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The Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune
National
By Jessica Shuran Yu

Texas lawmakers limit use of parent-child reunification therapy in custody battles

Tiffanie O'Brien, right)=, looks toward her daughter, Abbey, as they sit in their neighbor’s home near Lake Austin on Aug. 8, 2025. Both women testified in favor of banning reunification therapy, a form of court ordered family therapy that Abbey started going into her final year of high school in 2024. Abbey and her mom were separated for several months without a way to communicate with one another so that Abbey could spend time with her dad.
Tiffanie O'Brien, right, and her daughter, Abbey, in their neighbor’s home near Lake Austin on Aug. 8, 2025. Both women testified in favor of banning reunification therapy, a form of court-ordered family therapy that Abbey was ordered to do in 2024. (Credit: Lorianne Willett for The Texas Tribune)

Abbey O’Brien, 18, went to the Texas Capitol in May to publicly support lawmakers’ attempt to restrict a type of family therapy a court ordered her to participate in after her parents’ divorce.

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