1. Sign up securely online.
2. Read the articles via online links.
3. Submit online evaluation & post-test.
4. Print your certificate.
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GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed for professionals who wish to gain an understanding of what has been called Parental Alienation Syndrome or PAS and the controversy that surrounds this issue. This phenomenon is discussed in divorce situations, in which the child becomes aligned with one parent and obsessed with the unjustified deprecations of the other parent. The aligned parent, in these situations is seen as all good, while the alienated parent is seen as all bad.
The phenomenon that Gardner dubbed PAS has been described by different contributors over the past 30 years. PAS has been viewed by many researchers as an important social problem that puts children at risk for losing a once-loved parent unnecessarily and for psychological problems as they grow older. The material presented in this course provides practitioners in the divorce/custody arena with the information on how to help children in situations of alienation get out of the middle and maintain relationships with both parents. Resources that support PAS as well as the literature that critiques it, is provided in the Resources section.
The course is composed of five articles. The first reviews and synthesizes the work of Gardner and other contributors on PAS, with an emphasis on the social context in which the PAS phenomenon arose and on the psychological and behavioral characteristics of parents who induce alienation. The second article focuses on the child and alienated parent in PAS, as well as involvement of third parties, false allegations of abuse, research on suggestibility and PAS in the legal arena. The third article discusses The Kopetski Follow-up Study and examines the efficacy of various legal and mental health interventions for interrupting PAS towards the severe end of the spectrum. The fourth article discusses the critics of Parental Alienation Syndrome. Finally, online support and critical resources are introduced.
Educational Objectives:
This course will teach psychotherapists to
Define, in depth, Parental Alienation Syndrome as Gardner conceived it.
Review the work of other contributors on PAS.
Evaluate psychological and behavioral characteristics of the child, the alienating parent and the parent targeted for alienation.
Report on PAS, drawing from information on a variety of related topics, such as high conflict divorce, developmental issues of the child, psychological maltreatment, false allegations of sex abuse, suggestibility research and PAS in the legal arena.
Identify key factors for diagnosing and treating PAS towards the severe end of the spectrum.
Analyze the controversy over PAS from different perspectives.
Course Syllabus:
Introduction and Background to The Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS)
PAS as conceived by Dr. Richard Gardner
Work of other contributors on PAS
High conflict divorce and PAS
Clinical studies of PAS
Psychological and behavioral characteristics of parents who induce alienation
Specific strategies for achieving alienation, such as false allegations of abuse, manipulation of the child's medical care to prevent access, and parental abduction
The Child in PAS
Psychological and behavioral characteristics of target parents
Developmental issues which affect alienation and visitation refusal
The child's active contributions to the PAS
PAS as a form of psychological maltreatment
The Target/Alienated Parent in PAS
Psychological and behavioral characteristics of target parents
Contributions of the target parent to the PAS
Target parents who are falsely accused of abuse
Tribal Warfare: The Involvement of Third Parties
Contributions of family, friends and new partners to PAS
Role of mental health professionals
Repeated, leading interrogations of the child
Role of cults in helping the alienating parent
PAS in the Legal Arena
Kopetski's work on PAS
Literature review & Methodology
Interrupted Alienation Outcome Group
Mixed Outcome Group
Completed Alienation Outcome Group
Evaluator recommendations for custody, visitation and therapeutic interventions
Critics of Parental Alienation Syndrome and the Politics of Science
