Parental Alienation

Jill Egizii and Family Law Judge Michele Lowrance have teamed together to create the workbook "Parental Alienation 911," which is a compilation of research, expert interviews and solutions to apply to real cases.

Jill is an alienated mother and the President of the Parental Alienation Awareness Organization, and Michele has been a Domestic Relations Judge since 1995 and frequently appears on nationally syndicated TV and radio shows.

You can learn more about their work and their book by visiting the "Parental Alienation 911" website. A video of their interview is available at the bottom of this article.

A Michigan woman who fled the state after refusing to turn over her children to their dad, the custodial parent, has been arrested and charged with two counts of custodial interference a.k.a. parental kidnapping.

This news comes as it’s also being reported that three children kidnapped four years ago by their mother have been located in Mexico and will be reunited with their family.

If you've been systematically pushed out of your child’s life by a former partner who repeatedly criticizes and deprecates you in front of your child, then you are all too familiar with parental alienation.

When trying to combat parental alienation, heed the advice of family law attorney Brian Ludmer, who has been a featured speaker at the Canadian Symposium for Parental Alienation Syndrome.

Ludmer has developed a legal, psychosocial and practical strategy for managing a parental alienation case. He consults as well in the area of child custody assessments for parents involved in cases with parental alienation syndrome.

Parental alienation occurs when one parent essentially "programs" a child to dislike and even hate the other parent, and according to psychiatrist Richard A. Gardner who first coined the phrase “parental alienation syndrome,” 90% of alienation cases were cases where the mother alienated the father.

Ludmer talked with MensRights.com editor Matt Allen about how to legally respond to parental alienation, what behaviors to avoid as the targeted parent, and how to deal with false allegations. If you are a victim of parental alienation, consult with the divorce lawyers for men at Cordell and Cordell Family Law.

April is Parental Alienation Awareness Month so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to discuss 10 facts about parental alienation. (Also, read my related column "Parental Alienation Awareness Month.")

Dr. Amy Baker is a highly respected researcher in the field of parental alienation and the author of the seminal book "Adult Children of Parental Alienation Syndrome."

She previously was interviewed on DadsDivorce.com about the long-term effects parental alienation has on children as they grow older. (Note: If parental alienation is evident in your divorce case, contact the divorce lawyers for men at the Cordell & Cordell Law Firm for information on fighting for your rights.)

Baker shared 10 facts about parental alienation she discovered in her research:

Parental Alienation Syndrome is a term that is often thrown around in divorce and custody cases and is commonly referred to as the effect of parental alienation. It is not, however, a disorder that is recognized by the medical community as a medical issue.

Parental alienation is when a child, based on a number of factors, estranges from one parent. In divorce cases, or other custody cases, the courts are particularly concerned with parental alienation caused by the acts of the other parent.

Psychiatrist Richard A. Gardner was the first to use the term "Parental Alienation Syndrome" in the 1980s.

Parental alienation is an act by a parent that tries to denigrate and destroy the relationship between a child and the other targeted parent. Many consider parental alienation to be a form of child abuse.

Symptoms of alienation can vary from child to child, making it difficult to explain the need for help, according to Jill Duffy, a father’s rights attorney with Cordell & Cordell.

These symptoms include:

Any father who has been the targeted parent of parental alienation and witnessed first-hand its dangerous effects always wants to know, “how could I have avoided this?”

Parental alienation disorder is a mental condition in which a child, usually one put in the middle of a contentious divorce, allies strongly with one parent and rejects a relationship with the other parent without legitimate justification.