WHEN A CHILD REJECTS A PARENT: WORKING WITHTHE INTRACTABLE RESIST/REFUSE DYNAMICMarjorie Gans Walters and Steven Friedlander
FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 54 No. 3, July 2016 424–445VC2016 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Is a primary citation from Childress:
Johnston, J. & Sullivan, M. (2020). Parental Alienation: In Search of Common Ground Fora More Differentiated Theory. Family Court Review, 58(2), 270–292.
Fidler, B. J., Deutsch, R. M., & Polak, S. (2019). “How am I supposed to treat these cases?”Working with families struggling with entrenched parent–child contact problems. InL. Greenberg, B. Fidler, & M. Saini (Eds.), Evidence-informed interventions forcourt-involved families (pp. 227–259). New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Fidler, B., & Bala, N. (2020). Concepts, controversies and conundrums of alienation:Lessons learned in a decade and reflections on challenges ahead. Family CourtReview, 58(2), 576-603
What’s the Research Say?2020 Survey of Resist and/or Refuse Dynamics• Collaboration between National Council of Juvenile andFamily Court Judges (NCJFCJ) and the Association of Familyand Conciliation Courts (AFCC) in 2020• Represents the largest sample of responses on this topic.Over 500 pages of comments were submitted by participants.• Aim – to ‘take the temperature’ of the professional cultures.• Most participants indicated receiving no more than 4 hours oftraining on resist/refuse dynamics• Most (+85%) were unaware of tools available to differentiaterealistic estrangement from alienating behavior by a parent15Saini, 2021Knowns1516Saini, 2021Knowns16
Multi-Factorial Approach
Washington State PsychologicalAssociationAlaska Psychological Association2021 NW Psychological Fall ConventionOctober 15-17, 2021
WSPA Convention October 16, 2021 Leslie Drozd, PHD, leslie@lesliedrozdphd
Title: When a Child Resists or Refuses Contact with a Parent.
Parental Alienation
Parental Alienation Study Group
Michael Bone and Brian Ludmer, in particular, have written on this issue. Note especially that lawyers without strong experience in this area will be highly likely to lose your case. Experience in other areas of law is insufficient for lawyers to win alienation cases.
and passes the DaubertgatekeepingExpert testimony on parental alienation “aided the court by providing a counterintuitiveexplanation as to the dynamics...present in [the] situation.”Expert testimony met the threshold level of reliability ~ DaubertstandardSupreme Judicial Court of Maine(Bergin v Bergin, __ A.3d __ (2019)) (2019 WL 3788326
The phenomenon of PA is “well known”...-“Thephenomenaofparentalalienationarewellrecognizedinternationallyand,s a d l y,arefrequentlyallegedorencounteredincustodyandvisitationlitigation....Thespecificterm‘parentalalienation’doesnotyetappearasa psychiatricdiagnosisintheofficialclassificationoftheAmericanPsychiatricAssociation,althoughitsfeaturescommonlymaybesubsumedunderoneormoreotherdiagnosticcategories...”McClainv. McClain, 539S. W.3d 170,182(2017)(CourtofAppealsofTennessee
Dr. Amy Baker et al. (2011), Brief Report on Parental Alienation SurveySurveyconductedat2010meetingoftheAssociationofFamilyandConciliationCourts(AFCC).300attendeescompletedsurveyregardingPA.98%endorsed,“Doyouthinkthatsomechildrenaremanipulatedbyoneparenttoirrationallyandunjustifiablyrejecttheotherparent?”
Proposal for Parental Alienation Relational Problemto be Included in“Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention”in DSM-5-TRSubmitted to DSM-5-TR Steering CommitteeNovember xx, 2022Submitted by William Bernet, M.D., and Amy J. L. Baker, Ph.D.
Protecting Your Clients in Parental Alienation Cases When the Courts Don’t
Winning Parental Alienation Cases: A Roadmap for Family Lawyers
rentalAlienation:WHATFAMILYLAWYERSNEEDTOKNOW
Prevalence of adults who are the targets of parental alienating behaviors and their impact
The child’ssense of disconnection and inauthentic realityare reinforced when alienated parents repeat their false narratives to third partiesas part of their alienationcampaign
As likely Kate did with her son (who then did it to peers), then DHS agent, then the MHP counselor, then doctors, then CIRT counselor, then school administrators, then mental hospital "counselors", then the judges she introduced her to, then 2nd DHS agent, and so on
Losses Experienced by Children Alienated from a ParentJennifer J. Harman, Mandy L. Matthewson, Amy J.L. Baker
What did we find? Of the more than 200 empirical studies we reviewed, 40% were published since 2016. This means that many of the reviews published before 2016—such as the ones critics rely on to argue that parental alienation research is in its “infancy”—are hopelessly outdated. Our study leaves no doubt that parental alienation is a valid concept supported by a robust and well-developed scientific literature. This literature sports several hallmarks of a maturing scientific field. First, the number of studies is increasing each year. Second, the type of studies increasingly favors quantitative (e.g., statistical analysis) over qualitative (e.g., descriptive) methods. Third, the studies increasingly test hypotheses and situate the design and results in a theoretical and explanatory framework.
Developmental Psychology and the Scientific Status of Parental AlienationJennifer J. Harman 1 , Richard A. Warshak 2 , Demosthenes Lorandos 3 , and Matthew J. Florian 41 Department of Psychology, Colorado State University2 Independent Practice, Richardson, Texas, United States3 Psychlaw.net, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States4 Eris Enterprise, LLC, Fort Collins, Colorado, United State
Parental Alienation andAmerican Family Courts:Common Fallacies and PitfallsPRESENTED BY: ASHISH JOSHI
criteria proposed by Judge Richard Dollinger are related to scientific and clinical issues that provide the basis for expert testimony in cases where PA is alleged.
Up until recently, there were no legal criteria for defining parental alienation. Now we have some guidance from New York State. The recently decided NYS AD case of JF v. DF (NY Law Journal, 12/27/18; filed 12/06/18) provides legal criteria for identifying parental alienation (PA) based on tort law. These criteria are intended to differentiate parental alienation from more conventional examples of poor parenting, such as missed phone calls or the occasional vulgarity or snide remark about the other parent.
dies showthat when courts remove severely alienated children from the influence ofthe alienating parent and order an appropriate intervention, at least 90%of the children are restored to a satisfactory relationship with bothparents
Studies show that when courts remove severely alienated children from the influence of the alienating parent and order an appropriate intervention, at least 90%of the children are restored to a satisfactory relationship with both parents
AACAPOFFICIALACTION
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
AACAP OFFICIAL ACTION Practice Parameters for Child Custody Evaluation
AFCC AND NCJFCJJOINT STATEMENT ON PARENT-CHILD CONTACT PROBLEMS
Demosthenes Lorandos, William Bernet & Richard Sauber (2013), Parental Alienation: Handbook for Mental Health and Legal Pro-fessionals
Journal of Family Medicine and Disease Prevention
Ten Parental Alienation Fallacies That Compromise Decisions in Courtand in Therapy
Richard A. Warshak Professional Psychology: Research and Practice © 2015 American Psychological Association 2015, Vol. 46, No. 4, 235–249 0735-7028/15/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pro0000031
an evaluation finds that a child is severely and irrationallyalienated from a parent, and that it is in the child’s best interests torepair the damaged relationship, the evaluator should exercisecaution about recommending a course of traditional psychotherapywhile the child remains apart from the rejected parent. Recom-mendations for therapy in such circumstances should include ad-vice to the court about imposing (a) a time frame after which theimpact of treatment will be assessed, (b) explicit criteria forevaluating progress and success of treatment, and (c) contingencyplans in the event that the treatment is ineffective. For instance, ifthe judge informs the parties that a failed course of therapy mayresult in an increase in the child’s time with the rejected parent orin a reversal of custody, this may help increase the child’s moti-vation to participate meaningfully in treatment and the favoredparent’s support for treatment
child.Courts cannot enforce orders for parent–child contactagainst an alienated teen’s wishes.A judge who understoodthat a 13-year-old’s decision to sever his relationship with hisfather reflected impaired judgment nevertheless acquiesced to theboy’s demands because, “He is now of an age where, even if hemay be too immature to appreciate what is best for him, he cannotbe physically forced to remain where he does not want to be”(Korwin v. Potworowski, 2006, ¶ 145). This judge is not alone.Other judges, child representatives, parenting coordinators, psy-chotherapists, and parents often report feeling stymied when ado-lescents refuse to cooperate with the court-ordered parenting timeschedule (DeJong & Davies, 2012;Johnston, Walters, & Fried-lander, 2001). These children can be so convincing about theirresolve to have their way with respect to avoiding a parent thatthey convince the court that they are beyond its authority. Theyinduce a sense of helplessness in judges.Adults need not feel helpless in the
IMPORTANT***!!!
Adults need not feel helpless in the face of oppositional behavior from alienated teens. Two studies have reported that most children's protests evaporate when reunited with a rejected parent (Clawar & Rivlin, 2013; Warshak, 2010b) and this is illustrated anecdotally by high profile cases (Warshak, in press). Instead of appeasing children's demands, the court can order an intervention to assist children in adjusting to court orders that place them with their rejected parent (Warshak, 2010b).
Adolescents comply with many rules and expectations that are not of their own choosing. It is an error to assume that they do not benefit from an assertion of authority on the part of the court and their parents. Teens need adult guidance, structure, and limits as much as if not more than do younger children. When a teen has been violent toward a rejected parent, allowing the teen's wishes to determine the outcome of a custody case can be seen as rewarding violent behavior (Warshak, 2010b). Children of any age need to understand that they are not above the law or beyond its reach.
Child custody evaluators and educative experts should inform the court about the benefits and drawbacks of various means of giving adolescents a voice in a custody dispute (Dale, 2014: Warshak, 2003b). Courts also need to learn about the suggestibility of adolescents and their susceptibility to immature judgment and external influence.
If the evidence suggests that the child's viewpoints do not reflect mature judgment independent of the other parent's un- healthy influence, or the child's expressed preferences are unlikely to serve the child's best interests, the court should impress on the adolescent, either directly or through agents of the court, the necessity of complying with the residential schedule put in place by the court. The parents and the child should understand that failure to comply with court orders will not be overlooked and will not result in the court capitulating to the overt demands of the adolescent. A firm stance by the court brings the added benefit of relieving the child of needing to maintain a parent's approval by refusing to spend time with the other parent.
Alienated Adolescents’ Stated Preferences ShouldDominate Custody Decision
The APA and the Mental Health Child Abuse ScandalMental Health is Commonly Complicit in Child AbuseThe American Psychological Association (APA) Should Revise Its Policy
Large collection of research and authoritative statements
A catastrophe happening with nobody on the Left daring to say a word.