Syndrome of parental alienation

The theory of SAP

Alienating parents

The Divorce or separation is very often painful moments. The love becomes sometimes hatred, and it happens that one of the parents seeks to be avenged for the other by collecting the child. In the same way, it happens that a relative does not want “ to lose ” the child after having lost his partner. It thus creates with this one an indissociable block, drawn up against the other relative who becomes the “malicious ”, person in charge of all their misfortunes. Some false charges of Sexual abuse can be included/understood as an attempt to be convinced that it must protect the child.

According to the description given by R. Gardner, four criteria make it possible to diagnose the action of the alienating relative:

the obstacle with the relation and the contact;
them false allegations of various abuses;
reaction of fear of the children;
the deterioration of the relation since separation.

Clinical demonstrations

Richard Gardner described eight demonstrations in the child:

Countryside of rejection and Slandering: the rejected relative is completely devalued, though the child is unable to justify this devalorization for concrete examples.
Rationalization absurd: in support of the rejection, the child calls upon ridiculous reasons or without relationship with reality.
absence of normal ambivalence: the rejected relative is described like bad exclusively, the alienating relative is described like good exclusively.
Reflex of standpoint for the alienating relative, when the two parents are present, and even before the rejected relative expressed himself.
Extension of the hostilities to all the family and the entourage of the rejected relative (grandparents, friends, close relations) which are in their turn rejected with as much force.
Assertion of a “ clean opinion ” artificial: it is acted in fact of the opinion of the alienating relative, that the child is conditioned to present like coming from him.
Absence of culpability because of supposed cruelty of the relative adversary.
Adoption of “ borrowed scenarios ”, which were manufactured by the relative manipulator: the child takes them again on his account.

In the same way, several degrees of expression and intensity of the symptoms are described:

low Intensity: all the symptoms are not manifest, their degree is less and the relation parent-child is still functional.
average Intensity: all the symptoms are present, but the child calms himself when it is in visit in the rejected relative.
severe Intensity: in 5 to 10% of the cases the relation with the rejected relative is definitively broken or in the process of be it.

SAP and divorce

Within the framework of the procedures of separation or divorce, the appropriation, even the capture of the child can become an important issue, either because it makes it possible to destroy the spouse morally, or because it makes it possible to obtain the exclusive contact with the child. With this intention, certain parents do not hesitate with instrumentaliser their children, in order to make rock the judgment in their favor. The theorists of SAP thus support the idea that the judicial bodies must be informed of its process. According to the countries, SAP does not hold the same place in the courts. Thus, in Québécois procedures , it is not rare that the Expert S diagnose it in a child, and that Juge S hold account explicitly in their decisions of it, while it is rare that it is made by it mention in France.

Validity of the " syndrome of alienation parentale" on the scientific level

This " syndrome" is presented as a scientifically proven diagnosis but it is not rien : it does not form part of international classification of the diseases (DSM IV, CIM+) and the good reasons which the children would have to reject the so-called relative " aliéné" are put aside, such as for example domestic violences. It is what for example American psychological association announces. The report/ratio of this association announces in particular in their report/ratio to this sujet :

When children reject to their abusive fathers, it is common for the batterer and others to blames the mother for alienating the children. They often C not understand the legitimate fears off the child. Although there are No dated to parental support the phenomenon called alienation syndrome, in which mothers are blamed for interfering with to their children' S attachment to their fathers, the term is still used by nap evaluators and short to discount children' S fears in hostile and psychologically abusive situations."

Once this supposedly " diagnostic" posed, all that says the child is décridibilisé, a little as innocent who would be accused wrongly and whom nobody listens to any more. The treatment suggested by Gardner consists in replacing supposedly a " washing of cerveau" (parental alienation) by another, that it calls the " déprogrammation" , without any respect of the right of the child.

In practice

July 20th, 2006, the European Cour of the human rights handed down a judgment in favor of a Czech citizen , Jiří Koudelka, which had seized it for a problem of not-representation of child, in fact his/her daughter, after divorce. This stop condemns the Czech State, highlighting its laxism and its incapacity to make respect the rights of access of the father, however establish by the various judicial bodies. Concerning the child and the pressures exerted on it by his/her mother to lead it to reject his/her father, the stop uses with five recoveries the expression “ syndrome of parental alienation ”.

Discusses

Handing-over in question of the syndrome

Several points are often reproached this theory of SAP. First of all, the term even of Syndrome in name “ syndrome of parental alienation ” is prone to polemics. Indeed, of share its definition, it induces that a child having whole or part of the described behaviors would be alienated, without leaving room to the doubt as for the possible veracity of its remarks. The theory of SAP is thus criticized like being able to be used to hide the serious behaviors of certain parents.

Other criticizes, the description of SAP does not leave any place to the nuance, caricaturing the “good” and “the bad” relative. It is thus by no means mentioned the attitudes of the relative says “alienated” which could if not to involve the distance of the child at least to feed it (for example a weak affection, a lack of empathy…).

Lastly, the person of Richard Gardner, inventor of the syndrome of parental alienation, is also at the origin of a good portion of handing-over in question. Indeed, it passed a good part of its life to minimize the pedophilia if not to make the apology for it|September 15th, 2007 with 17:12 (CEST) .

A lack of scientific bases

Initially described by Richard Gardner, the syndrome of parental alienation forever been the subject of a methodical and complete study by this last. It supported only its analysis on scattered clinical observations, thus affirming the veracity of its analysis without never making the demonstration of it.

It is probably the strong mediatization which it made, as well as the use of this definition of syndrome in several businesses of divorce which involved the surging scientific debates around this question. Thus, one finds in the literature of the publications which clearly call into question the study to make by R. Gardner, and illustrate the lack of notable base of his argumentation. It is also to note that the articles and books on SAP signed by Gardner never were subjected to any scientific reading panel: its books were published in account of author and his articles generally published in reviews of right.

Richard Gardner

In practice

It is difficult to thwart a SAP in place. From where interest to be able to diagnose it as soon as possible, and to take suitable legal measurements, going until an inversion of the main home of the child of the relative alienating towards the alienated relative. Justice starts to be informed of this syndrome, recently described in the Gazette of the Palate of November 18th, 2007. Moreover, one conference on parental alienation, mixing magistrates and psychoanalysts, takes place in Avignon on February 8th, 2008.

See too

Chronic scientist and technical of Jean-Marc DELFIEU Syndrome of Alienation Parental, Diagnosis and dealt with médico-legal (Review N°67 Expert - June 2005)

Internal bonds

External bonds

In France, there exist several associations which are dedicated to alienation parental.

ACALPA
parental Alienation

Same manner, associations are implied in the denunciation of the use of the implying syndrome of parental alienation during separation of the children.

the child initially
The Medea off the modern times
sisyphe.org article on a feminist site

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