Tennessee judge keeps supervised visitation after disputed recordings, orders therapy records and search for independent supervisor

A family-court hearing in Tennessee over whether to expand a father’s access to his son ended with the judge keeping supervised visits in place and ordering steps toward an independent supervisor and fuller clinical records.

Judge David D. Wolfe continued the temporary supervised-visitation arrangement for Brian Grama and said the supervised schedule will remain in force while the parties locate an independent, neutral supervisor or until an agreed alternative is approved. The judge also instructed that therapist reports and other relevant materials be shared with Grama’s counselor so clinicians can reassess whether unsupervised visits are appropriate.

The hearing followed a three-day temporary hearing and review of a psychological evaluation by Dr. Janie Berryman that had recommended a written therapist report before unsupervised visitation be considered. Jerry Smith, a licensed professional counselor who has treated Grama since August 2024, testified that Grama had attended about 16 sessions and, in his clinical opinion based on the work he had seen, “I do not see an issue with your visitation being unsupervised.” Smith also acknowledged he had not reviewed the full court order or some recordings that Dr. Berryman had cited and accepted that his testimony might carry less weight until he saw the additional evidence.

The guardian ad litem, Mickey Furlong Smith, and maternal family members told the court they had recorded multiple supervised visits and described episodes the guardian said frightened the child and upset the grandmother. Patricia Ray, who supervised visits most recently, played audio the court listened to in part; in the excerpts played she said she heard Grama use profane language and threats directed at her in Pearson’s presence. Ray told the court the child had shown signs of being intimidated during some visits.

Robert Jeffrey Ford and other character witnesses testified in support of Grama, describing him as engaged with the child during supervised visits and recommending neutral supervision. Grama testified that he has completed anger-management and parenting classes, provided a current nail-bed drug test, and said he had changed his lifestyle and wanted more parenting time.

Judge Wolfe admitted as an exhibit current drug-test results Grama provided but sustained an objection and excluded a proffered letter as hearsay because it was not authenticated. The court instructed that therapist Jerry Smith be provided the psychological evaluation and other pertinent materials (including recordings and reports) so he could factor them into further clinical conclusions.

The judge declined to move to unsupervised visitation at this time, saying the record shows continuing concerns about the episodes heard on recordings and described at earlier hearings. Wolfe said he wanted supervision handled by someone neutral and capable of producing reports for the court; if parties could not identify an independent supervisor, the court said it would accept short-term supervision by volunteers who were acceptable to both parties (the court mentioned Robert Ford and his wife as possible interim supervisors) while an independent professional’s availability and cost are investigated.

The court set a final hearing date of May 15 to revisit the visitation plan and other outstanding matters.

The judge closed by warning Grama that further incidents like the ones captured on recordings could lead the court to suspend visitation entirely until further evaluation. The order continues existing conditions of the case and asks the parties and the guardian ad litem to cooperate in identifying a neutral supervisor and in submitting records to Grama’s treating clinician for assessment.