‘Parental alienation’ is a term familiar to all professionals involved in child contact cases―but is it being too quickly applied or used as a default position? Could it mask possible welfare issues?
In this week’s NLJ, Jane Chanot, director, The Family Law Company, addresses these important questions.
The term is generally used for what was previously referred to as ‘implacable hostility’ and describes a situation where one parent turns their child against the other parent.
Chanot highlights the need for appropriate psychological assessment to avoid unfair labelling, warning potential child safety or child abuse risks could otherwise remain undiscovered. She provides a case study illustrating the harm that can result, and notes the increasing number of children cases coming before the courts where one or both parties are litigants in person.
Chanot writes: ‘A parent with primary care can find themselves labelled early on in a case, which in turn leads to other labels, with these labels requiring clinical interventions before they can be reversed… What starts as an accusation, without the right exploration, can become the basis of a decision and basis for contact.’
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