Los Angeles, CA–One important point often missed in the debate over Parental Alienation is this–many if not most Parental Alienation cases do not involve claims of domestic violence or sexual molestation. Most alienation cases are more subtle, with the custodial mothers (or sometimes fathers) poisoning the children against the target parents in more mundane ways.
Los Angeles family law attorney David Pisarra recently wrote a piece for the Santa Monica Daily Press about a Parental Alienation case, and he makes this point. Pisarra writes:
It is a pattern of behavior that creates fear, anxiety and distrust of the target parent. Frequently it is the mother, but it could be either parent, who tries in subtle, and sometimes not so subtle ways, to create a wedge in the relationship between parent and child. The subject is difficult to identify because of what the alienator does, as an example, “Susie, I want you call me as soon as you get to daddy”s house. You know you can ALWAYS call me if you need me.’ On the surface this looks like mom is just being a concerned mother. But the underlying message is that “Dad”s house is not a safe environment for you and I”m concerned for your welfare.’ Many judges, lawyers, therapists, counselors and evaluators will not see this as an example of PAS, but when comments like that pile up, it begins to create a wedge between child and parent. The goal of the alienating parent is to destroy the relationship between parent and child, so that in a child custody case, full custody is given to one parent in contravention of the other”s rights. Fathers already have a hard time with this, as they are usually not the primary caregiver, so already their relationship is being minimized due to time constraints.
Pisarra’s full article, in which he details a win for a father against an alienating mother in a false accusations case, can be seen here.