I am often called upon to fight
for parents who have been alienated from the natural affections of their
children by the other parent. However, achieving
court orders designed to end devastating patterns of parental alienation are
only the beginning. Although establishing
or enforcing the right to access and possession of the children, to orders of
counseling, and injunctions against a parent’s alienating behavior are
necessary, they are not sufficient to getting the children and the alienated
parent to interact in healthy, normal ways.
The psychological healing that must take place after the gavel falls is
where the real hard work lies. An
attorney who deals in high conflict cases must understand and appreciate that
they need to work in partnership with mental health professionals to completely
resolve their client’s problems. And in
this sensitive area, the mental health prover must be have specialized
expertise in parental alienation reunification.
Mental health professionals
should be screened carefully. The client
should familiarize themselves with the professionals understanding of the
various parental alienation treatment models that have developed over the last several
years. Here then, are three of the most prevalent
family reunification intervention models:
1.
Warshak’s Family Bridges Model.
Perhaps the best- known of
the emerging models, this program is an educative and experiential program
focusing on multiple goals: allowing the
child to have a healthy relationship with both parents, removing the child from
parental conflict, and encouraging child autonomy, multiple perspective-taking,
and critical thinking.[1]
2.
Sullivan’s
Overcoming Barriers Family Camp
This model combines
psycho-educational and clinical intervention with an environment of milieu
therapy. It is aimed toward the
development of an agreement regarding the sharing of parenting time, and a
written aftercare planning. It is this
author’s opinion that this model is best utilized if a custody lawsuit is still
pending, such as if temporary but not final orders are in place. Because it’s need for both parents to be
cooperative with making agreements, this model will not work well if the
communication skills of the parents are below a certain minimum.[2]
3.
Friedlander
and Walters’ Multimodal Family Intervention
The flexibility and adaptability
of this model makes it a good choice for families in radical transition such as
those who are currently involved with high conflict litigation. This model provides differential
interventions for situations of parental alignment, alienation, enmeshment and
estrangement.[3]
Children and parents who have
undergone forced separation are highly subject to post-traumatic distress and mental
health professionals are absolutely essential to resuming a healthy
relationship. Research has shown that
many alienated children can transform quickly from resisting the rejected
parent to being able to receive and show love for that parent. But to achieve that goal, the high conflict
family law attorney and the alienated client must be clear on their goals
during and after the custody case. They
must work together to select a mental health provider who not only has specialized
expertise in parental alienation reunification, but offers a therapy model that
is best suited to the individual needs of each family.
If you have any questions
about your high conflict family law case, including parental alienation and
family reunification issues, please visit us at www.thepalmerlawfirm.com.
[1] Baker,
A. (2010). “Adult recall of parental
alienation in a community sample: Prevelance and association with psychological
maltreatment.” Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 51, 16-35.
[2] Sullivan,
M.J. Et al (2010). “Overcoming Barriers Family Camp.” Family Court Review, 48
(1), 116-135.
[3]
Friedlander, S. & Walters, M.G. (2010). “When a child rejects a parent:
Tailoring the intervention to fit the problem.” Family Court Review, 48 (1),
98-111.
