What Does it Mean to be a Targeted Parent? Parents’ Experiences in the Context of Parental Alienation

Tavares, Ana; Crespo, Carla; Ribeiro, Maria Teresa

doi:10.1007/s10826-021-01914-6

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The family systems’ perspective refers to the absence of a family member through family boundary ambiguity that indicates family members’ lack of role definition and participation in the family system (Boss & Greenberg, 1984). In the context of PA, ambiguity in family boundaries is caused by grandchildren's absence from the family's daily life and key family events, and it may increase a sense of family loss and fragmentation (Tavares et al, 2021) and impair family members’ health and well‐being (Boss, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I feel erased:” A qualitative analysis of grandparent experiences of parental alienation

Avieli

Levy

2022

Family Relations

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Objective This study employs the life course perspective to explore the lived experience of grandparents who have no contact with their grandchildren due to parental alienation (PA). Background PA represents situations in which a child becomes estranged from one parent because of the manipulation of the other parent. The estrangement from the alienated parent leads to and manifests inter alia in denial of contact with the grandparents from the alienated side of the family. It is critical to examine the experiences of grandparents who were denied contact with their grandchildren due to PA to identify these grandparents’ unique needs and facilitate assistance and support. Method Thirteen grandparents aged 63 to 83 years (M = 72 years, SD = 6.52) were interviewed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach to analyze their narratives. Findings Participant interviews revealed four superordinate themes: (a) the race against time, (b) disregard of grandparents’ victim status, (c) health and functioning implications of alienation from grandchildren, and (d) reflections on being a grandparent suffering from PA and insights at this stage of life. Conclusions PA‐related estrangement from grandchildren leads to negative outcomes regarding grandparents’ daily functioning, perception, and well‐being. Aging characteristics collide with these outcomes to form an experience unique to grandparents in these vulnerable situations. Implications Practitioners treating older adults require awareness of parental alienation's adverse impact on grandparents to address their specific needs and hardships. Additionally, it is incumbent on the legal system and practitioners involved in PA cases to consider grandparent victimization, allow them to voice their pain, and take their interests into account.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I feel erased:” A qualitative analysis of grandparent experiences of parental alienation

Avieli

Levy

2022

Family Relations

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“…P.A. is a legal argument intended to enhance the likelihood that a judge will find interference with the other parent's "rights" (see, for example, Tavares et al, 2021). With empathy for the LMHP, Logan (2019) wrote that the "fog of parental alienation appears like a shroud cast over the most basic form of solidarity adhered to by healthy adults" with the risk that "children's capacities will be eroded, and the social imagination will become more like Lord of the Flies than Peter Pan" (p. 111).…”

Section: Forensic Practices and The Shackles Of Verificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weaponizing Clinical Mental Health in Family Justice Courts: Ethical and Legal Minefields

Prescott

2022

JoFSW

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In child custody litigation, parents engage in complex and iterative patterns of conflict. These patterns may include allegations of interpersonal violence, addiction, mental health disorders, and parental alienation. In such cases, a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) may be providing clinical services for a child. However, the education and training of LMHPs may not include a thorough understanding of risk when exposed to child custody litigation, including ethical complaints and civil lawsuits. This article explores preventative strategies for managing that risk by applying a forensic model for case management when child custody conflict and litigation enters the clinical portal.

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“…Throughout the years, many authors went on to omit the term “syndrome,” describing parental alienation (PA) as a disorder arising primarily in the context of child custody disputes [ 9 ]. However, PA does not exist in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) or in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, text revision (DSM-5-TR).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental alienation in Lebanon: a case report

Fares

Najem²,

Hallit

et al. 2023

J Med Case Reports

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Background Parental alienation is a relatively newly described disorder, with a growing prevalence, as divorce and custody battles are becoming more and more complex with increased difficulty of joint custody. In parental alienation, one parent, the alienating parent, forms an alliance with the child involved in the custody dispute and manages to effectively alienate the targeted parent completely. The child and the alienating parent manifest a form of folie à deux and, hence, are in complete synchrony in the hatred and denigration of the targeted parent. Issues, such as potentially false allegations of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of the child by the targeted parent, arise. The child and the alienating parent become mutually convinced of the targeted parent’s transgressions. Consequently, it becomes difficult for the courts and psychiatric professionals to differentiate true abuse from parental alienation. Case presentation In this case study, we aimed to conduct an in-depth psychological and psychiatric evaluation of a Lebanese family (white race) where a father was wrongly accused by the mother and his 11-year-old white boy of both physical and sexual abuse. The data for this study were collected through unstructured and semi-structured interviews, observations, and psychological tests (Rorschach test for the parents and Blacky test for the child), and through the analysis of documented evidence presented in the trial. Conclusion This case manifested most criteria set forth for the diagnosis of parental alienation and created serious doubt regarding the validity of the allegations set forth by the mother and the child. Uncovered parental alienation often misleads mental health professionals at the expense of the child’s mental health .

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What Does it Mean to be a Targeted Parent? Parents’ Experiences in the Context of Parental Alienation

Cited by 9 publications

References 32 publications

“I feel erased:” A qualitative analysis of grandparent experiences of parental alienation

“I feel erased:” A qualitative analysis of grandparent experiences of parental alienation

Weaponizing Clinical Mental Health in Family Justice Courts: Ethical and Legal Minefields

Parental alienation in Lebanon: a case report

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