Parental alienation and the unregulated experts shattering children’s lives

A woman cried as she remembered her children being removed from her home several years ago. They were scared. They said they wanted to stay with their mother. Daddy scares us even though we love him. Their wishes were attributed to their mom.

Years ago, the cracks in the relationship appeared. She gave up work. He demanded sex and shouted at me. She said that she lost her creativity when she became isolated as a full-time mother.

He became violent and she found the courage to leave. The children had an arrangement with each other. She said she had psychological issues after they complained about their father. It was said that she had turned the children against their father.

She claimed that her evidence of his violence was discounted. All contact was cut immediately after her children were moved to live with their dad. She was given two hours of supervised contact every fortnight.

The Observer is aware of a number of cases in which mothers, and sometimes fathers, have lost custody of their children after being accused of "parental alienation".

The concept is based on a theory by a US child Psychiatrist in the 1980's. Thesyndrome was mostly rejected. In English and Welsh family courts, the idea of parental alienation as a pattern of behavior has become complex. The argument seems to have created confusion in attaching an unnecessary label to the very rare instances of a parent instilling false beliefs in a child. Extreme cases fall under the definition of significant harm in statutory guidance.

Jenny Beck said there were arguments about whether it was a concept or a counter-allegation. There are rows about how to hear the child's voice and about experts and their qualifications, and there is deep concern about unregulated experts who have an economic interest in both diagnosis and therapy.

A PA expert can recommend cutting all contact with the "alienating" parent after a finding of alienation. They can't see or speak to their kids for a while.

It depends on the success of therapy recommended by the expert, mandated by the court, or paid for by the parent themselves. If the court orders the alien parent to pay the bill, they can be held to ransom and lose their children forever.

There has been growing concern about the potential conflict of interest presented where an expert could be financially incentivised to make a finding of PA in a system that allows them to recommend their own therapy or that of colleagues. In cases where there are allegations of alienating behavior and conflicts of interest, the Family Justice Council has published a memo. Guidance updated last month states that when a psychologist expert recommends an intervention or therapy that they or an associate would benefit financially from delivering, the court should be aware of it.

The guidance was written by a consultant clinical psychologist who has been an expert in the family court for 20 years. The assessments being made in the family court are no less complex than those made in the forensic services, so we wouldn't allow a psychologist who wasn't regulated by the health and care professions council to work in the family court.

The decisions being made have a bigger effect on children.

The costs of therapeutic interventions can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Legal fees can prove burdensome to parents who are involved in drawn out litigation.

Natalie Page of the Survivor Family Network said that several mothers had lost their homes and life savings due to lengthy court battles.

Some of these women claimed to have been victims of domestic or emotional abuse by a former partner that the court had acknowledged.

The head of the court, the president of the Family Division, has been told by the victims' commissioner for London that experts who are not regulated can't be held to account. She gave a list of experts used by the courts in her casework. The current rules that allow unregulated experts to be appointed at the court's discretion are sufficient, but there should be more training for judges.

Some experts who are involved in these cases are regulated. Waxman argues that current processes aren't enough to prevent recommendations from experts who have a history of complaints against them and whomislead about their credentials.

The Association of Clinical Psychologists warned that mothers were having their children removed by psychiatrists without the necessary qualifications.

Only psychologists with one of the protected titles should be making diagnoses and therapeutic recommendations, according to the report.

Waxman doesn't deny that children are weaponised in separations and that this behavior is harmful.

She said that in some extreme cases, children have disclosed very serious abuse and were told by experts and judges they haven't been abused but rather have been 'alienated' by their parent. Those children are at risk of being removed from their protective parent if that happens.

Fears of false allegations of parental alienation are a barrier to victims of abuse telling the courts about their experience, according to a report by the Ministry of Justice.

There are a small number of cases in which the court is satisfied that children have been emotionally abused by a parent who has made false allegations against the other parent.

In comparison to the large number of cases where mothers are afraid of false allegations of parental alienation, these cases are small.

Family judges are required to complete training in domestic abuse. There were new live training sessions that addressed the Domestic Abuse Act in April.

According to Charlotte Proudman, parental alienation has become a go-to tactic for perpetrators of domestic abuse.

She said that in some cases they call on a PA expert to assess the family dynamics before a hearing to determine if the allegations are legitimate. Any suggestion of domestic abuse is not taken seriously once PA is found. There are a few cases where a mother has to wait until their child is 18 to see them again.

The courts were becoming increasingly aware of the misuse of allegations of parental alienation, according to a family law solicitor based in Bristol. She said that a large part of her caseload involves domestic violence cases, representing mothers, and the father will often raise parental alienation but the courts are hesitant to accept such claims.

Waxman wants a review of how experts are chosen.

According to evidence given to a House of Lords committee, the credence given to claims of parental alienation resulted in claims of domestic or other abuse being downplayed. There isn't enough evidence to support the idea of parental alienation, according to the NSPCC.

Tens of thousands of UK parents are victims of parental alienation according to proponents.

The organisation Parental Alienation UK said that they welcomed any reasonable rigor that was introduced into the court process regarding experts in proceedings involving children. It can only be for the benefit of those involved. The person said that parental alienation is not a gender issue. Thousands of mothers and fathers are affected by it. Many mothers are working with us. It is keeping the child safe.

The debate was becoming toxic because the term parental alienation was being misinterpreted. It has become a buzz term and what is described in the many messages I get is not the same as what it is described in court. A lot of men use it when they say they have a bad ex who is trying to stop contact. A loving father may have a legitimate gripe with the amount of contact they have with their children, but that isn't parental alienation.

Hannah Jones is a forensic psychologist who has been appointed in the family courts as an expert.

The term "parental alienation" was dropped from the World Health Organization's index of diseases.

Anyone who sells therapy to treat PA is doing so without any evidence.

She said that children are not trusted as messengers of their own experience when it is found that they are being brainwashed.

She said she didn't feel heard after her father was accused. She said her birth mother was abusive. He applied to the court after I said I wanted to live full-time with my dad. She said he was manipulating her and alienating her.

I said this was a lie but I was not believed. The court took my mom's side. Her lawyers said that the application was the idea of her father.

It was decided that she could live with her father full-time. The outcome could have been different if they'd been there.

There are limited and expensive options for a parent who thinks they have been wrongly accused. Waxman said that there was no way to get your children back unless you admitted that you had made them dislike you. It's seen as resisting if you don't want to do the therapy.

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service says that when an expert is proposed, all parties in a case have an opportunity to comment. It is the responsibility of the court to ensure that a proposed expert is qualified to deal with the matters they are instructed to report to the court on.

The president of the Family Division issued a memo stating that pseudo-science would not be accepted in court. He said in a speech that the court should be careful when it comes to instructing an expert on the subject of parental alienation.

The evidence base for parental alienation is very limited because of a lack of robust empirical studies. Critics say the therapies being prescribed are harmful to victims of abuse.

Due to reporting restrictions, the Observer can't publish details of the hearings where parental alienation has been a key feature. Concerns about transparency have arisen because the names of experts have been blacked out.

A judge blocked the media from naming an expert after a woman in a private court dispute objected to the expert's work. The original expert was blocked from being named by the media because the district judge ruled in her favor. The expert's decision to appoint another professional waspragmatic.

If a parent has any concerns about X, they should be able to read about your decision, according to Brian Farmer. Most parents think that all experts are regulated. If experts are paid to give reports which can change people's lives, they should also be accountable to the public.

The guidance was issued by the president of the Family Division, Sir James Munby.

There is a consultation process on a number of planned rule changes after a shift in culture in the family court. The need for increased transparency must always be balanced against the need to protect the privacy of vulnerable children and families, according to a spokesman for the judiciary. The welfare of the child is of paramount importance.

Journalists will have more freedom to report on family court cases if children's identities are protected. Parents would have the right to speak more openly.

The changes can't come soon enough for mothers such asAmanda She said that her children wanted to come back. I don't know how to answer people's questions. I don't want to be seen.

Changes have been made to protect identities.