Dr. Mary Lund has been mediating for over 25 years, has done over 600 custody evaluations, and has been part of a collaborative divorce group for over 10 years, making her one of the most experienced psychologists specializing in divorce in Los Angeles. After receiving her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from UCLA, she conducted postdoctoral research on children and divorce at the University of Cambridge, England. She has published on a variety of topics, including factors affecting children’s post-divorce adjustment, custody plans for children of different ages, and parent-child relationship disruption cases. With her husband and partner, Angus Strachan, she has done research leading to the development of the SCARF, Structured Child Assessment of Relationships in Families, that assesses the family from the child’s point of view
She has been a faculty member at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute, Pepperdine University Law School Dispute Resolution Institute, and the Southern California Family Therapy Institute. She was the supervising psychologist in family therapy and child abuse treatment at Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center. She has been a co-mediator and co-trainer of mediation techniques with Forest Mosten, J.D. and Ken Cloke, J.D., two nationally prominent Attorney mediators. She has co-taught with a team of judicial officers the California Administrative Office of the Courts “Family Law Orientation Course” for incoming judicial officers assigned to Family Law. She was one of three mental health experts and two judicial officers who developed for the California Administrative Office of the Courts the DVD, “Basic Child Development and Effects of Domestic Violence on Children for Juvenile and Family Court Judicial Officers.”
She has been active working with professional organizations serving families of divorce. She was President-Elect for 2012/2013 and President for 2014/2015 of the California Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. She has been one of two mental health liaison members of the Los Angeles County Bar Family Law Section Executive Committee. She is a member of the Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association. She regularly does presentations for many different professional organizations. She has served on several Los Angeles and California committees and work groups that have led to innovations in delivering services, such as brief custody evaluations, parenting plan coordination, and child interviews.
