Parental Alienation

Excerpt from a trial court’s decision in a child custody case: To alleviate their stress, the children chose to align themselves with the plaintiff and see as little as possible…

From a trial court’s custody decision, quoted in a 2025 Connecticut Appellate decision: To alleviate their stress, the children chose to align themselves with the plaintiff and see as little…

Words have the power to shape our thoughts. When severely alienated children refuse to be with a parent, despite the court-ordered parenting time schedule, some people who see themselves as…

In The Psychology of Alienated Children (Chapter 10), I describe the similarity between teaching children to hate people of another race and teaching children to hate a parent. One way…

When training judges about parental alienation cases I emphasize that a child’s stated wishes may be a poor index of the child’s best interests. Children do not always want what…

The American Film Institute ranks it the greatest comedy film quote of all time. In the 1959 classic, Some Like It Hot, Jerry—played by Jack Lemmon—finds himself, after a wild…

Children who feel pressured by a parent to disrespect and reject their other parent risk losing a healthy connection to both their parents. This is true whether the pressure is…

Resources for parents whose children are Star Trek fans and are alienated or at risk for becoming alienated from a parent. Stories, fairy tales, and fables are the age-old ways…

At times parents find it difficult to show patience with alienated children who act disrespectfully. To respond sensitively, parents and professionals need to understand why alienated children act as they…

Psychologists have known for decades that children’s thoughts and feelings can be manipulated by adults, including their parents. See Divorce Poison for two classic studies.  But those who oppose the…