Reasons Why People Have a Hard Time Understanding Parental Alienation
People have a hard time understanding parental alienation include:
Counter transference (if a mental health professional had problems with their parents, those feelings will be triggered).
Wanting to rush to aid an abused child but not realizing what abuse the child is suffering. Can people watch children have a demonstrably hard time being taken to see another parent while keeping an objective, open mind about why they are acting that way? See the horrible scene 50 seconds into the video on this page where the children are making an extra-ordinary horrible scene and fit about being rescued from kidnapping, although the children and other adults now admit that the children were told to do that.
The alienator appeals to gender stereotypes and popular social causes. See Kopetski's work on this.
The false narrative is really compelling. As Dr. Childress notes: "The pathogen hides behind a false trauma narrative of "abusive parent"/"victimized child"/"protective parent." This is a common true pattern in child therapy, so it is captivating.What the pathogen relies on in gaining allies is the role of the "protective other" in this false trauma reenactment narrative. The ally wants to believe the narrative in order to adopt the role as the "protective other" for the supposedly "victimized child." The thing is, the narrative is false. The targeted parent is NOT abusive, the child is NOT victimized, and the allied parent is NOT a protective parent. It is all a false storyline created in the childhood trauma pathology of the allied parent (that created their narcissistic and borderline personality traits). It's all a kabuki theater display. But it is such a captivating narrative that it can seduce the ignorant into believing it, because they want to believe it, because they want to act out the role as the "protective other" in their own childhood trauma narrative. The first and primary defense of the pathogen is to remain hidden. It's best cover of concealment is the false trauma reenactment narrative of "abusive parent"/"victimized child"/"protective parent.""
It is counter intuitive.
Psychologist need an extensive background in each of attachment theory, personality disorders (including decompenstation into persecutory delusions), and family systems.
See also obstacles to mental health providers having a hard time understanding parental alienation.
