The Forensic Evaluators Guide to Parental Reunification

Course overview

According to the National Center for State Courts NCSC, parental alienation is a strategy whereby one parent intentionally displays to the child unjustified negativity aimed at the other parent. The purpose of this strategy is to damage the child's relationship with the other parent and to turn the child's emotions against that other parent. Forensic mental health evaluators involved in parenting/child custody cases should have a working knowledge of parental alienation, but knowledge of the phenomenon is not sufficient by itself. Evaluators must also have a working knowledge of how parental alienation is addressed, including the phenomena of parental reunification. This 6-hour workshop aims to provide this knowledge base. Presenters will include experienced child custody evaluators, a judge, an attorney practicing family law, and a professional family coach. The purpose of this training is to aid the professional in identifying when alienation is likely to occur, which parent is responsible, and how to address these parental alienation. Additionally, participants will learn about what judges and attorneys are looking for in terms of recommendations for addressing parental alienation. Parents who are victims in coercive controlling situations often feel overwhelmed, uncertain, exhausted, and filled with significant self-doubt. They often feel as if they are working against the court system. Using the latest research and cutting-edge technology, we have developed specific and direct ways to teach these parents how to respond to the controlling parent to mitigate limit problems for the children, as opposed to being baited and adding to the maelstrom of conflict. Utilizing tools to monitor and analyze communications have been effective in helping the families break the cycle, at times by proving to the court the alienating parent must not have unfettered access to manipulate the child unless or until the behaviors change.