Parental Alienation
Parental alienation is unfortunately, a topic of considerable concern and frequency. However, the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association have not recognized it. Many courts have acknowledged it, however.
The goal of course is to protect a child from a physically and/or psychologically abusive parent. To deal with this, some courts have ordered some children into unsupervised timesharing and, in some cases, majority timesharing, with an abusing parent … to punish the so-called alienating (that is, protecting) parent. Unltimately, the question is whether Is it better to err in favor of protecting an allegedly alienated parent’s “rights” or in favor of protecting a child from abuse?
Check out this quote from a recent Capital Weekly article,
Parental Alienation is a perilous accusation that should never be recognized in courts or viewed as particularly compelling in cases deciding the custody of a child, especially when resolving profoundly difficult questions concerning the scary scenario of placing that child back into the home of a domestic violence abuser.
Hello:
People must be careful not to make the assumption that anyone who accuses the other parent of parental alienation is an abusive parent. That is not only a generalization but an inaccurate generalization.
Do some parents accuse the other parent of alienation when none exists? Of course they do -- just like some parents accuse the other of abuse when none exists. Insincerity, lies and half-truths are standard operating procedure in family court. The key isn't to deny parental alienation exists, but to educate legal and mental health professionals about alienation so they can tell the difference between actual parental alienation and false allegations of abuse, and vice versa.
Mike Jeffries
Author, A Family's Heartbreak: A Parent's Introduction to Parental Alienation
http://www.afamilysheartbreak.com.