When parents rupture their children’s loving bond with the other parent: identifying, and working against the parental alienation process and alienating behaviours
How do practitioners respond to parents and/or their children who present in the context of a high conflict separation and divorce where the relationship between the children and one of the parents is threatened or has been ruptured? The relationship between children and one of their parents may end for a number of reasons, including their own attachment choices, conflict mitigation strategies and abuse. However, in the absence of such factors and in the face of certain questionable actions by parents practitioners are left with the possibility that the deliberate or at least the inadvertent actions and behaviours of one parent damages or destroys the necessary loving relationship between their children and the other parent.
Despite their developmental needs, children may lose the influence of both parents and be left with a falsified image of a parent who has now been removed from their lives by the actions of the other parent. It is often presumed that sexual or other forms of abuse have informed the children’s choice when in fact parents may have imposed a view upon their children. The dilemma for practitioners is that they can see the logical consequence of parent’s behaviours as harmful to their children and to their relationship with another parent but may be unable to influence the outcome for lack of appreciation of the alienation process or what strategies may be available. This paper explores how to understand and address parental alienation issues, its effects and interventions.
