Skip to main content

The Leadership Council Child Abuse Experts Applaud Legal Community for Rejecting

The Leadership Council610-664-5007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Child Abuse Experts Applaud Legal Community for Rejecting 
Parental Alienation Syndrome

July 12, 2006   Bala Cynwyd, Pa.   People who care about abused children finally have something to celebrate. Two recent high profile legal publications have rejected "Parental Alienation Syndrome" (PAS), a controversial label often used to discredit allegations of child abuse or domestic violence in family courts. According to PAS theory, children's disclosures of abuse by one parent are reinterpreted as evidence of "brainwashing" by the other parent. The solution proposed by PAS theory is to immediately award custody to the alleged child abuser. 
The newly revised, 2006 edition of "Navigating Custody and Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence: A Judge's Guide," published by The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, includes a strong statement condemning the use of PAS which it calls a "discredited" syndrome that favors child abusers in custody determinations. [see excerpt ]
At the same time the Spring 2006 issue of the American Bar Association's Children's Legal Rights Journal provides a comprehensive analysis of all legal case involving allegations of PAS. This definitive review concludes that science, law, and policy all oppose the admissibility of PAS in the courtroom. [Download PDF of article].  
"PAS is junk science at its worst," says Dr. Paul Fink, President of the Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence, and a former President of the American Psychiatric Association [see bio]. Dr. Fink explains, "Science tells us that the most likely reason that a child becomes estranged from a parent is that parent's own behavior. Labels, such as PAS, serve to deflect attention away from those behaviors." 
Judge Sol Gothard is glad to see that the legal community has joined other professionals in recognizing the harm that PAS can cause. Recently retired from Louisiana's 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, Judge Gothard has been involved in over 2000 cases of allegations of child sexual abuse. He states, "PAS has caused emotional harm, physical harm and in some cases, even death to children." [read about Nathan's death; see also Jana Bommersbach. Parental Alienation. Phoenix Magazine, May 2006]
Joyanna Silberg, PhD, a Clinical Psychologist and Executive Vice President of the Council [see bio], has also seen first hand the long-term emotional damage this so-called syndrome has caused. "How do you explain to young children forced to live with abusers why the courts have considered them liars and ignored their cries for help?" Silberg has found that it can take years for these children to get past their feelings of betrayal by the system that was supposed to protect them. [see article about Tiffany; more children's stories]
Dr. Silberg views PAS allegations as part of a larger strategy in which abusive parents try to fool the courts, attorneys, child custody evaluators, and mental health professionals into believing that their children and ex-spouses are crazy when they raise concerns about safety. She notes the recent case of Darren Mack, accused of shooting his custody judge and stabbing his wife to death.  Mack successfully convinced a custody evaluator that he was a loving parent with no violent tendencies, notes Silberg.
Stephanie Dallam, MS, a researcher with the Leadership Council, has spent the last 10 years researching PAS [see bio]. She traces the syndrome to a controversial psychiatrist, Richard Gardner, who described sex between fathers and their offspring as normal and natural. In his voluminous self-published writings, Gardner blamed abused children's suffering on our society's "overreaction" to sexual abuse, notes Dallam. [more on Gardner's views on pedophilia]
Dr. Paul Fink concludes, "Children suffer when law embraces a 'syndrome' just because a so-called 'expert' coined a snappy phrase.  Increasingly, courts are seeing through the PAS charade and refusing to allow the courtroom to be used as theater for the promotion of junk science."
The Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence is composed of national leaders in psychology, psychiatry, medicine, law, and public policy who are committed to the ethical application of psychological science and countering its misuse by special interest groups. Members of the Council are dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of children and other vulnerable populations. More information can be found at: www.leadershipcouncil.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The effects of pas theory tragic sign petition here see legal and protect children from the harm this tragic theory causes when allowed

The report that started this advocates journey to eradicate pas theory  01 Nelson 02 Michael Jan 03 Ph.D. 04 Psychologist 05 420 ... www.the lizlibrary .org/therapeutic-jurisprudence/ nelson .txt   01  Nelson  02  Michael  Jan 03 Ph.D. 04 Psychologist 05 420 1st Avenue South ...  case transmogrified with therapization into a semi- parental alienation  case, with   ... I have spent over 4 years fighting this discredited theory from Wisconsin rapids to the top of Wisconsin I wrote, emailed,filed complaints, sent the legal,  shared the legal, yet no one helped.  No one followed the legal and most lawyers told me they did not have to follow the legal told me they were all in on it and there was nothing i could do about it. And so began my very large investigation into the State i live in and then to the surrounding States and beyond. I saw hundreds of these sad cases all of parents losing custody to abusers and i...
Post a Comment
Read more

2015 the year we end the harmful effects of the discredited parental alienation theory

My goal in 2015 is to eradicate the discredited parental alienation theory placing children in abusers homes  Help us protect children and eradicate this disturbing theory In 2015 there is absolutely no excuse for the discredited parental alienation theory to be used We know the harm, we know lives were lost, and we know children were placed in the abusers homes  We can see the plethora of legal against the use, the harm, the fact that it is malpractice and the overall destruction caused to children and families  There is no excuse for individuals whether PhD. or lawyer who choose to ignore the legal and continue to use this disturbing pro-sex with children theory  Lets make 2015 the year this discredited theory being used to gate way legalize child sexual abuse is barred from the courts and the plethora of legal against it used to protect the children who suffered the most from the acceptance of this discredited theory  There is no excuse for abuse and there is...
Post a Comment
Read more

Investigate/remove Wis. PhD gateway legalizing child abuse protect children

Investigate/remove Wis. PhD gateway legalizing child abuse protect children Please help us protect children of Wisconsin with an Investigation/Removal of this Wisconsin DHS contracted PhD.  This PhD is gateway legalizing child abuse with custody evaluations based on the discredited parental alienation. No child is safe in Wisconsin with this PhD involved in Child custody studies.  Children have been placed in harms way because of the reports this expert is writing in criminal child abuse cases/custody studies and protected by the department of Health and Human services. Please see all supporting evidence below and help us protect future children from being placed in abusers homes.   We can save lives by removing this Department of Health and human services PhD  and investigating to ensure this never happens again.   please sign here and hep us protect children  https://www.change.org/p/wisconsin-department-of-safety-and-professional-services-...
Post a Comment
Read more