This volume describes parental alienation which 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. The author presents the how and why of unification therapy, how to prepare for reunification, how to effectively work with attorneys, mediators, parent coordinators and counselors, and even how to say "goodbye" if reunification is not possible. This book also provides many real-life examples of alienating behavior, exercises, and specific instructions for how to change your feelings and behavior.
Some parents consciously, blatantly, and even maliciously denigrate their ex-spouse through negative comments and actions. Others simply sigh or tense up at the mention of the targeted parent, causing guilt and anxiety in the children. The result is a child full of hate, fear, and rejection toward an unknowing and often undeserving parent. Exploring issues such as secrecy, spying, false accusations, threats and discipline, Divorce Casualties recognizes the often subtle causes of alienation, teaching you to prevent or minimize its damaging effects on your children. Dr. Darnall's practical techniques for understanding the effects of alienation, including characteristics of alienators, symptoms of alienators, a self-report inventory and exercises, and real-life examples, will help even the most well-intentioned of parents renew their commitment to helping their child maintain a healthy, happy relationship with both parents.
The companion to Darnall's bestselling Divorce Casualties, Beyond Divorce Casualties is a workbook for severely alienated children and their parents. The book describes the how and why of unification therapy, how to prepare for reunification, how to effectively work with attorneys, mediators, parent coordinators and counselors, and even how to say "goodbye" if reunification is not possible. This book also provides many real life examples of alienating behavior, exercises, and specific instructions for how to change your feelings and behavior. Importantly, the book's underlying assumption is that you have the power to change even if you have no power to change the other parent.
Are you an alienated parent dealing with a toxic divorce?Is your former spouse making derogatory remarks about you to your children?Have your children become really angry with you?Is your ex claiming that your children don't want to see you anymore?Do you children no longer want to have anything to do with your family, friends, or pets?Is your ex resisting or refusing to cooperate by not allowing you access to your children?If you answer yes to one or more questions, then parental alienation (PA) or parental alienation syndrome (PAS) may be occurring. This workbook will provide the knowledge, understanding, real-life examples, step-by-step directions, and powerful strategies to deal with the ramifications of PA or PAS.Alienated parents will learn effective ways to overcome negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can stand in the way of rebuilding loving relationships with their children. Mental health and legal professionals will find the information in this book extremely valuable to help their clients and work in the best interests of alienated children.
This issue provides a unique and valuable perspective on forensic matters in child and adolescent psychiatry, with an approach that adds new thinking to the discussion, rather than rehashing known facts. The issue is divided into several sections: juvenile offenders, family law/custody and visitation, child maltreatment, personal injury law suits, forensic issues in clinical child and adolescent psychiatry, and training in child and adolescent psychiatry. A wide range of topics are explored within each section. All articles are geared toward child psychiatrists in clinical practice, providing practical information in this very important area of study.
Most Nigerians, when they talk about Nigeria, will always refer to her with bubbling jingoism as 'giant of Africa' or 'our great nation, Nigeria' but fail to ask 'giant of what?' Goodness or Evil? Productivity or Consumption? Success or Failure? Meritocracy or Mediocrity? Hollowness or Substance? Capturing the "mood of the nation" this book offers diagnosis on the country which are broad-based, instructive and well presented. Part I outlines the developmental stages of Nigeria while Part II gives an in depth diagnosis of the major problems besetting Nigeria, following Part III gives examples of nations and leadership traits Nigeria could emulate.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has established itself as an evidence-based psychotherapy for the treatment of trauma and other related mental health disorders. Despite the numerous studies touting EMDR's efficacy, it is still largely regarded as too complicated to understand, a major factor in why many who have been trained in EMDR no longer use it. EMDR Made Simple: 4 Approaches to Using EMDR with Every Client offers a fresh approach to understanding, conceptualizing, and ultimately implementing EMDR into clinical settings.
In recent years there has been heightened interest in the clinical and legal management of families in which children resist contact with one parent and become aligned with the other following divorce. Families affected by these dynamics require disproportionate resources and time from mental health and legal professionals, and cases require a specialized clinical approach. Traditional models of individual and family therapy are not designed to address these issues, and strategies and resources for mental health and legal professionals have been extremely limited. Overcoming Parent-Child Contact Problems describes interventions for families experiencing a high conflict divorce impasse where a child is resisting contact with a parent. It examines in detail one such intervention, the Overcoming Barriers approach, involving the entire family and combining psycho-education and clinical intervention. The book is divided into two parts: Part I presents an overview of parental alienation, including clinical approaches and a critical analysis of the many challenges associated with traditional outpatient family-based interventions. Part II presents the Overcoming Barriers approach, describing core aspects of the intervention and ways to adapt its clinical techniques to outpatient practice. Overcoming Parent-Child Contact Problems is geared toward mental health clinicians and legal professionals who work with families in high conflict and where a child resists visitation with a parent.
Interest in the problem of children who resist contact with or become alienated from a parent after separation or divorce is growing, due in part to parents' increasing frustrations with the apparent ineffectiveness of the legal system in handling these unique cases. There is a need for legal and mental health professionals to improve their understanding of, and response to, this polarizing social dynamic. Children Who Resist Post-Separation Parental Contact is a critical, empirically based review of parental alienation that integrates the best research evidence with clinical insight from interviews with leading scholars and practitioners. The authors - Fidler, Bala, and Saini - a psychologist, a lawyer and a social worker, are an multidisciplinary team who draw upon the growing body of mental health and legal literature to summarize the historical development and controversies surrounding the concept of "alienation" and explain the causes, dynamics, and differentiation of various types of parent-child relationship issues. The authors review research on prevalence, risk factors, indicators, assessment, and measurement to form a conceptual integration of multiple factors relevant to the etiology and maintenance of the problem of strained parent-child relationships. A differential approach to assessment and intervention is provided. Children's rights, the role of their wishes and preferences in legal proceedings, and the short- and long-term impact of parental alienation are also discussed. Considering legal, clinical, prevention, and intervention strategies, and concluding with recommendations for practice, research, and policy, this book is a much-needed resource for mental health professionals, judges, family lawyers, child protection workers, mediators, and others who work with families dealing with divorce, separation, and child custody issues.
