WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING AGAINST
The alienating parent, favored parent, or alienator, is the parent who is indoctrinating or influencing the child to fear or reject the other parent.
There are serious consequences for the child victims of parental alienation. For example, as alienated children become adults, they are more likely to have problems with depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and interpersonal relationships.
The immediate problem to be addressed is that licensed mental health professionals (1) do not recognize parental alienation when it occurs among their clients and (2) do not know what to do about it if they do recognize this pathological family dynamic.
Our legislation would directly address this chasm in the education of children’s mental health practitioners.
OUR SOLUTION
In California, we are drafting legislation that will require all mental health professionals who work with children to take training in Parental Alienation/coercive of control.
With this training, judges, attorneys, the mental health professionals, including custody evaluators, Children’s Protective Services, and all court-mandated reporters, will provide the court with sound recommendations. This will help the child avoid the long-term trauma caused by PA.
A second provision of this legislation will enable the courts to refer the child and the alienated parent to science-based, empirically grounded intensive family reunification therapies.
This legislation will serve as a national model for other state legislatures to consider.