Are intensive parental alienation treatments effective and safe for children and adolescents?

@article{Mercer2019AreIP,
  title={Are intensive parental alienation treatments effective and safe for children and adolescents?},
  author={Jean Mercer},
  journal={Journal of Child Custody},
  year={2019},
  volume={16},
  pages={67 - 113}
}
  • J. Mercer
  • Published 2 January 2019
  • Psychology
  • Journal of Child Custody
Abstract Strong claims have been made for the possibility of diagnostic discrimination between children who refuse contact with a nonpreferred divorced parent due to parental alienation (PA) created by the preferred parent and those who refuse for other reasons such as abuse. PA proponents have also argued that interventions, which include custody changes, can alter the alienated children’s attitudes and create positive behavior toward the nonpreferred parent. This article examines the… 
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28 Citations
Background Citations
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28 Citations

Examining Parental Alienation Treatments: Problems of Principles and Practices

  • J. Mercer
  • Psychology
    Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal
  • 2019
When children of high-conflict divorced parents prefer one parent and resist or refuse visitation with the other parent, some authors have spoken of this situation as parental alienation (PA). PA…

Parental Alienation: In Search of Common Ground For a More Differentiated Theory

The concept of parental alienation (PA) has expanded in popular usage at the same time that it remains mired in controversy about its scientific integrity and its use as a legal strategy in response…

Parental Alienation Syndrome (Focus on Management)

Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a process in which one parent (Aligned Parent) teaches his children to reject or antago- nize other parents (Rejected Parent) which results in disruption to the…

Children in the Fog of War: Responses to Parental Alienation

  • O. Logan
  • Psychology
    Journal of Dialogue Studies
  • 2019
The term ‘parental alienation’ describes a child’s irrational rejection of a parent and is the source of conflict in families, in psychological, legal and therapeutic practices which dispute its…

Risks and Realities of Working with Alienated Children

Involvement in custody cases that include accusations of parental alienation—whether as an evaluator, expert witness, lawyer, judge, therapist, provider of a specialized intervention, or…

When evaluators get it wrong: False positive IDs and parental alienation.

Allegations that a parent has manipulated a child to turn against the other parent raise complex issues challenging child custody evaluators, expert witnesses, and courts. A key issue relates to…

A Comparison of MMPI-2 Profiles Between Parental Alienation Cases and Custody Cases

The present study aimed at understanding the personality features of mothers and fathers engaged in parental alienation—a family dynamic in which one parent behaves in a way that foments a child’s…

Professional responses to ‘parental alienation’: research-informed practice

ABSTRACT Parental alienation was historically a term rejected by courts in England and Wales, but lawyers and social workers have noted an increase in the incidence of its use, possibly driven by…

Misperceptions and misapplications of research in family law cases: Myths of “Parental Alienation Syndrome” and implanted false memories

Abstract This introduction highlights the need for a special issue in the Journal of Child Custody on the misconceptions and misapplications of research within the family law arena. First, an…

Responding to Severe Parent–Child Rejection Cases Without a Parentectomy: A Blended Sequential Intervention Model and the Role of the Courts

There have been significant developments over the past two decades that have expanded our understanding of the dynamics of parent–child contact problems post-separation, which have resulted in some…

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