American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report includes parental alienation

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a 2016 clinical report in one of its journals entitled “Helping Children and Families Deal with Divorce and Separation."

It mentions alienation 5 times, notes that “alienation can cause distress in a child” and that “Alienation of a child and the targeted parent is a frequent problem that needs practical professional input to correct the negative effects on all parties.”

Furthermore, it references a paper entitled “Working with alienated children and their targeted parents” and one entitled "The Psychosocial Treatment of Parental Alienation." The latter paper notes that "The children are dragged along and expected to publicly reject the targeted parent with accusations of abuse, psychological abandonment, or whatever irrational belief the alienating parent can muster. Such behavior promulgates the child’s delusional beliefs. ... Over time the true victims, the children, can display serious symptoms of depression, aggressiveness, social withdrawal, and other psychological problems."

What is an AAP clinical report and how does it differ from an AAP policy? According to the AAP website, “AAP recommendations form the basis of pediatric preventive health care. The AAP issues policy statements, clinical reports, technical reports and practice guidelines on a broad range of topics.” “Policy Statements Organizational principles to guide and define the child health care system and/or improve the health of all children. Clinical Reports provide guidance for the clinician in rendering pediatric care.”

There was a previous version of the report in 2002 that did not include parental alienation.

Unfortunately, the report does not do a good job of explain that severe cases are child psychological abuse, trigger a duty to protect. Here is additional explanation on why it is child abuse child abuse.

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