Dr. Richard Warshak
Dr. Richard Warshak’s groundbreaking research, trenchant challenges to gender stereotypes, and passionate advocacy for children have made him one the world’s most respected authorities on divorce, child custody, and the psychology of alienated children. As a White House consultant, and through his writing, speeches, legislative and courtroom testimony, videos, and workshops, Dr. Warshak has had a profound impact on the law and well-being of families where parents live apart from each other.
Since 1977 Dr. Warshak has examined assumptions and practices in family law in the light of logic and scientific data. His studies on father and mother custody, remarriage, relocation, parenting plans for young children, the approximation rule, children’s preferences in custody disputes, and parental alienation appear in 13 books, more than 65 articles, and more than 100 presentations, and are cited often in the professional literature and in case law and legislatures throughout the world. His most recent work is a law review article analyzing judicial discretion, the best-interest standard, and alternative custody presumptions. Dr. Warshak has delivered keynote speeches throughout the U.S., in four Canadian provinces, in Germany, and in Israel.
A graduate of Cornell University, Dr. Warshak is a clinical, research, and consulting psychologist, past Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and a member of the Editorial Boards of professional journals.
Dr. Warshak was a White House consultant on child custody and one of 60 top experts invited to participate in an American Bar Association family law reform initiative. His amicus brief on relocation, endorsed by the leading authorities on divorce, was accepted by the Supreme Court of the State of California.
Dr. Warshak’s book, The Custody Revolution (Simon & Schuster, 1992), advocated mediation of custody disputes and greater father involvement, two reforms that have since become mainstream in U. S. law and practice. His second book, Divorce Poison: How To Protect Your Family From Bad-Mouthing And Brainwashing (HarperCollins, 2002/2010), now in its 25th printing, is translated in six languages and is the world’s best-selling resource on parental alienation.
Dr. Warshak appears in the PBS documentary Kids And Divorce, and is co-author of a DVD for children and parents titled, Welcome Back Pluto: Understanding, Preventing, And Overcoming Parental Alienation.
As an international media guest commentator Dr. Warshak has contributed to segments on more than 75 topics including celebrity divorces, custody disputes, parental alienation, child abuse, stepfamilies, child psychology and parenting, and helping children cope with fears and trauma. He has been interviewed by the major television networks in the U.S., and in Canada, England, and Germany, including ABC 20/20, NBC Today, NBC Dateline, CBS, CNN, BBC, CTV, Fox, Geraldo, and CourtTV. His work has been featured in international print media in the U.S., Canada, England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Columbia, and New Zealand, including the New York Times (Sunday front page story), Washington Post (cover story), USA Today (cover story), London Sunday Telegraph, Il Giornale (Italy), Toronto Star, Globe and Mail (editorial, front page, & Life section), Macleans (Canada), and Time magazine (1980, 2004, and 2011).
Dr. Warshak lives and works with his wife in Dallas, Texas. He is available for broadcast and print media interviews.
Contact Dr. Warshak at: doc@warshak.com
