The Parental Alienation Debate Belongs in the Courtroom, Not in DSM-5, JAAPL, 40, 1, 127-131, January 1, 2012
Justices strike down Contra Costa family court rules, San Francisco Business Times, August 12, 2007 (local archive for research)
Quality and Quality Improvement in Forensic Mental Health Evaluations, JAAPL, 33, 2, 158 – 175, June 1, 2005
Purpose and Utility of Child Custody Evaluations: The Attorney’s Perspective, JAAPL, 33, 2, 199-207, June 1, 2005
Pathological Lying Revisited, JAAPL, 33, 3, 342-349, September 1, 2005
Parental Alignments and Rejection: An Empirical Study of Alienation in Children of Divorce, JAAPL, 31, 2, 158 – 170, June 1, 2003
Parental Alienation Syndrome and Alienated Children – getting it wrong
in child custody cases, Child and Family Law Quarterly, Vol 14, No 4, 2002, p. 381-400 (local archive copy for research here)
THE ALIENATED CHILD–A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome, Family Court Review, Vol. 39 No. 3, July 2001, 249-266 (local archive copy for research here)
In Sept 2006 my son (then 7) confided in me that his half beothrrs dad had been hitting him because he wet the bed. My first instinct was to confront the man in question with serious violence, however I did “the right thing” and contacted social services. As a result they contacted her and closed the case. As punishment, my sons mother denied me access for over 2 months until he ran away from her house to come and see me. He was found by British Transport Police at his local train station and returned home; this happened to be the catalyst that social services needed to act. They investigated and found that his mothers partner was actually wanted by the police, however they were not allowed to enter the property to check on the children without adequate police protection, something they had trouble organising.Over the next few weeks I had limited contact with Islington SS who told me they would be seeking an Interim care order, described as a first step towards getting his mother the help she needed. I was told the day before the court case and assured that I dont need to attend.Being a suspicious person I contacted a solicitor who informed me that it was imperative that I attend and was able to meet me at court the next morning.After a full day (10.am- 6.30pm) of fighting tooth and nail I was granted temporary custody of my son while his younger half brother was placed in temporary foster care.Thus began a year long court battle. Even though I had stated from the start that if my son wanted to return home and his mother was able to provide a safe environment for him then I would be more than willing to support his decision, I was subjected to false claims and attacks by both his mother and Islington SS. During the course of the proccedings I was forced to drop out of university, give up my job and finally leave my family home as the pressure on myself and my partner was far too great. We were investigated for a number of outlandish claims; all of which fell at the first hurdle but had the effect of ruining our relationship.At the end of the procceding I was given PR and his mother was given a 1yr supervision order.Fast forward to Dec 2010.My son was due to come to me the second week in Dec but his mother spend 4hrs creating excuses and wasting time. As a result the table I had booked for dinner had to be cancelled and I was less than pleased. I sent her a message to show my displeasure (not at all abusive as I am very wary of what I say or send to her), she responded by refusing me access.So now here we are; I have not seen my son for almost 2 months, his christmas presents are STILL stood in the corner of my living room, I am not allowed to speak to him on the phone or in person, I have only managed to speak to his mother once since this began (3days ago), my daughter is in pieces because she wants to see her big brother and now knows he will not be attending her birthday party tomorrow.I dont want to return to court but what can I do? My partner is pregnant and due mid Februaury, I know I cant spend another year in court and I know it will affect my son more than anything, however I know I have no choice.When he was 7months old his mother left us for a year, one of the best periods of my life as we were allowed to bond fantastically. Since then I have him every weekend and all through the holidays, apart from the occasions where his mother has tried to flex her parental muscles. I love him so much and I just want to see him. How can one selfish b***h affect so many lives without even thinking. I want to give up as i just dont have the energy but I know i never will.When family courts and SS are held accountable we will start to see positive changes in our children, from education to crime. As it stands I believe they actively encourage and support certain mothers to disrupt the lives of their children with the result that the amount of children in care is constantly swelling- I should know, I work with young offenders and children who are failing in education. Can you guess what ties the majority of them together?