Parental Alienation During Divorce

Parental alienation is considered a social dynamic and generally occurs during a separation or divorce. The alienation occurs when a child expresses an unreasonably strong dislike or unjustified hatred of one parent which makes access to the child by the rejected parent very difficult and even impossible. These feelings of hate are often times influenced by negative comments made by the other parent. Parental alienation tends to be a rather controversial subject in the mental health and legal professions. Richard Gardner, a psychiatrist, considers parental alienation to be a syndrome specified by a certain formula however his theory is not well accepted.

PAS Kids – Articles and other resources on how to recognize and deal with parental alienation syndrome.

Fighting Parental Alienation – Information from parents who have successfully fought parental alienation.

Detecting PAS – An entry from the Florida Bar Journal on how to detect and what to do about parental alienation syndrome.

Parental Syndrome – Articles, research, and resource on parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome.

What Is PAS – A definition of parental alienation syndrome from The Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence

PAAO – The website of the Parental Alienation Awareness Organization, featuring awareness information, help, and resources

Parental Alienation FAQ – Information for dads on parental alienation including signs and what you can do if you believe you are being alienated

Keeping Families Connected – Resources and information to identify, battle, and recover from parental alienation

SPAC – Information from Stop Parental Alienation of Children including how to tell if you are a parent alienator

Parental Alienation Syndrome – An article discussing the causes, cures, costs, and controversies of parental alienation syndrome

PAS Law Resources – A list of links and resources about laws concerning parental alienation syndrome

Adult Children of PAS – An article describing what happens to adults who have endured parental alienation throughout childhood

PA And Grandparents – Information on the effects of parental alienation on grandparents

Parental Alienation Support – A list of links including professionals who work in the field, organizations, and internet support groups

Parental Alienation Books – A list of good books with information on parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome

Parental Alienation Data – An article from the Sage Publications Journal explaining the data that supports parental alienation

 A Family's Heartbreak -  A parent's introduction to parental alienation

There are things that can be done to address the problem of parental alienation. First off, it takes a mental health professional to be able to identify that parental alienation is occurring. Evaluators diagnose parental alienation syndrome by having the parents take a variety of psychological tests, and they then will recommend what should be done. Once these tests have been performed the alienated parent can then take the results to a judge who will make a decision as to what comes next. While judges often don't understand the magnitude of the problem of parental alienation there is hope for the alienated parent to resolve the problem.