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The Complexities of Parent-Child Trauma, Coerced Attachment and Alienation
Parent-Child Trauma, Coerced Attachment and Alienation (PCTCAA) manifests when coercive control and alienating behaviours are used to undermine the bond between a child and their other parent or family member. These behaviours are not confined to any specific gender or family role; they can be used by mothers, fathers, stepparents, grandparents and even non-family members.
At EMMM, we recognise the complex nature of family dynamics and advocate for a better understanding of this form of abuse. Instead of subscribing to polarising views, it's essential to approach each case individually, considering its unique circumstances. These situations are not a one-size-fits-all; there are many factors to consider. Our mission is to continue to explore the complexities of these behaviours through research, delving into its impact on family relationships and going beyond conventional viewpoints.
The repercussions of these behaviours extend beyond the immediate parent-child relationship, affecting connections with siblings, grandparents, stepparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. This form of abuse can involve processes such as adultification, parentification, infantilisation and learned helplessness. These methods often include gatekeeping, denigration, programming, and brainwashing, which are facilitated through different forms of learning like classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning. Non-verbal cues, such as negative facial expressions, body language and tone of voice, also play a role when employed alongside other manipulative tactics.
LATEST SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Research and Resources for Legal and Mental Health Practitioners and Alienated Families.
Parent-Child Trauma, Coerced Attachment and Alienation cannot be formally diagnosed as a clinical condition, but the behaviours involved can be recognised as manipulative and emotionally abusive actions that profoundly affect a child's emotional, psychological and developmental progress. These behaviours align with patterns of coercive control, emotional manipulation, and attachment trauma seen in clinical practice, leading to symptoms often associated with complex PTSD, anxiety disorders and attachment disruptions. The impact on the child's relationships, emotional regulation, and decision-making abilities can mirror the effects of trauma, affecting their ability to form healthy attachments and interact appropriately with others.
Identifying these behaviours is critical for intervention and prevention, much like addressing other forms of child abuse. If left unaddressed, these behaviours present significant risks to a child's overall mental health, developmental trajectory and future relational functioning. Early recognition and intervention, guided by attachment and trauma-informed clinical frameworks, are essential to mitigate the long-term psychological harm and promote healthier developmental outcomes.
Below you can navigate your way through the complexities and the need for a comprehensive understanding that considers the unique dynamics of each family situation.
Coercive Control of Children and the Targeted Parent
Coercive Control is when someone strategically uses various behaviours to create dependency and control of another person. Through the use of these behaviours, the coercively controlling person creates a false world of confusion, fear and contradiction. Over time, coercively controlling behaviour erodes the other person’s sense of self and confidence. These behaviours are at the heart of Parent-Child Trauma Coerced Attachment and Alienation.
Navigating the Transition from Intact to Separated Family Structures
The post-separation challenge for families lies in transitioning from an intact family structure to a separated configuration, bound by the common thread of shared parental roles and enduring bonds of affection with the child. However, the emotional reactions and psychological responses of one parent to the separation can impede this transition. In such instances, children may unwittingly bear witness to the ongoing emotional distress, including anger and sadness, exhibited by the parent grappling with the separation. Understanding these dynamics is essential for comprehending the origins of PCTCAA and its potential impact on family relationships.
Characteristics of Problematic Coercive Parents
Problematic Personality Traits
- Narcissistic Personality Traits: Displaying self-centred and exaggerated self-importance.
- Borderline Personality Traits: Exhibiting unstable emotions, self-image and relationships.
- Paranoid Personality Traits: Demonstrating distrust and suspicion of others.
- Histrionic Personality Traits: Seeking attention and exhibiting dramatic behaviour.
Other Factors
- High Anxiety and Over Control: Exhibiting high levels of anxiety, often leading to micromanagement or helicopter parenting. Anxious parents may impose excessive control over the child’s activities and relationships, driven by fears of losing the child’s loyalty or attachment.
- Cognitive Distortions: Engaging in distorted thought patterns that contribute to the manipulation of the parent-child relationship. LEARN MORE...
- Externalising Unwanted Emotions and Responsibilities: Projecting personal emotions and responsibilities onto the child, potentially affecting their emotional well-being.
- Inability to Accept Own Problems: Demonstrating difficulty acknowledging and addressing personal challenges.
- Abnormal Grieving Response: Displaying atypical responses to loss or separation, impacting the ability to navigate family transitions.
- Problematic Family of Origin: Having a history of familial issues that may contribute to current challenges in parenting.
- Poor Relationship History: A track record of problematic relationships, which may influence parenting dynamics.
- Desire for Control: Seeking excessive control in relationships, particularly within the parent-child dynamic.
- Desire for Vengeance: Harbouring a desire for retribution, which can negatively impact the co-parenting relationship.
For more information about B Cluster personality disorders visit Project Air for Fact Sheets.
Processes and Psychological Conditioning Techniques
- ADULTIFICATION: Imposing adult responsibilities or concerns onto the child, potentially disrupting their normal developmental path. While not a conditioning technique in itself, it often involves conditioning through:
- Negative reinforcement: The child might escape criticism or punishment by acting more mature.
- Positive reinforcement: The child might receive praise or rewards for fulfilling adult-like roles.
- Modelling: The child might learn by observing and imitating the adults around them who are struggling or overburdened.
- PARENTIFICATION: The child is given responsibilities typically held by a parent, disrupting their normal developmental role. This can include:
- Emotional Support: The child acts as a confidant or provides emotional support for the alienating parent.
- Caregiving Duties: The child takes on caregiving roles, such as looking after the parent, siblings or managing household tasks.
- Decision-Making: The child is involved in making decisions meant for adults.
- Impact: Adultification and Parentification can both hinder a child's development, blur role boundaries and cause emotional stress. It can intensify the alienation by aligning the child’s loyalty with the problematic coercive parent.
- INFANTILIZATION AND LEARNED HELPLESSNESS: This is a two-pronged process. Infantilization involves treating someone as much younger than their actual age, often through excessive control and restriction. This can lead to learned helplessness, where the individual feels incapable of making decisions or taking control of their own life.
- Children exposed to coercion and alienating behaviours may develop learned helplessness, a state often seen in situations where individuals repeatedly encounter stress they cannot control. Over time, they begin to feel that no action will improve their circumstances, leading to a sense of powerlessness. This helplessness can result in chronic feelings of anger and resentment as they struggle to cope with the emotional turmoil.
Conditioning techniques involved:
- Positive punishment: Attempts at independence might be punished, leading to a decrease in such behaviour.
- Negative reinforcement: Dependence on the controlling individual is reinforced by providing for their needs, thus preventing them from learning self-sufficiency.
- LEARNING
- Classical Conditioning: The child develops automatic responses by associating certain stimuli with specific behaviours. For example, hearing negative remarks about the targeted parent might cause the child to feel anxious or upset whenever they think about or see that parent, even without direct conflict.
- Operant Conditioning: The child’s behaviour is shaped through rewards and punishments. They might receive praise or attention for rejecting the targeted parent or face criticism or withdrawal of affection for trying to maintain contact, reinforcing the alienation.
- Observational Learning: The child learns by watching and mimicking the alienating parent’s behaviour. If the child observes consistent negative attitudes or actions towards the targeted parent, they are likely to adopt those same attitudes and behaviours, further distancing themselves from that parent.
- PROGRAMMING/BRAINWASHING: Deliberate efforts to manipulate the child's thoughts, feelings and perceptions, often leading to the rejection of the targeted parent. They can utilise intense forms of psychological conditioning, often involving:
- Isolation: Limiting contact with outside influences.
- Coercion and manipulation: Using threats, rewards and emotional appeals to control behaviour.
- Repetition and indoctrination: Repeatedly exposing the individual to specific beliefs and ideologies.
Important Considerations
Understanding these concepts is crucial for recognising potentially harmful situations and promoting healthy psychological development. Human behaviour is complex and rarely the result of a single conditioning technique. These techniques often interact and overlap in real-life situations. Children respond differently to conditioning techniques based on their personality, experiences and resilience.
Levels of Alienation and Interventions
You’ll find a comprehensive breakdown of each level—mild, moderate, and severe—along with evidence-based approaches to support the child’s well-being. Our resources are designed to help practitioners and families navigate these complex dynamics with the appropriate guidance and expertise.
For more information about the different levels of alienation and interventions and strategies, please click the below link.
Silent Sabotage: The Role of Non-Verbal Cues
Non-verbal cues, encompassing negative facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice, become potent tools in the arsenal of parental alienation when employed in tandem with other manipulative tactics.
Negative Body Language and Facial Expressions
- Parents may employ disapproving or negative body language, including facial expressions such as frowning, eye-rolling, head shaking and sighing. These subtle cues convey contempt, subtly influencing the child's perception of the other parent.
Impact of Tone of Voice
- The tone of voice assumed by a parent, particularly when adopting a condescending manner when discussing the other parent, can significantly shape the child's view. The nuances in vocal expression contribute to the complex web of influences on the child's perceptions and attitudes towards the targeted parent.
Understanding the subtle role of non-verbal cues, body language and tone of voice is imperative in comprehending the complexities of the dynamics.
Types of Alienating Parents
- Naïve Alienators exhibit passive tendencies regarding their children's relationship with the other parent. While they may inadvertently contribute to alienation through occasional actions or statements, they often respond positively to education about the detrimental impacts of their behaviour.
- Active Alienators are consciously aware of their actions and intentionally foster alienation out of feelings of hurt and anger. These individuals possess some level of insight and may express remorse once they become aware of the damage inflicted.
- Vengeful Alienators believe the targeted parent must endure consequences for the termination of their relationship. Driven by a mission to destroy the targeted parent, they lack self-control and insight. Typically associated with narcissistic and borderline personality traits, they experience an abnormal grief reaction known as narcissistic injury upon the relationship's end.
- Obsessive Alienators incorporate the destruction of the targeted parent into their identity. Characterised by limited self-control and insight, they may exhibit problematic personality traits, such as narcissistic and borderline tendencies. For these individuals, causing harm to the targeted parent becomes a defining aspect of their behaviour.
Understanding these distinct profiles is pivotal for tailored interventions in cases of parental alienation.
Trauma Bonding
Within the context of PCTCAA, the targeted child forms a detrimental emotional attachment, referred to as a trauma bond with the problematic coercive parent/person.
This phenomenon draws parallels to observed behaviours in environments such as cults, hostage situations, human trafficking, intimate partner violence and child abuse. Trauma bonding manifests as a consequence of interpersonal trauma within relationships characterised by violence or exploitation, as outlined by Reid et al. (2013).
Understanding this complex psychological dynamic is essential for effectively dealing with the intricate aspect of PCTCAA and implementing effective interventions to mitigate its lasting impact on the child.
Understanding Relationships: Attachment vs. Trauma Bonds and Parental Behaviour
- Attachment Bond: The emotional connection within this bond is characterised by strength and security, fostering a sense of trust and comfort. This contributes to the promotion of the child's overall well-being and security. The relationship dynamics are nurturing and supportive, encouraging healthy interactions that have a positive impact on the child's growth.
- Trauma Bond: In contrast, the emotional connection in a trauma bond involves mixed emotions stemming from abusive experiences, potentially compromising the child's well-being and stability. The relationship dynamics are characterised by abusive and manipulative behaviours, leading to conflicted responses and the potential for emotional dependency which can be confusing and may result in emotional dependency.
- Protective Parent: A protective parent focuses on supporting healthy emotional bonds, prioritising the child's safety and emotional stability. This parent fosters healthy relationships with both parents and encourages positive dynamics within the family. The behaviour towards the child is geared towards supporting relationships with both parents, resulting in a positive impact on the child's overall well-being and development.
- Problematic Coercive Parent: In the case of an alienating parent, the emotional connection undermines bonds and causes confusion. This parent disregards the child's well-being, prioritising their own agenda. The relationship dynamics involve undermining the relationship with the other parent, and the behaviour towards the child hinders their relationship with the other parent, ultimately resulting in a negative impact that hinders emotional growth.
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Presentation of the Targeted Child
- Expression of negative views about the targeted parent
- Extreme and opposite views about parents
- Situationally determined changes in the child’s behaviour
- Denial of positive regard for the targeted parent
- Distorted views about the targeted parent
- False memories or accounts of events not experienced
- Lack of concern about internal inconsistency of information provided
- A litany of complaints about the targeted parent
- Fear response towards the targeted parent
- Dependent or symbiotic relationship with alienating parent
- Compliant with adults other than targeted parent
- Believes alienating parent persecuted by targeted parent
- Lack of empathy for plight of targeted parent
- Targeted parent holds no important position in child’s life
- Rigidity of belief system regarding targeted parent
- Independent thinker phenomenon
Citation: Haines, J., Matthewson, M., & Turnbull, M. (2020). Understanding and Managing Parental Alienation: A Guide to Assessment and Intervention. Routledge.
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What is the Impact?
This form of emotional and psychological abuse can have long-lasting effects, extending for years or even a lifetime. It disrupts a child's chance at a normal, conflict-free childhood and deprives them of relationships with both parents. Additionally, it may hinder the child from forming connections with the extended family of the alienated parent. Recognising these consequences emphasises the importance of early intervention and comprehensive support to mitigate the adverse impact on the child's well-being and family relationships.
Children subjected to these abusive behaviours exhibit unwarranted disdain for the targeted parent and an entitled attitude towards the problematic coercive parent. They are indoctrinated to perceive the problematic coercive parent as entirely virtuous and the targeted parent as entirely flawed. Consequently, these children encounter disruptions in their social-emotional development.
Targeted children grapple with a nuanced form of grief for a living parent, a loss manipulated through emotional tactics. This emotionally induced loss leads to psychological complexities, fostering difficulties associated with trauma and abuse. This form of abuse inflicts emotional distress on children, manifesting in enduring consequences such as social isolation, a fragile sense of self, heightened anger, depression and anxiety. Understanding these implications underscores the urgency of addressing these abusive behaviours and intervening to safeguard the mental and emotional well-being of affected children.
Consequences for Targeted Parents
The profound loss of a child is emotionally devastating. Targeted parents grapple with ambiguous loss*, mourning the living but emotionally distant presence of their child. This poignant loss is further exacerbated by the denigration and vilification endured as part of the abusive process. Experiencing despair, helplessness, frustration, anger and confusion, targeted parents navigate a complex emotional landscape.
Many of these dedicated mothers and fathers encounter significant financial and emotional burdens while seeking resolution within legal and mental health systems that may not fully comprehend. Despite being embroiled in parental conflict, targeted parents strive to shield their children from its impact.
*Ambiguous Loss: Arising from traumatic loss, it is externally induced and lacks closure. Characterised by frozen grief and a sense of being stuck in limbo, this individual journey is defined by the circumstances (Boss, 1999, 2009). Understanding the multifaceted challenges faced by targeted parents is crucial for fostering empathy and driving informed interventions to alleviate their burdens.
Impact on Children and Targeted Parents
Individuals, both children and parents, exposed to these abusive behaviours endure trauma reactions comparable to those seen in other forms of abuse. Psychological challenges arise, mirroring symptoms aligned with complex post-traumatic stress reactions. Manifestations include substance use problems, self-harm behaviours, eating disorders, depression, anxiety and even tendencies towards suicidality.
Family Violence-Related Suicide
Family violence-related suicide is a tragic outcome that can occur in families suffering from severe emotional abuse, coercive control and alienation. Victims, including both targeted parents and children, may become overwhelmed by the emotional trauma within these destructive family dynamics. The persistent psychological harm and sense of hopelessness in such environments can lead to devastating consequences, including suicide.
Recognising the gravity of these consequences is paramount for fostering understanding and promoting targeted interventions to address the enduring impact of PCTCAA on the mental health of affected individuals.
List of Detection Factors of Brainwashed Children
- Contradictory Statements
- Inappropriate and Unnecessary Information
- Character Assault
- Collusion or One-Sided Alliance
- Child Becomes Spy or Conduit of Information
- Use of Indirect Statements
- Restrictions on Permission to Love or Be Loved
- Unchildlike Statements
- Good Parent versus Bad Parent
- Comparative Martyr Role
- Fear of Contact with the Other Parent
- Anxiety Arousal
- Cohort in Secret-Keeping
- Child Appears as Mirror-Image of Programmer
- Confusion of a Birth Parent’s Importance
- Manifestation of Guilt
- Scripted Views
- Unmanageability for No Apparent Reason
- Radical Changes and Dysfunctional Behaviour Manifested in Other Spheres
- Non-verbal Messages
- Coaching Behaviour
- Brain Twirling
- Child Threatens Parent
- Child as Parent’s Best Friend
- Physical Survival
Reference: Stanley Clawar and Brynne Rivlin (2013) Children Held Hostage: Identifying Brainwashed Children, Presenting a Case, and Crafting Solutions. ABA Publishing.
Minimum Key Areas of Expertise
EMMM considers that the minimum key areas of expertise required of a single expert include:
- Coercive control
- Family violence
- Child maltreatment
- Sexual abuse
- Attachment theory
- Personality disorders
- Anxieties, fears and phobias
- Family systems
- Complex trauma
- Alienating behaviours
- Brainwashing and learning
- Child development
- Cognitive distortions
- False confessions
- False memories
- Repressed memories
- Cults and human trafficking
- Assessment and diagnosis
- Trauma-informed practice
- Risk assessments (risk of harm to self, others and child safety risk)
- Interviewing children (see note)
Note: It must be determined whether the interviewing, questioning and counselling techniques used with the child were so suggestive that they had the capacity to substantially alter the child's recollections of events and thus compromise the reliability of the child's personal knowledge.
Parent-Child Trauma Coerced Attachment and Alienation cases are counterintuitive and can externally look very similar. Identifying and presenting a case to the family court is not a one size fits all.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)
Childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity.
The CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is one of the largest investigations of childhood abuse and neglect.
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."
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