I appreciate Alison Urdan immensely. She is skilled, patient, knowledgeable and takes her responsibility to the families she serves seriously. It is often the children in a divorce or separation who suffer the most and experience the most trauma due to their parents inability to be fair in a painful situation. I recommend Alison as a Reunification Therapist to anyone who is experiencing parental or family alienation. The children involved are innocent but often bear the weight of having to side with one parent or the other, at the expense of losing the other parent. Alison has stepped into the middle of a parental alienation case that is still pending. Children involved in parental custody cases need support of a strong and experienced champion of what is best for the child. I believe Alison is that person. She is not willing to give up. She is honest. She is dedicated to the welfare of the children she represents. If you are looking for an honest, dedicated, sincere, no nonsense person to get through a custody or alienation case, Alison should be your first choice. read more

Alison is exceptional, and has helped me with lots of trauma and I have seen my life improve before my eyes. She is present, listens carefully and gives very good feedback. The healing process for me has been a long one but I live my life more plentiful now. Her office is always clean, she is welcoming and always there right on time ready to help you and listen. I am incredibly thankful for her existence and her help. I highly recommend her for all her services and I am eternally thankful for her. read more

I was reading the reviews here and felt I had to write one of my own to share my experience with Alison and how it in no way compares to some of the negative comments shared here. Alison is by far one of the most generous people I know. She has been my therapist for nearly 5 years now and has helped me recover from depression and regain my self-esteem. I am bipolar with mixed states and she understood my diagnosis and supported me even during a period when I could not afford her. I repeat, she was extremely generous with me, going above and beyond to help me get through some very dark times. I was also suffering from grief as my mother passed away suddenly. If you are going through a difficult moment and need someone in your corner, I would highly recommend Alison. She is earnest and sincere in her support and gives you her all to see you succeed. read more

Its important that you read this. This "therapist" is toxic and unprofessional. I won my custody case and so this is not sour grapes. Her process , bias, and lack of professionalism was beyond belief. For custody evaluations in particular, avoid at all costs and go with one of the known and respected professionals. Dont make the same mistake I did! read more

I have experience as a client of over 4 years. I suggest running an AI review and ask AI whether it's a good idea to use this persons services. With regard to type of care, she provides many services. The service I receive is not professional in any way. She has not improved over time, only has gotten worse and more biased. In my opinion, it's not worth the risk working with this person as you just don't know which side of her you will experience. She threatened me upon learning of my review. Combative, deceptive, motivated by money, and dishonest. Threatened me many times but has taken no action, over sharing my opinion from my experience with her. I would give zero stars if possible. Run as if your life depends on it because it does. Very rude and unprofessional. read more

Alison has been a life changing for our family, she's fair, reasonable and always puts what is best for our child as her utmost priority. Highly recommend Alison to any family who needs help making important decisions. read more

Worst therapist I have ever been too. Drifted me further away from my kids then trying to help me reunite with them. I would be very careful to NOT use Alison Urdan. She does not help families with reunification. I signed up to be reunified with my two older daughters. She had a couple sessions with me, my kids mother and then the kids. The kids said that they did not want to do therapy (brainwashed by mother) and she did not do anything to push them to even see me. She is an absolute joke. Stay AWAY!!! read more

I would give 0 Stars if I could. This therapist is the worst I have worked with in the last 50 years of therapy. I would steer away from this office, highly unprofessional and bad communicator. Did more damage than helped. AS read more

Alison is the everything and more that you see on her 5 star reviews! She's been my earth angel for years. I don't know where I'd be without her. Don't believe anything you read on here that is negative. She is doing the hardest work you can imagine, saving kids from abusive situations. I don't know how she does it. She puts up with ugliness from the disgruntled family members and is putting her life at risk to do what her heart knows is her calling. We're lucky to have her on this planet! read more

Alison is one of a kind in her field...in the BEST WAY! She has the best straight forward personality with no sugar coating. This is one of my all time favorite traits about her. Her number one priority is the safety of the kids going through the court system and I so admire her for this. Her main job is mediating two people who do not see eye to eye. Obviously she takes extreme care to research each parties information. You would want Alison on your team, she is fair, comprehensive and above all cares about the children's needs first. read more

Like every court ordered counselor, evaluator, or mediator there is going to be someone who is upset especially with high conflict and extreme situations. When you have normal, petty, unhappy people not much to worry about other than minor corrections. However, if you have extreme situation expect extreme responses and these negative reviews further reflects the person inability to be civil or correct their behavior and remember a narcissist is always a victim. So read bad reviews with extreme caution, you may be reading the lashing out of the persons whose behaviors have been exposed. Alison Urdan was an evaluator for my custody case down in the Central Valley. My other half is the legal field down here and it was court ordered to find someone from out of town as to not be bias. Alison Urdan was in a list of East bay people who specialized in a long list of areas, the ones I focused on were domestic violence, high conflict, and teens who are LGBTQ. She was absolutely fantastic and went above and beyond to meet with the attorneys, meet with all parties involved, and interview all the immediate family members involved in the homes. My daughter was suffering from identify with the aggressor and parental alienation, Alison Urdan was the only person involved who addressed these matters. She is the only one involved in my daughters case who was willing to address the gorilla. I highly recommend her. I would also recommend a court reporter for any high conflict case you may have. read more

Alison came to my case as a recommendation from opposing counsel. So, right away, I was a bit skeptical to utilize her services. I did some research, which included reading her reviews. As one can expect, reading any review, some responses were positive and some were negative. I was very cautious, however after much deliberation between the parties, we agreed to proceed with Alison as our mediator. Even then, my guard was up. Already feeling vulnerable in dealing with litigation, having to rely on a mediator, someone who doesn't yet know your children or the parties involved is, quite frankly, terrifying. Mediation was rocky in the beginning, and not because of Alison. She was dealing with two individuals who didn't see eye-to-eye on quite a bit. Nonetheless, Alison was incredibly patient and very honest. She was direct. More importantly, her focus from the very start was always that of the children and what was best for them, both physically and emotionally. There were times I didn't agree or understand with her decisions however she was always willing to hear my concerns. She helped me process certain decisions that were in the kids best interests, despite my apprehension. It's been about two years now that Alison has been on our case. She was our mediator and now our parenting coordinator. It hasn't always been easy but I couldn't imagine having had to have gone through litigation without her advocacy for my children and their overall well-being. Thank you, Alison. read more

My wife and I recently worked with Alison to help resolve some family issues. Alison was kind and patient and gave us a very helpful perspective. We would not have made the breakthroughs we did without her guidance. Our family is better off and forever grateful. read more

Here is what you need to know about Ms Urdan: She starts by telling you that "people want to take my license away". There is a good reason why. No other therapist has this problem. It is because Ms Urdan feels she is above any code of ethics or laws. Many clients of hers have proof that she coaches them on how to get her on their custody case. She will ask you to "delete her messages". BE SMART and KEEP all her messages. She preys on the weak by pretending to be compassionate about your story and sharing a few fake tears of her own. She abuses her power in court systems (in various roles) by luring in the protective parent with false promises to make things better. THEN as soon as money is exchanged, she will turn against you and SIDE with the abusive parent. In order to keep making money and staying on your case, she causes MORE conflict between the parents (rather than helping them resolve issues). She is guaranteed to take your bad situation and make it WORSE. This manipulative person is also very untruthful, disorganized, and uses intimidation & threats to scare you. She disguises her biased intentions by repeatedly saying she is "child focused". There is nothing further than the truth. In fact, she puts your innocent children at MORE risk. If you are someone who had the unfortunate experience of having her on your case, please join a growing group by contacting AUvictims@gmail.com Your story will be kept confidential. read more

Alison was appointed by the court to be our child custody recommending mediator. Over the course of of a few years, she met individually with all three of our small children and (in my opinion) made the experience as comfortable as possible for them. She also met with me and my children's father together numerous times. She helped us discuss really hard topics during a very stressful time in our lives. I'm surprised by the content in the negative reviews. I found that she always stayed focused on what would be in the children's best interest and never took sides with either parent. She took the time to talk with numerous third parties, like teachers or other therapists, and then made a pretty solid/comprehensive recommendation to the court. My only fault is that as she is in such high demand, she is pretty busy. I think that because she was so busy the recommendation took a while to write and and had a few typos in it. read more

Alison Urdan has worked with our family for 5 years now. I believe Alison Urdan has been the MOST empathetic mediator we have had. She likes to meet and to talk one on one with the children. She is trying to see what Is best for the children. She advocates them. I will say the court is the big problem in this country. I will highly recommend Alison Urdan because I gain back joint physical and legal custody since 2017, with her. So I express ALL my Gratitude to her. Thank you Alison! Sincerely from the bottom of my heart. Sandrine Courtade read more

She believes children which is important if you are looking for someone to help your child. She is well trained and experienced with high conflict families. I trust her and would encourage you to meet with her and experience her kindness, insight and intuitiveness for yourself. read more

Alison is a top notch therapist! She has been a custody evaluator on my case that has been going on for over a year. Several professionals have been involved and none were as focused on my child as Alison was. She got to the truth about the game playing that's been going on. Others made it about me or my ex. Alison made it about my son. I feel truly blessed to have the support of Alison. read more

I did some research on this therapist and learned that she had a terrible reputation for being unethical and difficult to work with. I didn't want to believe it because she seemed so nice when I met her. Then she started showing a biased side and I talked to a lot of people in this field who warned me to STAY FAR AWAY from her because she will bring more chaos in your lives in order to make more money. I felt it was only right that I should warn others. read more

It doesn't get any better than Alison Urdan! She is amazing and has saved our family. My children are well adjusted and doing well in school and in all aspects because this woman is professional, kind and knows her stuff! We were lost without her. I believe therapy in some cases is long term and have zero plans to seek anyone else. I suggest her to anyone with kids, there well being is her main concern. read more

Alison cares deeply about kids. Its really not about the parents, although their actions can have life changing effects on their children which Alison always bears in mind. Overall Alison is an outstanding child custody evaluator leaving no stone unturned! read more

Unfortunately angry people lash out and write bad reviews but people who have had a great experience, rarely write reviews and that is my mistake. We have worked with Alison for several years now as our court appointed mediator. It is very hard for quarreling ex's to be objective and put the childrens needs first. Thats exactly what Alison helped us do! She would listen to both sides but would always decide based on what was best for the kids. The kids also developed an excellent rapport with her and were able to confide in her. She is extremely responsive and has even helped resolve issues over the weekend when we were desperate. We spent so much time, money and effort with other court counselors/evaluators. Wish we had found her sooner! We have been her clients for over 5 years now and she has never asked me to write reviews or "threatened" my custody if I dont. I am sure the other reviews are written by parents who did not get their way and that is why they need a mediator in the first place! Alison is in a very tough spot since whatever decision she makes, one of the parents is not going to like it! I would never base my decision on picking a counselor based on a rant by angry unreasonable people who are just throwing a tantrum online and ruining someone's business because they did not get their way! read more

I want to thank Alison for helping with a very difficult and long going issue. She was very professional, consistent, and fair with all involved. Alison stayed true to her focus and kept my son's best interest at the forefront of each meeting, interview, and recommendation. Alison respected our time with her and was able to dissect through all of the feelings to get to the matter involved. She respected our time and was at every appointment well before me although I tend to be someone who shows up early. She was able to give our case time and careful consideration during a short amount of time. I would like to highly recommend Alison Urdan to anyone anyone needing her services as either a therapist or a custody evaluator. read more

I'd like to preface this with...of course someone who practices as a therapist/mediator in family courts, dealing with custody cases, is going to piss off a lot of people. About 50% actually. So, I guess we're not surprised to see her reviews split, one way or another. Our son has been going to Miss Alison for therapy for almost two years. This was not due to a custody battle; he was struggling with some anxiety. He quickly grew fond of her, as did we. It's enjoyable to see the relationship they have built, and he's made great progress with his nerves. To anyone who's wondering whether or not to give her a shot, I'll tell you this. As a parent, I'm always double checking my gut. I'm always paying close attention, especially as it relates to the well-being of my kids. If for one minute, I thought she was toxic, she would never hear from us again. I appreciate that she has the thick skin to be a true child advocate, which unfortunately, often means going against some very difficult people or situations. For what it's worth, sessions with Miss Alison has been a positive thing in my son's life, and for that we're grateful. read more

Alison is truly amazing! She has been our mediator for the last year and a half. She has relieved so much pressure that has been looming in our family. I'm so thankful that we finally found a Therapist that isn't pro Mom or Dad but PRO CHILDREN. Alison really listens and cares. If you're struggling with mediation between you and your ex, and are tired of not reaching mutual ground... I strongly recommend her. Thank you Alison!! read more

I would highly suggest you look elsewhere. She was court ordered to write a report about how family therapy was going and report findings to court within 3 months. 13 months and $10,000 later she still has not written a report and continues to ask the courts for more time. She lies constantly and will tell you anything you want to hear then turns on you in a heartbeat. Most attorneys I've spoken with refuse to work with her. Me and my daughter started "therapy" with this crazy woman 13 months ago as a happy family with a few court battle instigated issues. After 13 months in therapy things have went from amazing to a complete nightmare. Ms Urdan has empowered my daughter to continue lying about everything. She refuses to review our past history of court findings showing my daughter has serious lying problems and verified history of being coached. I also fell for the nice act from her in initial interview and chose her even though her reviews were marginal. That was the single biggest mistake of my life. I highly suggest anybody seeing her records your "therapy" sessions and turns her into Board of Behavioral Science www.bbs.ca.gov as quickly as possible before she can do more damage. Make sure all your corrispondence is in writing and log everything. read more

When parents get to a point that they need a custody evaluator it's never good. Having been a part of the Family Court process, I can personally say that I have seen many of these professional counselors not truly work on behalf of the child's best interests and it's unfortunate because that is their job. Alison is one of the professionals that we had to work with that truly acts for the child and that is rare to find. She has a very difficult job getting between two parents who can't come together for the sake of their child but she does her homework and wants to see/know everything. Her goal is always to work on the child's behalf. Nothing is scarier than going through this process but knowing Alison does her job based on what's best for the child helps give parents some peace of mind. Children need more professionals like this to advocate for them. Alison, keep doing what you're doing for the children. They need a voice when no one is listening. read more

This person doesn't think and just reacts and very retaliatory. Unethical, unorganized, unprofessional and has no idea how to work with teenagers. She will destroy your family, and because she is always court ordered (who would select this person), you are stuck with her and she will turn what's left of your family to dust. She lies to ALL parties and the children and to the court. She has no conscious. She will tell you stories about her life and kids and pretend to have empathy. Don't go for it. She has none. I don't know how she loves with herself. I thought my marriage was hard until I met her. Our child said that if he has to see her again, he will hurt himself. That's how bad it was. Save your life and ask the court to spare your children at any cost. read more

This woman has saved my life! I have been searching for many years for the right therapist. She is wonderful at what she does and would recommend her to anyone. read more

Alison has been a terrific therapist for our family. She has helped us to really dig into issues, find the root of the problems and work towards fixing them. I'm so grateful our family has found her. read more

Working with Alison was a blessing! If I could give her 10 stars I would. I would recommend her to anyone I know that needs a really good custody evaluator. She gets down to the truth. read more

After reading ALL of these reviews, I have to say that I am not surprised by the bad reviews. I entrusted her with mediation with one issue. She has overstepped with both my ex spouse and myself to the point of obsession. Her services were rendered and she continued to harass my ex more than myself. We have became a united front with this woman due to her obsessive behavior and are currently proceeding with legal action. Be careful trusting her, she has issues herself. read more

Alison was a great help in getting our teenager to open up. I've heard some grumblings from other families about feeling like court mediators are only in it for the money, but Alison does the job to help the kids, and any parent who isn't in it just for his or herself should appreciate that. In our experience, she was straightforward but warm, and made it easier to communicate with each other. That's why she was recommended to us, and why we recommend her to anyone who needs her read more

Alison Urdan has worked with our family for 5 years now. I found her. I felt very upset with her and even felt betrayed in 2015. She is the 4th private mediator that we have had in 9 years. Despite the fact we are divorced since 2015, Alison is still working with us. It was not my choice initially and I hope we will end soon after 5 years with her. However, Alison has been EXTREMELY helpful. I lost the joint custody of our daughter during 3 years. False allegations and libels against me. Even a false medical file with 145 pages was built against me from the 3 rd mediator, I will not recommend him at all! The system is corrupted. It was before Alison came in our case. She was appointed by the court because my ex husband had requested AGAIN a private mediator. Alison understood our daughter needed her mother to grow and evolve normally. Children need both parents to be happy and to develop correctly mentally and in all ways. Despite my trauma with the separation and the pain of that long term separation (2 nights monthly with my baby girl and 2 or 3 diners weekly!!) I believe Alison Urdan has been the MOST empathetic mediator we have had. She likes to meet and to talk one on one with the children. She is not perfect but she is trying to see what s best for the children. She advocates them. I will say the court is the big problem in this country. In nearly 10 years in the bay, I can tell you: SO MANY professionals around the court business are biased and extremely bad with no ethics and, PHD, or not! I will highly recommend Alison Urdan because I gain back joint physical and legal custody since 2017, with her. So I express ALL my Gratitude to her. Thank you Alison! Sincerely from the bottom of my heart. read more