Ellison v. Ellison

SUMMERS, Justice.

The question before us is whether a parent may invoke a child’s psychotherapist-patient privilege to prevent a psychologist from testifying in a proceeding to modify custody based upon allegations of physical and mental abuse suffered by that child. We conclude that she may not.

*2The father and mother were divorced in 1990 in McIntosh County. They have two minor children and the mother is the custodial parent. The children visit the father at his residence in Missouri according to the divorce decree. In 1995 while the children were visiting the father he took them to a child…