During the pending divorce proceedings, especially in cases where there is higher conflict, it is common for parents to seek psychological consultations to help their children cope with the new reality and provide them with greater emotional comfort.
However, amidst all the existing conflicts between the parents, it is also common for one parent to refuse to accept that the child needs psychological sessions. This ends up being a way to fuel the conflict with the other parent, increasing the emotional instability of the children.
Article 1906 of the Civil Code, which regulates the exercise of parental responsibilities regarding children in the case of divorce, distinguishes matters of particular importance from matters related to the children’s daily life.
Matters of particular importance should be exercised jointly by both parents, as was the practice during the marriage, while matters relating to the child’s daily life should be decided by the parent with whom the child resides, although the parent should provide information to the other as soon as possible.
Thus, the question arises whether the child’s attendance at psychological consultations should be considered a matter of particular importance, requiring the consent of both parents, or whether it should be considered part of the child’s daily life, thus exempting the need for one parent's consent.
In this regard, legal doctrine has emphasized that the concept of "matters of particular importance" should be defined restrictively to avoid uncertainty for the parent with whom the child lives.
Jurisprudence has also indicated that the definition of the core of matters of particular importance should consist of a limited set of issues to avoid increasing conflict between the parents.
For all these reasons, Portuguese courts have concluded that a child’s attendance at psychological consultations should be treated as part of the child’s daily life, and the decision regarding their attendance should lie with the parent with whom the child habitually resides, with an obligation to inform the other parent.
It is the psychologist’s responsibility to contact both parents, maintaining regular communication, so that the parent who cannot be directly involved can still collaborate in the therapeutic process for the children.
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