Putting Science and Reasoning Back Into the “Parental Alienation” Discussion: Reply to Bernet, Robb, Lorandos, and Garber

Abstract

This article presents our Reply to the Responses that Lorandos, Garber, Bernet, and Robb wrote to our Critique article in the Family Court Review Special Issue. Our Reply focuses on the repetition of the rhetoric that some of these authors used to distract from the issues we raised. The principal concern in our Critique article was the lack of adequate research methodology to support claims that parental alienation is a diagnosis, a condition, or a phenomenon that is directly observable rather than an inference that requires detailed behavioral descriptions, factual analysis, logical and scientific reasoning. In our Reply, we show how this concern was not properly addressed in the Responses, which does not facilitate meaningful dialog. However, we also recognize that some of the Responses facilitate improved dialog between the parental alienation and child abuse/ domestic violence communities and we welcome that.