Working With Alienated Children And Families

This guidebook pulls together for the first time the best thinking in the field today about different approaches for working with these families. It is written by and for mental health professionals who work directly with alienated children, targeted parents, and families affected by 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.

Broken relationships between adult children and their parents is a widespread phenomenon. While the parent-child attachment relationship is of critical importance for the child in the early years of life, the parent-child relationship continues to be a source of great importance over the course of the individual’s life span for both the child and the parent. For adults and adult children who are estranged/alienated from each other, the pain and dissatisfaction never fully go away. Despite the prevalence of the problem of ruptured relationships, there are few resources available for mental health professionals working with this population. This book provides a tool for clinicians to turn to when they are working with adult children and their parents seeking to resolve conflict, improve communication, and enhance their relationships.

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.

"Describes interventions for families experiencing a high conflict divorce impasse where a child is resisting contact with a parent. It examines in detail one such intervention, the Overcoming Barriers approach, involving the entire family and combining psycho-education and clinical intervention. The book is divided into two parts: Part I presents an overview of parental alienation, including clinical approaches and a critical analysis of the many challenges associated with traditional outpatient family-based interventions. Part II presents the Overcoming Barriers approach, describing core aspects of the intervention and ways to adapt its clinical techniques to outpatient practice."--Provided by publisher.

In this thought-provoking book, Ms. Gottlieb attempts to resolve the controversies surrounding Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) by providing substantial empirical evidence from her treatment cases in support of the eight symptoms which child psychiatrist, Richard Gardner, had identified as occurring in the PAS child, and she further exemplifies the commonality of the alienating maneuvers among the alienating parents. The author redefines the typically-held characterization of the parents’ relationship as portrayed in the pertinent literature and accepted by most PAS-aware professionals. Numerous case examples are explored: horrific tales of manufactured child abuse; referrals to child protective services (CPS) resulting in suspension of visits between targeted parents and their children; meritless reports to police alleging domestic violence in support of orders of protection which slander and stigmatize targeted parents; exclusionary tactics preventing targeted parents’ involvement in their children’s medical, educational, social lives and activities; and depletion of targeted parents’ resources due to legal fees required to defend himself/herself and to obtain judicial enforcement of parental rights. Ms. Gottlieb methodically documents that PAS is a form of emotional child abuse of the severest kind. The author provides an unprecedented number of treatment summaries, which demonstrate the effectiveness of structural family therapy in treating the PAS family. To further elucidate the subject, the author interviewed several matrimonial attorneys, Law Guardians, and forensic evaluators regarding their experiences with PAS, and she incorporated their thoughts into her recommendations as to how the mental health and judicial communities should resolve this situation in the best interests of the child. “New Rules” are suggested which encourage a collaborative rather than an adversarial approach to child custody. This book will be an excellent resource for parents who are divorcing or are in conflict, for adult-child victims of PAS, for mature children of divorcing parents, for judges, for Law Guardians, for matrimonial attorneys, for therapists, for child protective personnel, for law enforcement----and for the professional rescuer who believes that a child must be saved from a parent.

An examination of the child alienation problem from the perspective of a lawyer/therapist/mediator who trains professionals on managing high-conflict disputes.

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.