An interesting resource that might be worth circulating to the mental health community, including those associated with court services, is the Differential Diagnosis of the Three Levels of Parental Alienation Syndrome. Although the work refers to the syndrome, and there is an occasional dispute associated with the use of the term syndrome, there is little denying the reality that high conflict divorce and custody disputes are hard on children.
Whether you agree with the term syndrome or not, it has little bearing on the reality that children are often caught in the middle of parents' problems, especially when those problems boil into the courtrooms. One of the solutions identified is to remove many of the disputes from the courtroom and raising evidentiary standards while penalizing parents that are fighting through their children. It is essential to stop parents from dragging frivolous arguments into the court about the other parent. Let's face it, children thrive when they have access to both fit, willing, and caring parents and that means raising the bar and adjusting the system to "respect and protect parental rights" at both the parental level and the governmental level. Some interesting statistics regarding access to both parents can be found at http://www.childrenneedbothparents.net.
By implementing protections between parent's that want to abuse the court system and penalizing parents for bad behaviors we could make some strides in reducing the opportunity for parents to engage in high-conflict. Another such stride is mandating equal custody and equal parenting time for all fit, willing, and caring parents while penalizing those parents that refuse to cooperate with each other post-separation. "You don't have to like your co-workers and you are still able to do your job, especially when procedures ensure that cooperation" states Lary Holland of Family Court Reports.
"Dr. Brody is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 35 years of experience in providing counseling services to individuals, couples, families, children and groups. Dr. Brody is a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. He has comprehensive training and experience in conducting child custody evaluations and has testified frequently as an expert witness in court on such issues as child custody, visitation, Parental Alienation Syndrome, domestic violence and abuse. Dr. Brody has been qualified as an expert in both state and federal court. He has also written two chapters for the recently published International Handbook of Parental Alienation Syndrome, and is recognized as an expert on Parental Alienation Syndrome."
"Dr. Brody specializes in treating marriage problems, domestic violence, relationship problems and children’s issues. He has also worked extensively with individuals in treating problems associated with relationships, parenting and life stressors. Dr. Brody’s therapeutic interests and community awareness led him to create Forensic Family Services with its mission of providing quality forensic and therapeutic services."
