive parents of a child adopted internationally.

4. The psychological evaluation should cover the assessment of personality and psychopathology, couple relationship quality and stability, parenting awareness and capability, and cultural sensitivity. If the applicant’s history includes major stress (e.g., traumatic experiences, relationship conflicts, dysfunctional family dynamics), the evaluation should also include an assessment of the applicant’s ability to reflect on the difficult circumstances indicative of his/her resilience and personal growth. The report should cite the psychologist’s specific observations on which the assessment was based.

5. The psychological evaluation should integrate the information obtained through prescribed assessment methods:

a.    Clinical interviews of the spouses separately and together

b.    Behavioral observation

c.     Collateral information, when available

d.    Psychometrically validated psychological tests:

i.      Individual functioning:  MMPI-2-RF (required)

ii.     Personality traits:  NEO-PI-R or 16 PF Questionnaire (required)

iii. Couple functioning: The New Zealand Central Authority (CA) may suggest an appropriate test/measure.

iv.   Parenting awareness and capability: The CA may suggest an appropriate test/measure.

v.   Cultural sensitivity and competence: The CA may suggest an appropriate test/measure.

In the case of Items 5-d-iii to 5-d-v, if no psychometrically validated tests for assessing these areas are available in the receiving country, the CAs/FAAs should instruct assessment psychologists to specifically cover these areas of functioning in their evaluation of the PAPs using other methods at their disposal. The methods by which they evaluated these areas should be described in their reports.

6. In the case of applicants with children, the psychological report should cover the applicants’ adjustment to and handling of any child who has been diagnosed with special needs and any children who were adopted.

7. The psychological evaluation report should summarize the applicants’ strengths as well as areas of growth or capacities that they need to develop to prepare themselves better for adoptive parenthood.

8. The report should include specific recommendations for psychological intervention (including psychoeducation) which can aid the applicants’ development as capable adoptive parents. Regular updates sent by the FAAs to NACC should include a report on measures taken by the applicants to follow the psychologist’s recommendations.

9. Assesment interviews conducted via online communication:   NACC strongly discourages clinical interviews of the couple that are conducted online (such as over Skype or Facetime) as we believe important information is lost when the participants of the interview are not in each other’s presence. When online interviews are done, the FAA and psychologist should disclose that the assessment interview was conducted in this way and the FAA must provide justification for resorting to this method of conducting the psychological assessment interview.

NOTE:

The applicant(s) require two signed copies, one for their AFS or Oranga Tamariki social worker and one for the applicant to supply to ICANZ to form part of their application in the Philippines that ICANZ prepares.

The Philippines National Authority for Child Care website states the following -

Psychological evaluation by a duly licensed psychiatrist or psychologist or in some countries, social workers who are sufficiently trained in clinical psychology as part of the degree requirement in the field of social work.

The psychological evaluation remains as a separate document/report from the Home Study Report. The psychological evaluation should contain the type of psychometric tests administered to the Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) as well as the outcome of such tests. It should also contain among others early childhood experience/s, marital/family relationship and functioning of the couple, and coping mechanisms in times of crises and problems inclusive of issues on infertility/childlessness (if applicable), handling the challenges that adoption brings and the parenting that comes with it, their capability of handling adjustment issues is elucidated and commented upon.

The Board recently required the submission of Base Rate for Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III (MCMI-III) and T Scores for Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory 2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2 RF) instead of the detailed raw scores of the psychological test.

However, Prospective Adoptive Parents who have previously adopted from the Philippines are covered by Board Resolution 062-54 series of 2011 and are not required to undergo the above tests.