Families in which a child unjustifiably resists or refuses to spend time with a parent have posed significant legal and clinical challenges to clinicians and family law professionals for at least four decades. The professional literature on “alienation” gained recognition in the mid-1980s and has evolved ever since. A significant shift occurred by way of the 2001 volume of Family Court Review, which refocused the discourse onto children’s experiences as well as the diverse presentations of what we now refer to as Parent-Child Contact Problems. In that volume, Johnston, Walters and Friedlander (2001) described a multi-modal approach for therapeutic work with these families. In the 20+ years since, various intervention programs have been developed and implemented with varying degrees of success. This panel presentation discusses this evolution, what professionals have learned, the current state of clinical and legal approaches to treatment and case management, and implications for furthering our ability to assist families struggling with Parent-Child Contact Problems.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe at least three ways in which the concept of “parental alienation” has changed since the 1980s.
- Demonstrate understanding of at least three components of an intervention program for a family in which a child is resisting or refusing contact with a parent.
- Identify at least two changes in state law that have impacted what courts can do about PCCPs.