Horrific experience. I am so glad I scanned every page along with my answer sheet for the MMPI 2 test. I was able to have my answers reviewed by two other psychiatrists and the results were completely different that what custody evaluator Rhonda Barovsky described in her custody report that Randy Kolin interpreted & submitted to her. He also administered the The Rorschach test which is no better than an astrology reading and will not stand up in court. On the last card Randy Kolin was so frustrated with me because I just didn't see anything in the ink blots. He said " give me a break! Don't tell me you don't see the Eiffel Tower! I've been doing this for 15 years and every single person sees this" he pointed it out. It was the size of my pinky nail. What I do know is this guy is a part of a network of people in Family Law that continue to refer people to one another and create a stream of guaranteed revenue. Attorneys, custody evaluators and Psychological evaluators. We paid 15k to our custody evaluator plus another 1k to Randy Kolin in 2018. From my research I know if someone in their networks brings them business, they deliver the expected results. Apparently this is common knowledge in family law. Be careful don't get caught up in their mafia like web when opposing counsel wants to use one of their services you will surely be railroaded into their network and lose big time. read more

After reading the reviews I'm unsure if the Randy Kolin I have spoken to is the same Randy Kolin. The Randy I've seen was something I reached out to just have someone to talk to at my works employee assistant program. I didn't speak to him as anything required or under any circumstances that I was required to speak to him. When I went to him as someone to talk things out with I was and am very happy with the process. Listened, provided good advise and gave me honest feedback about the issues I brought to him. The Randy Kolin I saw was in the Bay Area but was not in Oakland or Walnut Creek. So maybe the guy I'm talking to is different than other reviews... I could imagine him being able to be confrontational in a situation that he thought wasn't healthy or children were involved. But I've only experienced positive (and honest) feedback. I would and have recommended him to others as somebody me to talk through problems with. read more

After seeing the brave review posted by Cindy M., I am posting mine. I agree and experienced EVERYTHING she described. He is very abusive, screamed at me over the phone so loud my friend heard every word. He was accusing me of something I did not do but my child's father told him so that was good enough reason to believe it was true. His parenting plans are sloppy, ambiguous and so confusing law enforcement officers have not known what to enforce. Definitely record everything and do not meet with him alone, EVER! He lies and then you are stuck with a judge believing it. After I realized what he was I deliberately avoided talking to him unless someone was around me (I don't recommend that) and insisted that the meeting with my child (which I and my child had wanted from the start) be recorded. He refused, pulled out of our case but not after writing a report of lies. If your attorney is part of his little referral scam, you may fare well but do not risk the lives of your kids. He is a dangerous man and needs to be exposed and stopped. I posted this a few months ago and just saw that a couple people have found my review funny. While I respect everyone's right to have their own opinion, it's deeply disturbing that anyone would see this as funny. Unless Dr Kolin himself felt the need to laugh in my face virtually then it's not only disturbing but typical. He will reap what he's sown, I just hope I get to see it all come full circle. read more

If you are a loving father and normal guy being run through the mill by a violent psychotic ex do not expect Randy to do his job. Finally it's taken multiple other therapists involved in my case to give me back custody and to see just how much anger she even still has so many years later, how much she lies and manipulates. Yes she's off the Richter scale, wolf in sheep's clothing, I told him in advance exactly what she would do, but Randy with his apparently gigantic ego, claimed he would spot it, claimed he was an expert, but he didn't, he believed her, victim shamed and blamed me using her words, and instead he falsified information about my case to achieve the results he wanted so that he wouldn't have to do extra work or go to court. He did not consider my young developing children accurately at all. He did not consider they were being coached by the mother as much as they were (child psychologist sees it even today), and he got schooled by my 6 year old who told him things in attempt to get her parents back together since he was framed as a problem solver for the kids... he mistook her words to mean something they didn't as if she had adult comprehension, and took custody away from me for 2 years. He set me and my children back years by emboldening a wealthy narcissist. Literally the worst thing a professional could do in my circumstance. Don't agree to use him as a custody evaluator. He absolutely blew it and he should be embarrassed about charging $15000 for his skewed, templated reports. He didn't even get the sex of my children correct in it after months of working with us. For $15,000 I expected a lot more effort, fact-finding, professionalism, investigative intelligence and frankly moral compass. I know he raised his rates by now because he tried to charge me extra on top of all of it but I caught it and he refunded me. He said it was simply her word vs mine after months and videos and facts presented... I thought he was the one supposed to get to the bottom of things, because court doesn't, and I had all the facts and evidence on my side. Fortunately, I guess, family court is so flawed they didn't even read his report completely, but still ordered his harmful recommendation. I can't believe he has a PsyD, the board should seriously look at him closely for malpractice. Thankfully, he has been exposed by other therapists now for what he's done, and failed to do in my case, when it mattered greatly. He told me things like my ex was a monster who was claiming I was a monster, and that the judge, whom he knew was retiring and told me about, was "kicking the can down the road" and "he wasn't going to do his job for the judge". He was even on the right track, but yet, in a surprise move without any warning, or effort in softening the blow, he took custody away when it was 50/50 and working, despite my exes every attempt to muddy it. What I think really made him shift to the dark side was during the custody evaluation she was seeking a restraining order, and lied enough to achieve it, yet with the presumption overcome, but she lied to him about that before I saw him, said it was full and permanent and the next time I saw him he was enraged at me for some reason unknown to me and said "game over bud" and despite reasonable explanations, ultimately he sided with the monster and screwed me and my children when we needed a capable physiologist most. Shame on you really, if you even can feel that. I wouldn't doubt he himself is narcissistic the way he conducted what should've been a much more empathetic and thoughtful process. Not even a real explanation why he took so much time from me. Way to go Randy, I'm sure you are still out there cashing those checks and leaving a mess behind you for someone else to clean up. Your MMPI 2 test interpretation was horrible, exaggerated and harmful, I've had it checked by real professionals and you should really hear what they said about it not knowing you. Thanks for assisting "the monster" and keeping the field slanted for female false accusers. You've done great harm, but I've finally been able to overcome your lack of diligence and integrity in such a crucial matter. You could send me an apology someday, after hearing from your colleagues, but I won't hold my breath. False accusations and Parental alienation is a horrible thing to go through, but Randy approves of it apparently. Seriously, don't risk using him if you have a serious and terrible situation like mine. He could've made a huge difference in my life for the better, and it wouldn't have been a stretch for him to do so, but he chose the weakest, easiest path for himself and instead added to the mess with such long lasting consequences. Just really awful what you did. read more

Let me just put it out there right away: I didn't get what I asked for in the report Dr. Randy Kolin submitted to the court and I was not that thrilled when I read that report from my attorney but after reflecting on all the facts and his recommendations, I have come to realize that he did everything in our children's interest and benefits. I have worked with Dr. Kolin for a little over 6 months and despite the tense and ugly face of the situation, he had always been professional and understanding. Even though his job was to listen, take notes and ask questions, he made me feel that he understood how hard a divorce could be on anyone, especially the children. I dreaded the whole process at first because I never wanted anyone to step inside of our 10-year marriage and tell us what to do. I was told that it was invasive, nerve-wrenching and taxing. After going through it, I would have to say, if you have to go through it anyway, Dr. Kolin is your go-to evaluator because he's going to be the best advocate for your children. His report was professionally written, profoundly insightful, laden with facts and expertise. It was solid and was a hard evidence of him putting everything together to best present a scenario/schedule that would help my children thrive and be happy. read more

If you find yourself in mediation, it's a pretty good sign that you are having issues resolving custody matters. It's not a good place to be, and if you have been struggling for custody resolution, it's a pretty good indicator that someone will not be happy or completely satisfied with the outcome. That being said, we must remember that mediation is not about the parent's needs, but what is best for the children. I have worked with Dr. Kolin For almost 2 years now and I have found him to be professional, compassionate, diligent in his research and he has always put the needs of the children first and foremost. Our situation is incredibly complicated in that we have a child that not only has special needs, but is medically fragile. Dr. Kolin has taken the time to understand and research the reality of these needs. He has been thorough in reaching out to relevant outside parties such as therapists, respite workers and other collateral contacts. We were court ordered to work with a private mediator to resolve our issues. It has been an arduous journey, but I am thankful for the considerate, professional and thoughtful help that Dr. Kolin gave to our family situation. The bottom line: He Put The Needs Of The Children FIRST! read more

Dr. Kolin performed a complex (several month) child custody evaluation during my contentious divorce. He was very thorough in talking with my children, contacting all past therapists and marriage counselors, teachers, etc. and performing several psychological tests on both parents. I was very impressed with his professionalism and that his focus was 100% on what was best for the well being of our children. He was always calm and professional during our sessions. and used a lot of inquiry on asking what I felt was best for my sons, and delving into our parent child relationship. He would raise issues that "mom" or the children raised in order to respond. During joint sessions with my children, it was obvious that they were very comfortable with Dr. Kolin and that they felt it was a safe environment to speak their truth. Dr. Kolin's report was very in-depth and well written in a narrative voice with detailed information pulled from all the interviews and from our written responses to the extremely lengthy/thorough questionnaire each parent had to complete at the start of the evaluation (which covered every facet of your past, the marriage, and relationship with each child). Dr. Kolin prepared and deliver to the judge a 57 page report. Typically, there was at least a page on each interview he performed that was fully documented on what each person had shared with him. It was a very even-handed, brutally honest, and non-bias report that documented both the "good" and the "bad" traits of each parent, the psychological testing results, what each child had shared and desired, etc. His recommendations at the end of the report was detailed and even included recommendations to the judge for contingencies if either parent did not abide. The custody recommendations were solely focused on what was best for the children and definitely did not meet all my "wishes" for custody, nor did it meet all the demands of "mom". In reading other reviews here, I suspect that they are from parents who are upset with the recommendations and view the other parent as pure evil so any visitation provided to that parent was viewed as "bad". These situations needing a third-party to recommend the custody arrangements/plans are highly stressful and emotional. In my experience Dr. Kolin was never abusive, never raised his voice, and definitely was extremely honest in his report and documentation. He was not afraid to ask me difficult questions and to challenge me, but it was professional. Both lawyers agreed to Dr. Kolin and other professionals involved in child custody issues spoke highly of Dr. Kolin. The judge appreciated the report Dr. Kolin wrote for its thoroughness and recommendations. (Side note: proven accusations of referral fees and abusive behavior would most likely result in lawyers being dis-barred and psychologists losing their licenses, and hence highly unlikely to have occurred). These evaluaters are in very high demand. and they all are booked solid (you typically have to wait months for those that have experience). There is no need for them to pay for a referral or risk their practice. The way a custody evaluater is chosen is done by both lawyers / parties agreeing to the evaluator (if the parties can't agree, the judge decides off of an approved list). My lawyer had no prior experience with Dr Kolin but had heard positive feedback from other psychologist and lawyers about his fairness and deep experience. I sympathize with anyone that has to go through a custody evaluation since no one ever gets exactly what they desire. If you do need to have an evaluation performed, I highly recommend Dr. Kolin to focus on what's best for your children and provide a solid, thorough and honest report that will likely be viewed as unbiased by the judge. read more