Many divorce and custody battles invoke strong emotions in both parents and children. It is crucial that parents find an outlet for their feelings and not take their bitterness or anger to their children. They should also do what they can to support their child’s relationship with the other parent. Sometimes, children can receive subtle … Read more
What Is Parental Alienation? Parental alienation is the legal term used to describe the action of one parent attempting to turn the child against the other parent, causing their relationship to break down or deteriorate. The term, specifically parental alienation syndrome, was coined in the mid-1980s by Richard Gardner, a clinical professor of psychiatry at … Read more
Almost all divorces exert a powerful emotional impact upon separating spouses – especially when children are involved. As issues such as child custody, visitation rights, and child support come up, doubts, uncertainties, and strong emotional reactions are natural. Often, emotional issues become so powerful that one parent intentionally or unintentionally starts to exert an excessive … Read more
Most parents intuitively understand that children need to carry a positive image of each of their parents. Each parent is an integral part of the child, and a child does not divorce either parent simply because parents stop being a couple. Parents embroiled in a difficult separation or divorce, however, can lose sight of this. … Read more
Divorce is an emotionally trying time for both parents and children. The difficulty of a divorce is made worse when one parent tries to “poison” their children against the other parent. This is known as parental alienation, and there are legal actions you can take to stop this destructive behavior. What Is Parental Alienation (PA)? … Read more
When a child does not want to spend the allocated time with one of the parents, this is a behavior that warrants attention. There can be many underlying reasons for this, including parental alienation. One of the parents can program the child to harbor negative feelings toward the other parent. This can result in avoidance, … Read more
Zealous representation of a client takes on a completely different meaning in parental alienation cases. Winning should be viewed differently as well. Making smart, insightful moves that will correct parental alienation is the winning strategy in these cases. By Dr. Alan D. Blotcky, Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, and Dr. William Bernet, MD A nine-year-old girl … Read more
Parental alienation can often be one of the most damaging effects of a difficult, highly contested divorce. It occurs when one parent purposefully encourages a child to disengage with the other parent and/or denigrate the other parent. Typical methods include, but are not limited to: Badmouthing the other parent Blocking contact with that parent Using … Read more
Parental Alienation are destructive actions by an alienating parent to discredit and sabotage the target parent in the eyes of the child. This will eventually cause increased hostility and decreased contact with the child and the target parent. The alienating parent programs the child to believe that the target parent is mean, unloving, worthless and … Read more
Parental alienation in Texas can go so far as to affect the final custody verdict. Child custody cases are hard enough, but when one parent pits the child or children against the other parent, it can get even worse. The courts act in the children’s best interest and generally agree that both parents should be … Read more