Parental Alienation Awareness Day is 12th October #PAADay
What is Parental Alienation?
Parental Alienation is the outcome of a process of one parent (the alienating parent)
influencing a child (alienated or targeted child)
to turn against and reject their other parent (alienated or targeted parent)
without legitimate justification. The alienating parent can also be a grandparent, a step parent and even a non-family member.
Parental alienation can occur even when the relationship between the targeted child and targeted parent was once a very positive one. It occurs when a child is forced to choose one parent’s side over the other after family separation and during parenting disputes.
Types of Parental Alienation
Mild Parental Alienation
The child is able to maintain contact with the targeted parent but is closely aligned with and concerned for the alienating parent who is distress over family separation.
Moderate Parental Alienation
The child struggles with the transition from the alienating parent’s care to the care of the targeted parent. Once they have made the transition the child quickly settles and bonds with the targeted parent.
Severe Parental Alienation
The child is emphatic in their rejection of the targeted parent and refuses all contact with them.
Causes of Parental Alienation
The challenge for a family following separation is to transition from an intact family structure to a separated family structure that is now united by the children and by the continuing parental roles and shared bonds of affection with the child. Sometimes the emotional reactions and psychological functioning of one parent in response to the separation prevents this transition. When this occurs children can be exposed to that parent’s continuing anger and sadness.
TYPES of Alienating Parents:
- The Naïve Alienator
- The Active Alienator
- The Vengeful Alienator
- The Obsessive Alienator
The Alienating Parent
- paranoid orientation to interactions with others
- cognitive distortions
- externalising unwanted emotions and responsibilities
- abnormal grieving response
- problematic family of origin
- family violence and abuse
Cluster B personality disorders:
- narcissistic personality traits
- borderline personality traits
- paranoid personality traits
- histrionic personality traits
For more information about B Cluster personality disorders visit PROJECT AIR.
List of Detection Factors of Brainwashed Children
1. Contradictory Statements
2. Inappropriate and Unnecessary Information
3. Character Assault
4. Collusion or One-Sided Alliance
5. Child Becomes Spy or Conduit of Information
6. Use of Indirect Statements
7. Restrictions on Permission to Love or Be Loved
8. Unchildlike Statements
9. Good Parent versus Bad Parent
10. Comparative Martyr Role
11. Fear of Contact with the Other Parent
12. Anxiety Arousal
13. Cohort in Secret-Keeping
14. Child Appears as Mirror-Image of Programmer
15. Confusion of a Birth Parent’s Importance
16. Manifestation of Guilt
17. Scripted Views
18. Unmanageability for No Apparent Reason
19. Radical Changes and Dysfunctional Behavior Manifested in Other Spheres
20. Nonverbal Messages
21. Coaching Behavior
22. Brain Twirling
23. Child Threatens Parent
24. Child as Parent’s Best Friend
25. Physical Survival
Reference: Stanley Clawar and Brynne Rivlin (2013) Children Held Hostage: Identifying Brainwashed Children, Presenting a Case, and Crafting Solutions. ABA Publishing.
Impact of Parental Alienation
The impact of parental alienation can last for years or even a life time. It denies children a normal childhood free from parental conflict and denies them a relationship with both parents. It can also prevent a child from having a relationship with the alienated parent’s family.
Consequences for Alienated Children
Alienated children display unjustified contempt for the alienated parent and an attitude of entitlement toward the alienated parent. They are taught to have a perception of an “all-wonderful” alienating parent and “all-bad” targeted parent. As a result of this alienated children experience disrupted social-emotional development as a consequence of parental alienation.
Alienated children experience a complex grief for the loss of a parent who is still alive. Because this loss is the result of emotional manipulation, alienated children experience psychological difficulties associated with this type of trauma and abuse. Parental alienation causes emotional pain for children. The long-term outcomes of parental alienation on children include: social isolation, fragile sense of self, anger, depression and anxiety.
Consequences for Alienated Parents
The loss of a child is devastating. Alienated parents also experience complex grief for the loss of their child who is still alive. This loss is compounded by being denigrated and vilified as part of the alienation process. Alienated parents experience despair, helplessness, frustration, anger and confusion. Many alienated parents experience significant financial and emotional costs associated with trying to find a resolution in a legal system and mental health services that do not understand parental alienation.
Alienated parents are loving mothers and fathers who try to keep their child out of the parental conflict.
Children's Rights Litigation
Trauma Caused by Separation of Children from Parents
Trauma Caused by Separation of Children from Parents
DIAGNOSTICS in the ICD-11 & DSM-5
(CAPRD) Child Affected by Parental Relationship Distress
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders [DSM-5]
(CAPRD) Child Affected by Parental Relationship Distress
under "Other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention."
QE52.0 Caregiver-Child Relationship Problem
International Classification of Diseases for Trauma Caused for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics [ICD-11]
(QE52.0) Caregiver-Child Relationship Problem
under "Problem associated with interpersonal interactions in childhood."