Understanding Parental Alienation

Understanding Parental Alienation is intended for parents who are living through a nightmare—the loss of their relationship with a child—which seems impossible to understand and extremely frustrating to turn around. This book, written by two leading experts in the field, provides a balance of theoretical background and practical hands-on information to guide both parents and practitioners through this devastating phenomenon. The authorsf many years of experience have shaped their understanding of the causes of parental alienation, the manifestations of this serious mental health condition, and interventions that are likely to be helpful in the short-term and the long-term. The book is written in a readable, engaging manner interspersed with interesting case vignettes. As well as introducing some new theoretical concepts, such as the transition bridge, and helping the reader to understand the unique dynamics of the child's rejection, perhaps the most original parts of the book focus on taking action to deal with the problem and strategies for healing. The authors provide practical advice on preparing for court including how to develop a chronology of events and how to prepare a written submission, even down to choosing a writing style that is most likely to be read by the judge. Specific guidance is also provided on how to help alienated children heal through reunification. Understanding Parental Alienation is a highly valuable resource for parents and a must-read book for every mental health professional, social worker or legal professional working with families in divorce.

In Understanding and Managing Parental Alienation: A Guide to Assessment and Intervention, Janet Haines, Mandy Matthewson and Marcus Turnbull offer a comprehensive analysis of contemporary understanding of parental alienation. Grounded in recent scientific advances, this is the first book of its kind providing resources on how to identify parental alienation and a guide to evidence-based intervention. Parental alienation is a process in which one parent manipulates their child to negatively perceive and reject the other parent. Recognising this phenomenon and knowing when to intervene is often the biggest challenge faced by practitioners and this book provides a guide to this process. Divided into six parts, it examines what parental alienation is and how it is caused, how it affects each family member as a mental health concern and form of violence, and how to assess, identify and intervene successfully from a legal and therapy standpoint. Taking on a gender-neutral approach, the book is filled with contemporary case examples from male and female perspectives, cutting-edge research, practitioner-client dialogues, and practitioners' reflections to show the difficult realities of parental alienation. Practical and accessible, this is an essential resource for mental health professionals working with families experiencing parental alienation, as well as postgraduate students of clinical psychology, counselling, family therapy, social work, and child and family psychology. This book will also be of immense interest to family lawyers and mediators due to its multidisciplinary approach.

An examination of adults who have been manipulated by divorcing parents. Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) occurs when divorcing parents use children as pawns, trying to turn the child against the other parent. This book examines the impact of PAS on adults and offers strategies and hope for dealing with the long-term effects.

This book addresses the concept of parental alienation – the belief that when a child of divorced parents avoids one parent, it may be because the preferred parent has persuaded the child to do this. It argues against the unquestioning use of parental alienation concepts in child custody conflicts. Increasing use of this concept in family courts has led at times to placement of children with abusive or violent parents, damage to the lives of preferred parents, and the use of treatments that have not been shown to be safe or effective. The 13 chapters cover the history and theory of "parental alienation" principles and practices. Methodological and research issues are considered, and diagnostic and treatment methods associated with "parental alienation" beliefs as well as those recommended by research and ethical evidence are analyzed. The connections of "parental alienation" with gender and domestic violence issues are discussed as are the experiences of individuals who have experienced "parental alienation" treatments. The book argues that "parental alienation" principles and practices should be avoided by family courts, in the best interests of children in custody disputes. This book will be useful reading for lawyers, judges, children’s services workers including social workers, child protection court workers, and mental health professionals involved in child custody decisions.

Having known the author for many years I was given the opportunity to proof read this book and it is so "on the button" to my own situation as to be uncanny. My alienation is comparable, and I suspect may well have many similarities with other alienations. The alienation process described as well as the characteristics of the alienator has so many reassuring parallels to my own experiences. The author has a complete understanding and explains alienation in simple, powerful terms. I now understand that however hard I tried to avoid this outcome; it could not have been any different. This was the way it always was going to be. After alienation happened, guilt, blame and isolation have been my driving emotions and this book gave me the confidence that I no longer need to feel that shame. This is a 'must read' book for any alienated person. - Steve Dyer

How do we begin to describe our love for our children? Pamela Richardson shows us with her passionate memoir of life with and without her estranged son, Dash. From age five Dash suffered Parental Alienation Syndrome at the hands of his father. Indoctrinated to believe his mother had abandoned him, after years of monitored phone calls and impeded access eight-year-old Dash decided he didn’t want to be "forced" to visit her at all; later he told her he would never see her again if she took the case to court. But he didn’t count on his indefatigable mother’s fierce love. For eight more years Pamela battled Dash’s father, the legal system, their psychologist, the school system, and Dash himself to try and protect her son - first from his father, then from himself. A Kidnapped Mind is a heartrending and mesmerizing story of a Canadian mother’s exile from and reunion with her child, through grief and beyond, to peace.

Surviving Parental Alienation provides parents who have been ostracized from their children with understanding and validation through personal accounts and expert analysis. Offering insight and advice, the authors guide the "targeted" parent through the issues and challenges and help them better manage their experiences.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of established evidence-based interventions for the problems inherent in parental alienation. The book focuses on helping families and ensuring the needs of the child are met. Increasing attention has been given to the subject of parental alienation in recent years, as divorce rates have increased and more children are being brought up in the context of ongoing parental conflict, risking significant emotional harm. Chapters point to the application of numerous evidence-based interventions that are already available and detail how to identify, assess and intervene effectively with families where parental alienation has been identified. This text will be of interest to those working in the family courts, particularly expert witnesses, clinical psychologists, therapists, social workers, guardians and other legal professionals, in addition to researchers with an interest in parental alienation.