When one parent tries to destroy his or her children´s relationship with the other parent, it is known as parental alienation. Alienation can take many forms. One parent may use grandparents and other relatives to assail the other parent in the children´s eyes. Alienation may also include allegations of neglect, abuse, or mental disorders.
Parental alienation is a social dynamic, generally occurring due to divorce or separation, when a child expresses unjustified hatred or unreasonably strong dislike of one parent, making access by the rejected parent difficult or impossible. These feelings may be influenced by negative comments by the other parent and by the characteristics, such as lack of empathy and warmth, of the rejected parent. The term does not apply in cases of actual child abuse, when the child rejects the abusing parent to protect themselves. Parental alienation is controversial in legal and mental health professions, both generally and in specific situations.
Terms related to parental alienation include child alienation, pathological alignments, visitation refusal, pathological alienation, the toxic parent and parental alienation syndrome though the last term is a specific formulation of a medical syndrome proposed by psychiatrist Richard Gardner that is not well accepted. We have seen parents inflict harm on their children by physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and dangerous activities/environments. We can help you get your child(ren) away from anything or anyone putting them in danger – even if that is their other parent.
We are well-known for aggressive representation of clients in the toughest divorce and family law cases. Contact Figeroux & Associates for a free initial consultation with our skilled attorneys for your parental alienation case. If your case is urgent, do not e-mail. Call us immediately.