Parental alienation occurs when a child is disproportionally influenced by a parent’s unwarranted views of the other parent, leading to unnecessary refusal or resistance of a relationship with the targeted parent (Garber, 2011). The child will align themselves with the preferred parent without justification, with their behaviour often driven by false beliefs (Bernet & Baker, 2013). The issue is both one of concern and relevance as it generally results in a loss of a once positive relationship or attachment, usually occurring in the context of divorce or conflict (Bernet & Baker, 2013). There is a current lack of literature regarding effective practice to aid psychologists and courts in terms of supporting the alienating parent, targeted parent and the involved child. Given this gap in the literature, this study aimed to develop a set of best practice guidelines with both a psychological and a legal perspective working with families affected by parental alienation. The study examined therapeutic skills and interventions required and helpful actions the court could take in addressing parental alienation. The methodology involved a systematic literature search adopting the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method. From the systematic review of the literature practice guidelines have been proposed for psychologists, family therapists and lawyers working with families affected by parental alienation.

Item Type:	Conference Extract
Keywords:	Parental Alienation
Research Division:	Psychology
Research Group:	Applied and developmental psychology
Research Field:	Psychology of ageing
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in psychology
UTAS Author:	Templer, KM (Ms Kate Templer)
UTAS Author:	Matthewson, ML (Dr Mandy Matthewson)
ID Code:	100854
Year Published:	2015
Deposited By:	Psychology
Deposited On:	2015-06-02
Last Modified:	2016-03-21
Downloads:	18 View Download Statistics