The Pennsylvania Superior Court has carved out an exception to the discovery of mental health records in C.L. v. M.P., Pa. Super., decided July 8, 2020. In the majority opinion authored by retired President Judge Emeritus F. Correale Stevens, the court held that a parent's mental health records could be reviewed by the guardian ad litem appointed to the child despite the confidentiality provisions of the Mental Health Procedures Act.  Judge Deborah A. Kunselman filed a dissenting opinion.

The Lackawanna County trial court appointed a guardian ad litem (GAL) for the child in this high-conflict custody case where there were allegations of mental unfitness by both the mother and the father. The appointment order included language that the GAL was to have access to three years of both parties' psychological or psychiatric charts, including evaluations, progress notes, test evaluations and discharge summaries. Additionally, the father and the mother were ordered to submit to mental health evaluations.