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Parental Alienation Sites "We acknowledge that we have "lost" our children for the short-term; now we will go for the long-term, knowing that it will take time, patience, and persistence. What happens in the children's other household is beyond our control, but we can take effective control of our own lives, always seeking "the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."Identifying Cases of Parent Alienation Syndrome Part 1 Part 2 This is a two-part article appearing in the Colorado Bar Association's monthly publication THE COLORADO LAWYER, in February and March 1998, Vol. 27, No. 2 & 3. It was written by Leona M. Kopetski, MSSW who worked as a clinical social worker specializing in the field of custody evaluation, in addition to maintaining a private practice in psychotherapy. " Parental alienation cases pose a particularly difficult challenge to lawyers and mental health professionals attempting to help families negotiate divorce. The syndrome is seriously harmful to both children and parents. The articles are intended to help by providing clarifying criteria for identification. MMPI-2 Validity Scales and Suspected Parental Alienation Syndrome This article by Jeffrey C. Siegel, Ph.D. and Joseph S. Langford, Ph.D. originally appearing in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY, Volume 16, Number 4, 1998, p. 5-14, reports on their test of two groups of parents and their finding that their hypothesis was confirmed "indicating that PAS parents are more likely to complete MMPI-2 questions in a defensive manner, striving to appear as flawless as possible. It was concluded that parents who engage in alienating behaviours are more likely than other parents to use the psychological defences of denial and projection, which are associated with this validity scale pattern. Implications of this finding regarding possible personality disorders in PAS parents are discussed." Parent Alienation Syndrome: A Two Step Approach Toward A Solution L.F. Lowenstein, PhD, is a consultant psychologist at the Centre for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Emotional-Behavioural Problems, Allington Manor School and Therapeutic Centre, Allington Lane, Fair Oak, Eastleigh, Hampshire, in England. This article, published in Contemporary Family Therapy, Volume 20, Number 4, December, 1998, p. 505-520, "advances the proposal that mediation play a much larger role in cases of parental alienation syndrome in the British justice system. With one in three or more marriages leading to separation or divorce in Great Britain, there is a great urgency to develop plans with the legal system to make certain that both parents can have the opportunity to continue to play a role in the lives of their children." She refers to a 10-year study involving 16 cases as providing evidence that the initial use of mediation may well be superior to the initial use of the adversarial system on its own. The Parental Alienation Syndrome: An Analysis of Sixteen Selected Cases This the study referred to in the preceding paper. John Dunne and Marsha Hedrick published their report in the JOURNAL OF DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE, Vol. 21, p 21-38 1994 analyzing "sixteen cases which appeared to meet Dr. Richard Gardner's criteria for parental alienation syndrome as set forth in his 1987 book. These cases showed a wide diversity of characteristics but Gardner's criteria were useful in differentiating these cases from other post-divorce difficulties. Traditional interventions were ineffective in altering the alienation." PAS Do's & Don'ts William Kirkendale is an angry father who has been denied access to his daughter and feels that the family courts in the United States are in serious need of reform and education. He isn't alone either in that country or Canada. While some of his comments may be thought to be a bit extreme by some the gist of what he has to say is that a parent who cuts off a child from seeing his (or her) non-custodial parent is cause child abuse and should be seen as doing so. He gives realistic advice to fathers caught in this situation although the stridency in his voice and writing needs to be toned down for such a father to obtain a reasonable hearing. His website familycourts.com has a statement of his mission and other material on it. PAS - Newsletter This is a newsletter produced by Promoting Responsible Fatherhood, a father's rights group. Because the bias is clear doesn't mean that the thoughts expressed are exaggerations or not clearly felt by many non-custodial fathers. The most recent item is titled "What can I do about this situation?" and sets out how a parent in this situation can educate him/herself and their lawyer as well as passing on the advice to stay involved with your child as much as possible in the circumstances. The site also has a good archive section of previous items and a links page related to PAS. Parental alienation syndrome: The lost parentsÐ perspective An M.A. Thesis by Despina Vassiliou This qualitative study examines alienated parentsÐ perceptions of their own experience of Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). It examines whether there are certain common threads dealing with parents caught experiencing this problem and what the "lost parents" think they might do differently. Parental Alienation Syndrome - Article by Dr. Reena Sommer This is an article by Dr. Reena Sommer, a Winnipeg psychologist guided by the belief that children should not be denied a relationship with their parents simply because their moms and dads decide to divorce. Dr. Sommer is known for her research into domestic abuse but now spends much of her time involved in conducting brief therapy, consulting with lawyers and clients on PAS, and overseeing the management of a multidisciplinary group of family life professionals. Dr. Sommer's practice is directed toward helping families experiencing separation and divorce. Her goal is to assist divorcing couples explore options in restructuring their lives. This article is on her website. The Emperor's New Clothes: Divorce Process & Consequence(Part 1) The Emperor's New Clothes : Divorce Process & Consequence (Part 2) This full length report, prepared just after the introduction in England in 1996 of the Family Law Act, this report "gives chapter and verse to the precise mechanisms through which the legal system itself has been wilfully and consciously used to destroy the institution of marriage, against the clear letter of the law and Parliament's stated intentions." The report gives a series of case studies and is quite strong on the injustices seen as existing against fathers. It comes from The Cheltenham Group, which "was established on 30 April 1994 by representatives from a numbers of men's organizations, in order to establish a program of initiatives to address the increasing marginalization of men within the family through legal and social policy measures. The group is non party political and non sectarian but is explicitly committed to work for support for the conventional Judaeo-Christian view of marriage and the married family. The Group now speaks for the United Kingdom Men's Movement on matrimonial and family policy." This is not a "politically correct" piece of writing. Fathers Are Capable Too This is a non-custodial group - primarily fathers - with concerns about their rights to be with their children. Amongst other sections, they have a good collection of articles on Parental Alienation. Family Wars: The Alienation of Children This is a terrific article by Dr. Peggy Ward found on the diovrcesource.com site. It's more detailed and examines the issue in greater depth than most of the information on the web. The Liz Library This site certainly puts forward as vigorous an anti-father's rights view as can be found on the Internet and has some very strong views against Dr. Gardner and his opinions regarding anything at all and PAS in particular. The Liz Library has articles from a variety of people putting forward opinions quite different from those set out above in the previous two sections of this web page. The Liz Library site is clearly concerned about gender politics and waging the fight against the "fathers' rights movement". But here and there there are articles to be found which present a serious counter-view to the growing force and value to the analysis presented by those who study parental alienation issues. If you're representing the parent accused of alienating the child, you find material here of use. In particular you might want to read the article by Carol S. Bruch, Research Professor of Law, University of California Davis, appearing in 35 Family Law Quarterly 527 (2001). (The Family Law Quarterly is a publication of the Section of Family Law, American Bar Association. This shows that those opposed to Dr. Garner can write worthwhile articles published by authoritative journals just as can those supporting his views.) It seems that "Liz" is actually Nick Seidenman and that you can find people as passionately and stridently opposed to the concept of PAS as those who support it. Check out this site for yourself to see how much of it there is with which you agree. A Self Made Man This is an article by Judith M. Simon which certainly is intended to throw a cold dose of water over the enthusiasts supporting Dr. Gardner and, presumably, challenge his views. While the article raises some very interesting questions about Dr. Gardner himself, it makes no attempt to deal with the credibility of those who have since written reports on the same problem he originally identified as parental alienation syndrome. I don't know much about Ms. Simon, or about the non-legal journals to which she refers, but her trivializing of the legal journals who have published articles by Dr. Gardner, and from others on the same topic, certainly causes one to be suspicious about the approach she is taking. Her language verges on the intemperate at times and she certainly seems more concerned to be loud and hostile than to deal with the substance of parental alienation. Oh well, we all knew the good doctor was a controversial person.
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