Parental Alienation Syndrome, Forensic Psychologist,
Deirdre Conway Rand, PhD — A review of work done by Dr. Richard Gardner
and others: THE SPECTRUM OF PARENTAL ALIENATION SYNDROME:
This three-part article reviews the literature on the Parental Alienation
Syndrome (PAS) as formulated by Dr. Richard Gardner and seeks to integrate
his work with research on high conflict divorce and the work of other
professionals in this arena. Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a distinctive
form of high conflict divorce in which the child becomes aligned with one
parent and preoccupied with unjustified and/or exaggerated denigration of
the other, target parent. In severe cases, the child's once love-bonded
relationship with the target/rejected parent is destroyed. Part 11 begins
with sections on the child in PAS, the target/alienated par ant and the third
parties who become involved, including family, friends, lawyers, mental health
professionals, and sometimes cults. The material presented on PAS in the
legal arena is devoted to what attorneys and judges have to say about PAS,
which can be a key issue in certain depend ency and criminal proceedings,
as well as in family law court. The discussion of forensic evaluations and
PAS includes contributions by custody evaluators and others who recommend
considering PAS as a possible explanation when child sex abuse is alleged
in certain contexts. Case vignettes in Part II illustrate psychological
maltreatment of the child in severe PAS, a case in which Child Protective
Services was mobilized to bring pressure on the alienating parent to reverse
the PAS, and the use of PAS testimony in criminal proceedings against a falsely
accused parent. Part III will be devoted to interventions in PAS, including
some difficult but effective interventions implemented by the author, her
husband, Randy Rand, Ed.D., and a team of interveners, including the judge
and guardian ad litem.
Copyright 1997 American Journal of Forensic Psychology, Volume 15 Issue 4.
The Journal is a publication of the American College of Forensic Psychology,
P.O. Box 5870, Balboa Island, CA 92662.
Part
I — Description of the problem (AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY,
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3, 1997)
Part
1 - 2 http://www.robin.no/~dadwatch/pasdir/rand02.html
Part
II — Description of possible solutions required and possible, and
the roles played by the various players in the tragedy of PAS — outside
and within Family Court (AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY, VOLUME
15, NUMBER 4, 1997)
[Note: The link at the end of the first page of part 1 is not functional.
To see the next and last portion of the first part see