Children Who Resist Postseparation 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 a 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. --- from the publisher Contents: Series Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
1. Introduction
2. Definitions and Debates
3. Risk Factors and Indicators Involved in Alienation
4. Assessment and Measurement Tools for Alienation
5. Prognosis and Long-Term Consequences of Untreated Alienation on Young Adults and Their Families
6. Prevention
7. Interventions, Educational and Therapeutic
8. Hearing the Voices of Children in Alienation Cases
9. Legal Responses to Alienation and Contact Problems
10. Recommendations for Practice, Policy, and Research
References About the Authors: Barbara Jo Fidler is a registered psychologist and accredited mediator in Ontario. Nicholas Bala is a Professor of Law at Queen’s University and a leading expert on issues related to children and families in the justice system. Michael A. Saini is an Assistant Professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. |
