What is Parental Alienation Syndrome and what role does it play in child custody cases?

A more difficult custody situation arises when one parent (Parent A) claims that the other (Parent B) causes the child to reject Parent A. When Parent B is indeed actively working to undermine Parent A’s relationship with the child by constantly denigrating Parent A in front of the child, this is called “parental alienation.”

Examples of parental alienation include:

• when a father says to his child: “Your mother does not want to see you tonight” when in fact the mother is ill or the father has told the mother that the child cannot be born, and
• when a mother repeatedly tells the child: “Your father does not love us” or something similar.

If the child accepts what their parent says, believes it to be true, and acts on it by rejecting the other parent, some psychiatrists will say the child has developed Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). PAS occurs when a parent has repeatedly given the child a negative opinion of the other parent, such that the child no longer wants to spend time with the other parent. The main difference between parental alienation and PAS is that in PAS the child has adopted the other parent’s negative attitude because the alienating parent was trying to undermine the relationship.

The Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) theory was developed by Dr. Richard Gardner traditionally develops and blames mothers for negative feelings children express toward their fathers. The use of PAS today can be problematic and troubling because PAS can be used by experienced psychologists in family courts to discredit allegations of child sexual abuse and domestic violence that the children may have suffered or witnessed.

Furthermore, PAS is not universally accepted in the psychological and psychiatric community because (1) PAS is not a valid psychiatric diagnosis as it is not recognized in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and (2) it is There is no solid data to support the existence of PAS or its purpose.

Whether or not PAS is an actual syndrome, courts have recognized parental alienation and found ways to address it. When alienation lawsuits are filed, it is vital that the court determine why the child is being alienated and how the broken relationship can be restored and restored to establish the role of both parents in raising the child.

Some experts state that there are three levels of parental alienation: mild, moderate, and severe. In mild and moderate cases, parental alienation can be managed through therapy and by allowing the child more time to spend with the alienated parent. Typically, a professional will conduct a custody assessment to determine the severity of the issue. From this, recommendations for therapy and a specific timeshare to improve the relationship between parents and child are derived.

In the most severe cases of alienation, the only real solution is to remove the child from the alienated parent’s home and place the child with the alienated parent. In such severe cases, the alienating parent usually lacks empathy and remorse and will continue to harm the child and sabotage the chances of a good relationship with the repressed parent.

Care should be taken to educate the court about the long-term effects of parental alienation by hiring experts who can give the court a better understanding of the long-term harm being done to children.

Before judges transfer custody from one parent to another, they usually want to conduct a psychological evaluation, which can take anywhere from three months to a year to complete. Some reviewers believe that anyone can be cured with therapy and are therefore very reluctant to recommend a custody transfer for the alienated parent.

Instead, psychologists usually recommend a reunion plan that includes therapy. The problem, however, is that the benefits gained from therapy are quickly lost once the child falls back under the emotional control of the alienating parent. In addition, the costs for lawyers, appraisers and therapists can be enormous. Funds for college education for many children of divorced parents have been spent in custody battles.

As soon as it is clear that the reunification will not work, the court will arrange for a new assessment to be carried out by the same or a new psychologist, which in turn will take several months. Meanwhile, the years are passing and the alienation is getting worse.

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The focus in handling this case for the alienated parent is to get the court to act more quickly. Care should be taken to educate the court about the long-term effects of parental alienation by hiring experts who can give the court a better understanding of the long-term harm being done to children.

Sometimes a mere accusation from an attorney appointed for the children, or a spouse if the other has an attorney, will leave a self-advocating parent virtually dead. Then one parent loses custody in favor of one side of the attorneys. This parent will now spend every hour and every penny fighting for their children. While the parents are involved in the divorce proceedings, a lawyer says, “This case had a long, complex history,” meaning they’re dragging it out. Next, the attorneys begin discussing a parent’s “conduct,” and the judge appoints the minor’s attorney and custody assessors to tell the court what is going on. These are the words used to describe how lawyers and guardians weaponize children in a divorce. At the extreme, we see alleged abusers gaining sole custody of their children by claiming that the other parent is brainwashing the child. Children are depressed and lose contact with a parent. Losing grades, losing friends and then they are even more isolated.

Since it became known that the New York lawyer and mother Catherine Kassenoff assisted in her suicide in Switzerland, her husband’s former employer – the law firm Greenberg Traurig – has been under scrutiny. In her most recent letter and social media posts, Catherine publicly blamed New York’s family court system and her husband Allan Kassenoff for losing her home, money, job and custody of their daughters. The couple were in the middle of a four-year custody battle and Catherine, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, said she didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.

Robbie Harvey has had over 30 million views on his TikTok videos of attorney Allan Kasenoff, taken by his ex-wife Catherine. In the two weeks that the video went viral, Alan Kassenoff’s abuse of his wife and children was exposed by global public opinion. In the two weeks that the videos went viral, Allan resigned from his job, Samsung announced it would no longer be hiring Allan of the Greenberg Traurig law firm for his legal work, and the curtain went down on what is happening in family court, was withdrawn with follow-up coverage in the Frank Report, Ms. Magazine and the Daily Mail.

Amy Ghosh is a practicing attorney in Los Angeles. She emigrated to the US in 1987 and has been married to a (retired) rocket scientist for 35 years. She has two adult children. Before becoming a lawyer, she was a biochemist and worked for several well-known hospitals and laboratories. Ghosh remains very attached to her motherland, India, and her favorite city, Kolkata. She recently produced a Bengali film Urojahaj-The Flight by acclaimed filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta. Ghosh is constantly looking for meaningful ways to contribute to society through her legal and social work.