Failure to Protect: The Crisis in America’s Family Courts May 6, 2010 05:00:52 am Cara Tabachnick is news editor of The Crime Report. Additional reporting by John Jay Center on Media, Crime and Justice researcher Daonese Johnson-Colon Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbNHFMUnUtRWp6TTA/view?usp=sharing
Parental Alienation Syndrome: A Paradigm for Child Abuse in Australian Family Law Auther Elspeth McInnes 05/2003 Paper presented at the Child Sexual Abuse: Justice Response or Alternative Resolution Conference convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology and held in Adelaide, 1-2 May 2003 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbbjFNLXBuQl9yWWc/view?usp=sharing
Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force On Violence And The Family ISSUES AND DILEMMAS IN FAMILY VIOLENCE Issue 5 “When parents separate after an abusive relationship, shouldn't fathers have as much right as mothers to be granted physical custody of and visitation rights with their children?” 1998 American Psychological Association Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71Cgbcnp5ek9FQXgyN1k/view?usp=sharing
Child Custody Evaluations and Domestic Violence: New Research and Implications for Practice Daniel Saunders, Ph.D., Professor, University of Michigan School of Social Work, USA & Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Te Awatea Violence Research Centre, University of Canterbury, NZ Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbS0M2QzlOMnV1Y3c/view?usp=sharing
Navigating Custody & Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence: A Judge’s Guide National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Navigating Custody & Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence: A Judge’s Guide (2004, revised 2006) Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71Cgbb215dnprQlJtZFk/view?usp=sharing
Inadmissibility of "Parental Alienation Syndrome"last updated March 2015 In partnership with UN Women, The Advocates for Human Rights created the following sections for UN Women’s Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence against Women and Girls. This section, along with sections addressing other forms of violence against women and girls, may be found under Legislation at www.endvawnow.org. Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbczQwdk42R3RyOVk/view?usp=sharing
Update on Parental Alienation Syndrome Paul L. Feinstein, Illinois divorce attorney, explains the findings in a study of Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) and the differences between the terms PAS and just parental alienation. By Paul L. Feinstein January 14, 2009 - Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbMWlxb25rc2hjNEE/view?usp=sharing
A LIFE SENTENCE * U.S. FAMILY COURTS SACRIFICING MOTHERS & CHILDREN Family Courts Behind an Epidemic of Pedophilia & Judicial Abuse keith harmon snow First publication: 01 May 2012 Edits & Revision: 03 May 2012 Edits & Revision: 17 May 2012 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbX0s0bHJ1al9MdjA/view?usp=sharing
National District Attorneys Association NATIONAL CENTER FOR PROSECUTION OF CHILD ABUSE Volume 16, Number 6, 2003 Parental Alienation Syndrome: What Professionals Need to Know Part 1 of 2 By Erika Rivera Ragland 1 & Hope Fields2 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbZ0RUU1A4ZW5oTms/view?usp=sharing
National District Attorneys Association NATIONAL CENTER FOR PROSECUTION OF CHILD ABUSE Volume 16, Number 7, 2003 Parental Alienation Syndrome: What Professionals Need to Know Part 2 of 2 By Hope Fields1 & Erika Rivera Ragland2 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbQnkwd0pQTHBlbnc/view?usp=sharing
Dr. Richard Gardner: A Review of His Theories and Opinions on Atypical Sexuality, Pedophilia, and Treatment Issues by Stephanie J. Dallam, RN, MSN, FNP Reference: Dallam, S. J. (1998). Dr. Richard Gardner: A review of his theories and opinions on atypical sexuality, pedophilia, and treatment issues. Treating Abuse Today, 8(1), 15-23https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbZGZsdUZYUzdXOVE/view?usp=sharing
Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS)—Pseudoscientific Theory Used Against Survivors in Court—Is Rejected from the DSM-V Joan Meier, Professor of Clinical Law, George Washington University Law School Center Quarterly • Winter/Spring 2013 Posted on March 27, 2013 by jpadmin National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbNWV6eG10VzVDSFU/view?usp=sharing
CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR OTHER DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT SHADOW REPORT ON INTIMATE PARTNER ABUSE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE UNITED STATES* Primary author: Associate Professor Margaret Drew, University of Massachusetts School of Law.Contributors: Darakshan Raja, Washington Peace Center and Falling Walls Initiative Prof. Joan Meier, Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appellate Project; Attorney Lynn Hecht Schafran. National Judicial Education Program,Legal Momentum Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71Cgbc29zcnlSbG12TUE/view?usp=sharing
Child Custody Evaluators’ Beliefs About Domestic Abuse Allegations: Their Relationship to Evaluator Demographics, Background, Domestic Violence Knowledge and Custody Visitation Recommendations Daniel G. Saunders, Ph.D., Kathleen C. Faller, Ph.D., Richard M. Tolman, Ph.D. June 2012 Award Number: 2007-WG-BX-0013 Document No.: 238891 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbUTZyZ2V3SXpkRWc/view?usp=sharing
Child Custody Evaluations and Domestic Violence: New Research and Implications for Practice Daniel Saunders, Ph.D., Professor, University of Michigan School of Social Work, USA & Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Te Awatea Violence Research Centre, University of Canterbury, NZ Presentation for the Research Presentation Series, Violence Research and Prevention Program, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt QLD, 20th April 2015 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbUTZyZ2V3SXpkRWc/view?usp=sharing
My name is Anne Stevenson and I am a policy consultant and journalist for the mainstream national media offering testimony relevant to the Family Court Task Force Public Hearing on Child Custody on Thursday, January 9, 2014, before the State of Connecticut General Assembly. Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbUDlYc2pBdmNnQnM/view?usp=sharing
CUSTODY OUTCOMES FOR PROTECTIVE PARENTS IN CASES WITH CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Psychology: General-Experimental by Nancy Marie Stuebner September 2011 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbRktuME56bnZPQ1k/view?usp=sharing
Human Rights, Inhumanly Denied A Battered Mother's Story The family court system, with its phalanx of abuser-identified court personnel, is the ultimate abuser in the life of already abused mothers and children. By Sonata mmo : june 2005 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71Cgbb2J3SlZLQkZsc2s/view?usp=sharing
Truth Commission Findings and Solutions Fourth Battered Mothers Custody Conference (BMCC IV) January 13, 2007 Albany, New York Testimony to the Truth Commission Truth Commission Members: Richard Ducote, Esq, Chair; Nancy Erickson, Esq.;Barry Goldstein, Esq.; Eileen King; Patti Jo Newell; Connie Valentine, M.S.; Gwen Wright; and Joan Zorza, Esq. Special Thanks to Mo Hannah, Ph.D., Truth Commission Coordinator Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kUBMEjtk3IuDncuOcVT02OQhQ6joveiJyopoK_mQCiPXrzH0dUWM-lsnr5Gygs-A2hZwCwERhE-eyV2G/view?usp=sharing
Video :Domestic Violence Continued: Contested Child Custody from CLAS Multimedia Dr. Sharon K. Araji, Professor of Sociology Domestic Violence Continued: Contested Child Custodyhttps://vimeo.com/36043101
A LIFE SENTENCE * U.S. FAMILY COURTS SACRIFICING MOTHERS & CHILDREN Family Courts Behind an Epidemic of Pedophilia & Judicial Abuse keith harmon snow First publication: 01 May 2012 Edits & Revision: 03 May 2012 Edits & Revision: 17 May 2012 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B54GIMT71CgbX0s0bHJ1al9MdjA/view?usp=sharing
Examining the validity of parental alienation syndrome Article · July 2016 Abstract “Parental alienation syndrome” (PAS) is a phrase first coined by Dr. Richard Gardner. Since its inception several scholars have reviewed and criticized this construct, and it has never been accepted by the scientific community as a legitimate scientific construct, as a syndrome or as a mental disorder. Despite its general rejection as unscientific, the construct of PAS at times continues to be used in legal settings as if it has an adequate foundation within science, clinical, or forensic practice. This commentary briefly reviews past critiques of PAS and describes several additional problems that have occurred with the use of this construct. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309029264_Examining_the_validity_of_parental_alienation_syndrome
When courts accept what science rejects: Custody issues concerning the alleged “parental alienation syndrome” Article (PDF Available) inJournal of Child Custody 13(2-3):126-133 · July 2016 with 126 Reads DOI: 10.1080/15379418.2016.1219245 Excerpts Abstract “Parental alienation syndrome” (PAS) is unscientific and is an affront to children, women who hold the custody of children of separated couples, science, human rights, and the justice system itself. Justice, to be just, should be based on scientifically proven theories and evidence. This article describes investigations carried out to show that two of the principles that underpin PAS are false: That children lie when pressed (alienated in the terminology of PAS), and that the principle that should guide judges’ actions for the good of the child should be that for the child to always be in contact with both parents. The results of these investigations show that these two principles are false and advocates the use of truly scientific proceedings for judges to grant custody in case of dispute between parents, as well as for determining the visitation for the noncustodial parent. When courts accept what science rejects:... (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309018396_When_courts_accept_what_science_rejects_Custody_issues_concerning_the_alleged_parental_alienation_syndrome [accessed Apr 03 2018].
Are children susceptible to manipulation? The best interest of children and their testimony Article inChildren and Youth Services Review 51 · February 2015 with 122 Reads DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.02.003 Abstract In Richard Gardner’s proposed Parental alienation syndrome, children reject contact with the noncustodial parent due to manipulation from the custodial parent. We investigated whether children are, in fact, easily manipulated, and how. Half of a sample of children ages 6 to 12 witnessed an incident of verbal aggression, while the other half did not. All were asked to report what happened. Half were then subjected to high pressure, stating that the aggressor would be their future teacher. Subjects were furthermore told that the perpetrator was either a good person or a bad person. After these two manipulations they reported again what they had witnessed. The results indicate that children rarely lie, and that although 40% of those who witnessed nothing created a false memory of an aggressive incident, this outcome was not influenced by the degree of pressure or positive or negative manipulation. We found no significant differences based on gender or age. We conclude that Gardner’s ideas about parental alienation syndrome, and in particular the ease of parental manipulation of children, were not empirically verified. We recommend that this concept not be used in the legal system. Are children susceptible to manipulation? The best interest.... Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272297888_Are_children_susceptible_to_manipulation_The_best_interest_of_children_and_their_testimony [accessed Apr 03 2018].
Commentary for “Examining the use of ‘parental alienation syndrome’”Article · July 2016 Abstract This commentary is in response to the article, “Examining the use of ‘parental alienation syndrome,’” and provides useful information to individuals and institutions within both the mental health and legal fields. Further exploration of the concepts within Richard Gardner’s parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is important given the fact that PAS has no methodologically sound, peer-reviewed research and yet legal systems and mental health professionals continue to rely on it greatly in making very important legal decisions that affect the lives of many. While attorneys, judges, or clinicians may not say a child is suffering from PAS, or may never even use the term “alienating,” they still base their opinions and subsequent recommendations on Gardner’s concepts and ideology. Articles like this one hopefully bring light to these important areas and bring the focus back on what is in the best interest of the children. Commentary for “Examining the use of ‘parental alienation syndrome’”. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309023689_Commentary_for_Examining_the_use_of_%27parental_alienation_syndrome%27 [accessed Oct 17 2017].
Relaxation of rules for science detrimental to children Article · January 2016 Abstract This article examines the impact of the current role of evaluators in divorce and child custody cases where there are allegations of domestic violence and/or child abuse and what the courts permit as testimony by experts. The authors explore the courts’ permissive rules in family courts, and the influence evaluators have on the resulting decisions in those court cases as well as how personal beliefs, knowledge, experiences, and biases of the evaluators can affect evaluators’ recommendations to family court judges. The rules which permit less use of traditional normative tools, such as tests and assessments, in the specialized environment of a divorce proceeding or allegations of abuse are examined by the authors. This exploration takes place in the context of the scientific and professional associations that govern the psychology community. Finally, the article examines how a child’s report of abuse can negatively impact the court when in the hands of an evaluator who lacks sufficient training in domestic violence and child abuse and/or lacks the tools necessary to properly assess the issues before the court. Relaxation of rules for science detrimental to children. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299402293_Relaxation_of_rules_for_science_detrimental_to_children [accessed Oct 17 2017].
Excerpts " LIZNOTE: The Liz Library expressly disclaims endorsement of any purported attachment, reunification or anti-"parental alienation" "therapies", quackeries claiming the ability artificially to create or enhance attachment of children to adults to whom they are not otherwise attached, and/or to "fix" children with attachment disorders (not infrequently caused in the first place by third party interference with and failure to support the birth mother and child relationship, foster care, adoption, inappropriate child custody decisions, and/or abuse of the child's mother creating maternal depression or dysfunction.).http://www.thelizlibrary.org/liz/attachment-research-bibliography.html
MOTHERS ON TRIAL: GENDER BIAS IN THE COURTROOM April 11, 2016 Via allianceinaction.org Excerpts "In most of these cases, the abusive father’s legal team or Guardian ad Litem for the children claim that the mother is participating in parental alienation, particularly if the children make abuse allegations against the father. Parental alienation syndrome (PAS) has been labeled by the American Psychological Association as lacking data, and the organization has expressed concern over the term’s use. PAS originally took hold in American culture from the self-published writings of Richard A. Gardner, MD, who worked extensively with fathers who had been accused of molesting their children. Unfortunately, the term is widely used by Virginia guardian ad litems, custody evaluators, and attorneys to remove custody of children away from battered mothers. The term parental alienation syndrome is pervasively used in Virginia contested custody cases as a means to remove children from loving mothers."https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eRHozSUNMbFZOR00/view?usp=sharing
Fayette News / Stand up against domestic violence - Fayette News Excerpts "I have suffered a roller coaster of emotions, lots of health issues, impoverishment, loss of friends and jobs. I lost my life. I lost my livelihood. I lost my children. And with no evidence of parental unfitness. While I fought for my boys, my abuser refused to let me even talk to my boys while telling everyone that I didn’t even attempt to contact them. This is known as “parental alienation.” It is a tactic abusers use so they can blame the victim for losing their children. Heinous, really."https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eSENrcmlZMUpISVk/view?usp=sharing
FATHER’S RIGHTS GROUPS THREATEN WOMEN’S GAINS—AND THEIR SAFETY By Pam Chamberlain, on March 1, 2011 Excerpts "APPEALING TO “SCIENCE”: THE MYTH OF PARENTAL ALIENATION "Over the last two decades a distressing pattern has emerged in divorce settlements: women who claimed that the fathers had abused their children ironically began to lose custody, in favor of the alleged abusers. It turned out that fathers’ rights groups had developed a persuasive argument in family courts across the country, enabling them to win custody of their children more often. The fathers hired expert witnesses trained in identifying a disorder in children called Parental Alienation Syndrome, or PAS—a phrase coined in 1985 by the psychiatrist Richard Gardner, who gave himself a new career in the process. He claimed that children of divorce could be alienated from one parent by the other, thus transforming what most experts acknowledge may be an occasional phenomenon into a full-blown, although unproven, theory. Gardner further insisted that any associated charges of child abuse were unfounded and due to a spiteful attempt by one parent to alienate children from the other. "https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eU2NSMzhoc3l3SVk/view?usp=sharing
Casualties of a Custody War part oneCasualties of a Custody War authors Mackenzie Carpenter, Ginny Kopas excerpts "Early last year, the conflict prompted a Westmoreland County judge to take drastic action. It was called "threat therapy."Common Pleas Judge John J. Driscoll directed Nathan and his brothers not only to visit their father, but to be in a positive frame of mind and be respectful and obedient toward him. If they didn't behave on those visits, former district attorney Driscoll ruled, their mother could go to jail. A questionable expert The kind of criminal contempt sanction that Driscoll levied - threatening to jail a parent for a child's behavior while the child is out of the parent's control - is highly unusual, according to national experts in family law. Driscoll's "threat therapy" ruling, which remains in effect, is all the more controversial because it seems to rely on recommendations by Dr. Richard Gardner, a prominent expert witness whose unorthodox ideas about treating children in child custody cases are popular with some lawyers, but have been questioned by many mainstream mental health professionals. See https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eRk9UbkpmOWZTMTA/view?usp=sharing
Open Message to the U.S. Senate & House of Representatives viaUNITED FOR JUSTICE "A junk science theory called " Parental Alienation Syndrome" or "PAS" is being used as the primary courtroom tactic to shut the mouths of abused children and mothers. Developed by Richard Gardner of Columbia University, this "syndrome" he purports is not based on systematic research, instead developed from personal observation and prejudices. Gardner has never tested his theory, it is not contained within the DSM-IV, and most of its foundational assumptions have been disproved. Gardner has espoused recommendations called "Threat Therapy" to send children to juvenile detention centers and mothers to jail for reporting abuse. He has written articles expressing the idea that incest and pedophilia may not be as traumatic as current social attitudes suggest. PAS is routinely used in courts across the country to inappropriately remove custody from loving, safe and fit mothers under a variety of scenarios: domestic violence, child abuse of any sort, reluctance to support flip-flopping shared custody schedules, reluctance to send children on unsupervised visitation with fathers with anger-management problems, substance abuse problems, poor parenting, etc. Abused and molested children have lost their voices in court. There exists a pattern of court rulings which reflect that molestation or other abuses of one's own child can earn a father sole custody, whereas if the same crime had been committed upon the child who lives next door, the same perpetrator would be sentenced to a long prison term. While these re-victimized children lose their mothers, protracted litigation pads the pockets of lawyers, mental health providers, custody evaluators, and visitation monitors. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eNXpMTUttSWZSYkk/view?usp=sharing
Evaluating PAS: A Critique of Elizabeth Ellis's “A Stepwise Approach to Evaluating Children for PAS” Amy Neustein ; Michael Lesher a Linguistic Technology Systems, Fort Lee, New Jersey Private Practice, Passaic, New Jersey Online Publication Date: 01 July 2009 Excerpts "Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a hydra: chop off its head, and new ones sprout up to take its place. For 20 years, critics of PAS theory have debunked its flawed assumptions, its self-serving methodology, and its inadequacy to assess allegations of child sexual abuse (e.g., Bruch, 2001; Hoult, 2006; Niggemyer, 1998; Neustein & Lesher, 2005). Now, Dr. Elizabeth Ellis, a defender of PAS theory, concedes the most damning of the objections, yet contends that the theory may be salvaged by standardizing the methods by which evaluators detect the elusive syndrome behind complaints of abusive behavior by a parent (usually a father) issuing from a sincere, non-pathological child. But, arming PAS evaluators with a refurbished ‘‘stepwise’’ methodology does not cure the fundamental defects of the theory; Ellis’s methods only put a new face on the old evils. In fact, nothing will fit PAS for the professional demands of forensic psychology or for the needs of the family court judges who claim to rely on it. What the theory needs is not retouching, but rejection. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eNFhhbk5QQkljY2c/view?usp=sharing
Child abuse and child custody Posted By Judith Reisman On 03/09/1999 Excerpts " arstow cites judicial training as misguided, commonly “relying upon such child custody experts” as Dr. Richard Gardner, whose “Parental Alienation Syndrome” (PAS) trivializes pedophilia and incest. Gardner writes, “If the mother has reacted to the [incestuous] abuse in a hysterical fashion, or used it as an excuse for a campaign of denigration of the father, then the therapist does well to ‘sober her up.'” Barstow asserts that under threat of PAS mothers are indeed being “sobered up.” Mothers reporting incest become “guilty” of PAS (denigrating and alienating the father). That is, “emotional abuse” of the child. Thus, women nationwide who follow the law and seek protective custody orders from the state after battery or child sexual abuse, are increasingly labeled the “emotionally” harmful “party.” One such PAS mom writes, “I am only allowed to see her 4 hours a month, I am being charged $100.00 an hour to visit my own daughter … and I pay $600.00 a month child support [to the incest offender]. I cannot believe that this can happen in America.” https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eNHVMRENodzUtcTg/view?usp=sharing
28.7.10 THERE’S NOTHING FRIENDLY ABOUT ABUSE Children are at risk when custody cases rely on a meritless theory of parental “alienation” Excerpts "“Friendly parent” statutes are a dressed-down form of a theory called Parental Alienation Syndrome. PAS theorizes that most accusations of child abuse (especially sexual abuse) made during a custody battle are actually fraudulent. Not only are the charges false, says the theory, but they are deliberately undertaken by one parent (in most cases, the mother) to “alienate” the child from the other parent (generally, the father)."https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eM1lYcjRjdUlUd1k/view?usp=sharing
Huffington Post Censors Mothers’ Rights Activists November 11, 2010 by Elizabeth Black Excerpts "PAS theorizes that most accusations of child abuse (especially sexual abuse) made during a custody battle are actually fraudulent. Not only are the charges false, says the theory, but they are deliberately undertaken by one parent (in most cases, the mother) to “alienate” the child from the other parent (generally, the father).https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eX0lFS1EwZkNGem8/view?usp=sharing
Via .legalmomentum Legal Resource Kit Domestic Violence and Child Custody Excerpts "How can I refute allegations that I am trying to turn my children against the batterer by raising the issue of domestic violence? Attorneys and domestic violence survivors may be well aware of an alarming trend in which batterers and their attorneys accuse domestic violence survivors of alienating the couple’s children from the battering parent. These accusations -- sometimes referred to as Parental Alienation Syndrome (“PAS”) or Malicious Mothers Syndrome -- are frequently used against women in custody proceedings"https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Se7RUbUV3eV3BEdkV0d256S0U/view?usp=sharing
"Parental alienation” and family courts: A conversation on research and practice https://nzfvc.org.nz/seminars/parental-alienation%E2%80%9D-and-family-courts-conversation-research-and-practice Excerpts Professor Sheehy shared her research results from examining how “parental alienation” is claimed and adjudicated in family court cases across Canada 2008-2017. She focused on how allegations of family violence and parental alienation intersect and the implications for women escaping male violence. Deborah is a co-founder of the Backbone Collective which was launched in 2017 to enable women who have experienced violence and abuse to have their voices heard. Deborah shared what women have told the Backbone Collective about how “parental alienation” is being used against protective mothers in the New Zealand Family Court. Catriona examined recent New Zealand High and Family Court cases referring to “parental alienation.” She also spoke about how the use of “parental alienation” is undermining attempts to tackle this country’s domestic violence epidemic. Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ofo_CknhSFILMb-kABjXtc4y4CjpY5Cz/view?usp=sharing
CAV: Coercive control is common domestic violence tactic Posted Monday, November 7, 2016 8:28 am By Malinda Williams, For The Taos News Excerpts "Abusers often threaten to take full custody of the children and use the court to exert power and control over the other parent. If there is a parenting order in place, perpetrators will require the other parent follow it to the letter – regardless if the child wants to go to a friend’s birthday party or is sick and should stay in bed. Abusive parents refuse to be flexible, even against the child’s best interests. They often continually file motions to harass the victim with court orders. They often blame the other parent for any bad grades or illnesses without taking any responsibility for their own contributions to the problems. When older teen children refuse to come see the abusive controlling parent anymore, the abuser blames the other parent and often uses the discredited “parental alienation syndrome” to ask the court to change custody or find the victim in contempt. " https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uMFCT1PXac11rxfMO71bN_PKeWmJe0Et
Allegations of “Parental Alienation” in the Context of Domestic Violence Litigation April 21, 2017 Download from iTunes here or stream it on the web here. Excerpts "The City Bar held "Allegations of 'Parental Alienation' in the Context of Domestic Violence Litigation," on April 19. The panel explored the history of “parental alienation syndrome,” its relation to the unfriendly parent standard in the best interest of the child determination, actual cases in which charges of parental allegation have been levied, relevant psychological and psychiatric research, and ways in which attorneys representing victims of domestic violence can best respond to such charges. " Hard COPY https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Fnfc9MYu-ijeFFNmnykv6LAru62OOi5G
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- February 1, 2018 FAILING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIMS & PROTECTING THEIR PREDATORS: FAMILY COURTS ARE AS GUILTY AS MICHIGAN STATE, US OLYMPIC OFFICIALS, AND PENN STATE Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SBzbVT02KaEqPz6cZpL8CaqMIrN6mBt_
Commentary on: An objective measure of splitting in parental alienation: the Parental Acceptance‐Rejection Questionnaire. J Forensic Sci https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13625. Epub 2017 Aug 17 Vincenzo Puppo M.D. First published: 5 January 2018 https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13660 Excerpts " Parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is defined as a mental state in which a child, usually one whose parents are engaged in a high‐conflict separation or divorce, allies himself strongly with one parent and rejects a relationship with the other parent without legitimate justification. Many scholars of psychology and the law have examined the literature regarding PAS: they have encountered a lack of empirical studies published in peer‐reviewed journals. Remains a paucity of scientific evidence that PAS must be a psychiatric diagnosis. The courts are quite capable of dealing with this type of scenario without invoking a mental illness to explain a child's malignity against a parent. These conflicted children should not be labeled as mentally ill. PAS has neither clinical relevance to justify its adoption as a mental illness 2. Parental alienation syndrome is not supported by any evidence‐based data, unknown in medical settings, unquoted in medical books, absent in DSM, and never demonstrated by controlled studies published in high scientific level journals. From a review on this issue, it seems evident its theoretical roots lie on a theory that justify gender violence and children sexual abuse. In severe cases, PAS becomes a new and efficient tool of intrafamiliar violence. The treatment of severe cases is to stop any contact between mother and children. In Courts, magistrates, in making decisions, have to rely on the concept of the best interest of the child; therefore, it is very difficult to justify the separation between mother and child for the sole purpose of privileging a more intimate relationship with the father, where the child shows that he feels good with his mother and has good scholarly profit 3. If a parent denounces the behavior of the other parent for the moral and material disappearance of the child by himself, the judge is required to ascertain the veracity of the above behaviors, using the common means of proof, given that the right parental requirements are the ability to preserve the continuity of parental relationships with the other parent. The Milan (Italy) Tribunal, Decree of 11 March 2017, reiterates that PAS is not a clinically investigated disease; the ways to marginalize and neutralize the other parental figure are not a disease 4. Clinicians and forensic practitioners must not consider the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire for the diagnosis of parental alienation because PAS is not a disease and the resort to PAS in courts must be rejected. Parental alienation syndrome has been discredited by mental health professionals, but it continues to influence the decisions of family courts, in this highly adversarial process, children deserve independent representation to ensure that their interests remain front and center. Social services systems must improve interventions to address high‐conflict marital dissolutions and develop collaborations with courts to avoid lifelong negative consequences for the children involved in these cases. A public health model that focuses on mental health promotion may provide a better framework for generating strategies to reduce parental conflict 5. Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w7phK09eTVqTtfEDlhsLCZZOH514w2RB/view?usp=sharing
No empirical research exists validating parental alienation syndromePosted February 9, 2015 Tweet This | Share on FacebookRebecca Shiemke Michigan Poverty Law Program Excerpts "As Lorandos notes, PAS was developed by Richard Gardner in the 1980s, but he fails to disclose that Gardner based his theory on his own anecdotal clinical observations, rather than on any scientifically reliable data. As a result, Gardner’s theory must be understood in the context of his extreme views of child sexual abuse allegations (as raised by mothers) and pedophilia. Gardner believed that false child sexual abuse allegations were widespread in custody disputes and rose to the level of “hysteria.”1 Among his many public statements on pedophilia, Gardner stated: “Pedophilia has been considered the norm by the vast majority of individuals in the history of the world.”2 As a result of these beliefs, Gardner developed PAS, “a disorder of children, arising almost exclusively in child-custody disputes, in which one parent (usually the mother) programs the child to hate the other parent (usually the father).”3 Gardner’s remedies for PAS were extreme and advocated severing all contact between the child and the alleged alienating parent and placing the child in the exclusive care of the parent of whom the child expressed fear. " Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RzsL5v_8NKqfUnKvOOfZX2MUz9Kp7Vqb/view?usp=sharing
EDITORIAL Editor’s note about the special section Robert Geffner PhD, ABN, ABPP Pages 111-112 | Published online: 11 Oct 2016 Download citationhttps://doi.org/10.1080/15379418.2016.1221270 Excerpts "This special section of commentaries came about for an unusual reason. When the first article was submitted for publication, the reviewers commented that it might not be worthy of publication because it was clear to them “parental alienation syndrome” or disorder (PAS/PAD) had been widely discredited and not accepted as a diagnosis by any classification system nor by any creditable professional organization. The reviewers went on to discuss the lack of peer reviewed research in over 25 years supporting such a disorder, and that it really had no use in family or other courts, but that this was now widely known. We tended to agree but then received the second article, and the third. In checking informally with others in the field around this country and others, we realized that although the aforementioned comments were correct, it appeared that the science had not actually made it into all family courts in the United States or in other countries. " https://drive.google.com/file/d/18yhu9rvWHshlfUTIe9xUABrS433Le7tS/view?usp=sharing
When courts accept what science rejects: Custody issues concerning the alleged “parental alienation syndrome” Miguel Clemente &Dolores Padilla-Racero Pages 126-133 | Published online: 11 Oct 2016 Download citationhttps://doi.org/10.1080/15379418.2016.1219245 Excerpts ABSTRACT “Parental alienation syndrome” (PAS) is unscientific and is an affront to children, women who hold the custody of children of separated couples, science, human rights, and the justice system itself. Justice, to be just, should be based on scientifically proven theories and evidence. This article describes investigations carried out to show that two of the principles that underpin PAS are false: That children lie when pressed (alienated in the terminology of PAS), and that the principle that should guide judges’ actions for the good of the child should be that for the child to always be in contact with both parents. The results of these investigations show that these two principles are false and advocates the use of truly scientific proceedings for judges to grant custody in case of dispute between parents, as well as for determining the visitation for the noncustodial parent. KEYWORDS: Child protection, custody, forensic psychology, legal psychology, parental alienation, parental alienation syndromehttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15379418.2016.1219245?journalCode=wjcc20
Recommended treatments for “parental alienation syndrome” (PAS) may cause children foreseeable and lasting psychological harm Stephanie Dallam & Joyanna L. Silberg Pages 134-143 | Published online: 11 Oct 2016 Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/15379418.2016.1219974ABSTRACT The coercive and punitive “therapies” recommended for children diagnosed with parental alienation constitute an ethical minefield and are especially inappropriate when used on children who have already been traumatized. Forced reunification against a child’s will and without taking into consideration the child’s point of view and emotional well-being, can be expected to reinforce a sense of helplessness and powerlessness in an already vulnerable child. Such “treatment” can be expected to do more harm than good, and rather than helping their well-being, could cause lasting psychological harm, particularly when imposed upon children who claim the parent they are being forced to reunify with is abusive. KEYWORDS: Child abuse, parental alienation, reunification, treatmenthttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15379418.2016.1219974?journalCode=wjcc20
Examining the validity of parental alienation syndrome William O’Donohue,Lorraine T. Benuto &Natalie Bennett Pages 113-125 | Published online: 11 Oct 2016 Download citationhttps://doi.org/10.1080/15379418.2016.1217758ABSTRACT “Parental alienation syndrome” (PAS) is a phrase first coined by Dr. Richard Gardner. Since its inception several scholars have reviewed and criticized this construct, and it has never been accepted by the scientific community as a legitimate scientific construct, as a syndrome or as a mental disorder. Despite its general rejection as unscientific, the construct of PAS at times continues to be used in legal settings as if it has an adequate foundation within science, clinical, or forensic practice. This commentary briefly reviews past critiques of PAS and describes several additional problems that have occurred with the use of this construct. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15379418.2016.1217758?journalCode=wjcc20
No way to turn: Traps encountered by many battered women with negative child custody experiencesDaniel G. Saunders &Katherine H. Oglesby Pages 154-177 | Published online: 11 Oct 2016 Download citationhttps://doi.org/10.1080/15379418.2016.1213114ABSTRACT Women leaving violent relationships face many challenges and risks. A survivor with children may encounter even greater barriers in protecting herself and her children from an ex-partner. These barriers are especially insidious because they take the form of “no-win” situations or “traps.” If she stays she may be accused of “failing to protect” her children from violence and then faces more violence, yet leaving means facing the risk of stalking, harassment and more abuse. Reporting threats or violence to authorities or being reluctant to co-parent means she goes against the “friendly parent” standard used to award custody. She also risks being accused of making false allegations of abuse or being labeled as an “alienator,” causing “parental alienation syndrome” in her child. We illustrate such traps with survivors’ own words among those who experience very negative custody or visitation outcomes. Implications are made for professional practice and policy reform. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15379418.2016.1213114?journalCode=wjcc20
Commentary for “Examining the use of ‘parental alienation syndrome’” Morgan ShawPages 144-146 | Published online: 11 Oct 2016 Download citationhttps://doi.org/10.1080/15379418.2016.1219244ABSTRACT This commentary is in response to the article, “Examining the use of ‘parental alienation syndrome,’” and provides useful information to individuals and institutions within both the mental health and legal fields. Further exploration of the concepts within Richard Gardner’s parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is important given the fact that PAS has no methodologically sound, peer-reviewed research and yet legal systems and mental health professionals continue to rely on it greatly in making very important legal decisions that affect the lives of many. While attorneys, judges, or clinicians may not say a child is suffering from PAS, or may never even use the term “alienating,” they still base their opinions and subsequent recommendations on Gardner’s concepts and ideology. Articles like this one hopefully bring light to these important areas and bring the focus back on what is in the best interest of the children. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15379418.2016.1219244?journalCode=wjcc20
Open Access Laws 2016, 5(1), 14; doi:10.3390/laws5010014 Review In the Best Interests of the Abuser: Coercive Control, Child Custody Proceedings and the “Expert” Assessments That Guide Judicial Determinations Samantha Jeffries School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith Institute of Criminology, Griffith University, Brisbane 4122, Australia; Tel.: +61-7-373-51120 Academic Editor: Patricia Easteal Received: 20 December 2015 / Accepted: 7 March 2016 / Published: 10 March 2016 Abstract : This paper outlines why domestic violence (or more specifically, coercive control) should be crucial to child custody proceedings. What is known about parenting in the context of coercively controlling violence, and what the legislation directs courts to consider, is juxtaposed with the actuality of court decision making. Current knowledge about the recognition of domestic violence in judicial practice is overviewed, drawing particular attention to the role of the “expert” family assessment in determinations of a child’s “best interests”. A comprehensive synopsis of the existing research on these “expert” reports in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States is provided. It is concluded that, in court proceedings the reality of living with coercively controlling violence and the potential on-going risks it poses to children and non-abusive parents, is typically negated. Instead, “best interests” considerations prioritise the maintenance of perpetrator/child relationships, and thus “abuser’s rights” over victim safety. Judicial officers are not experts in domestic violence and they can only make decisions on the basis of the evidence before them, the assessments made by the “experts” likely play an important role in best interest considerations. Of concern is current research that calls into serious question the expertise of these “experts” when it comes to proceedings involving allegations of coercively controlling violence. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1plT_jdBI79kdQQgHxEkvZW1jAWA00nk0
Article taken from www.judicialcouncil.org. Bias in Family Courts High conflict families are disproportionately represented among the population of those contesting custody and visitation. These cases commonly involve domestic violence, child abuse, and substance abuse. Research indicates that that custody litigation can become a vehicle whereby batterers and child abusers attempt to extend or maintain their control and authority over their victims after separation. Although, research has not found a higher incidence of false allegations of child abuse and domestic violence in the context of custody/visitation, officers of the court tend to be unreasonably suspicious of such claims and that too often custody decisions are based on bad science, misinterpretation of fact, and evaluator bias. As a result, many abused women and their children find themselves re-victimized by the justice system after separation. Empirical research examining this issue is summarized below.https://theccbi.com/article-taken-from-www-judicialcouncil-org-bias-in-family-courts/ hard copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1vYD5JWPMP7vzBXITtijA4pp1MGtgIA0k
ESSAY THE EMPIRICAL TURN IN FAMILY LAW Clare Huntington* Excerpts page 255 To determine a parent’s openness to the child’s ongoing relationship with the other parent, some courts have relied on so-called parental alienation syndrome.161 Developed by a single psychologist Excerpts Pgae 256 "based on interviews with only his clients and self-published without the benefit of peer review,162 parental alienation syndrome is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM),163 and it has been uniformly discredited by psychologists.164 Despite this lack of scientific basis, many courts and mental health professionals, who provide highly influential custody evaluations to courts, have invoked parental alienation syndrome.165 In light of the looser evidentiary rules used in family court,166 the Daubert standard, developed for the purpose of distinguishing reliable Excerpts page 257 scientific evidence from unreliable scientific evidence,167 is not an effective tool for combatting parental alienation syndrome. Family courts rarely use the test, either to screen expert witnesses in court or when drawing on reports from mental health professionals evaluating custody.168 As a result, highly unreliable and unscientific evidence continues to dominate in family court.169 2. Legislation. — Empirical evidence also plays an important role in lawmaking. Legislatures regularly use empirical evidence to identify problems and determine appropriate solutions. When Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997,170 it relied on a wealth of empirical evidence about problems plaguing the child welfare system.171 Congress held hearings and found that the child welfare system was not serving the interests of children because family-preservation efforts were keeping some children in dangerous homes, the problem of “foster care drift” (the term used to describe both long stays in foster care and placement in multiple homes) was getting worse, and children would be better served by promoting adoption rather than family preservation.172 Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pM7IwyWastibyasK5VzCwkgB5npXx9o_
Mapping Gender: Shedding Empirical Light on Family Courts’ Treatment of Cases Involving Abuse & Alienation Joan S. Meier, Professor of Clinical Law, George Washington University Law School. Hosted by Stephanie Avalon, Training & Technical Assistance Specialist, Battered Women's Justice Project.https://drive.google.com/open?id=16oHnF-U6vh8qApc4MVo2XFohGqRNf-tL
Joan Meier updates findings of parental alienation usage and abuse of child By CPPA Website • 10 Feb, 2018 Excerpts " The data she has gathered continues to show when child abuse is reported, it is less believed than DV, especially child sexual abuse. One theory is judges know child abuse will impact custody while most judges separate DV from child abuse, thus allowing for this to not interfere with custody. We are at a moment in time when you have to ask yourself if we are going to force protective parents to stay in abusive marriages, allowing the children to be exposed to abuse and learn abuse to be a norm, or are we going to acknowledge that children are being abused and protect them now from the abuser. While we even state the odds of losing custody when child abuse is reported are so high on our site, we cannot go back. We cannot allow protective and abused parents to stay with the abuser for the children will not be protected if they leave to safety. Children have a right to be safe. Great data to learn from, let's learn and bring change! https://www.caprotectiveparents.org/joan-meier-updates-findings-of-parental-alienation-usage-and-abuse-of-child
Parental Alienation Syndrome: The Hoax that Hurts Children Barry Goldstein, NOMAS Task Group on Child Custody http://nomas.org/parental-alienation-syndrome-hoax-hurts-children/ Excerpts Richard Gardner did not rely on any research to concoct his theory of Parental Alienation Syndrome. Instead it came from his personal experiences, beliefs and biases. His outrageous bias is demonstrated by many public statements to the effect that sex between adults and children can be acceptable.[1] Here are two examples, but there are more in a chapter written by Dr. Paul J. Fink, past president of the American Psychiatric Association. Pedophilia “is a widespread and accepted practice among literally billions of people.”[2] “The (sexually abused) child might be told about other societies in which such behavior was and is considered normal… In such discussions the child has to be helped to appreciate that we have in our society an exaggeratedly punitive and moralistic attitude about adult-child sexual encounters.”[3] Richard Gardner was an active and effective promoter of PAS and used it to create a cottage industry of lawyers and mental health professionals who have enjoyed large incomes by supporting practices that help abusive fathers. Most child custody cases are settled more or less amicably. The problem is with the 3.8% of cases that require a trial and often much more.[4] Although many court professionals have been misled to treat these as “high conflict” cases by which they mean both parents are acting out in ways that hurt the children, the research demonstrates a large majority of these cases are really domestic violence.[5] The most dangerous abusers, ones who believe their partners have no right to leave are using a variety of tactics to manipulate the courts to regain control over their victims. Most of these abusers have not committed the most severe physical abuse which is what most court professionals are looking for and so they fail to recognize the danger or the motives. Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/open?id=1L_Nv7ZCMaaFfuVhaAf4MukdGkXJXx08a
A Discredited Theory Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a theory created by Dr. Richard Gardner for use against protective mothers in custody and divorce proceedings. PAS is not based on any research but rather the personal beliefs, experience and bias of Dr. Gardner. He assumed that virtually all reports of domestic violence or child abuse must be false. PAS is not recognized by any legitimate scientific organization and is not included in any version of the the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). http://stopabusecampaign.org/adverse-childhood-experiences-study/preventing-trauma/safe-child-act-a/parental-alienation-syndrome/