The Issue of Parental Alienation
There is a disorder and form of child abuse that has gone unrecognized for quite some time and honestly, I had never heard of it before reading about an upcoming conference.
The disorder is called P.A.D., otherwise known as Parental Alienation Disorder. It's now up for inclusion within the American Psychiatric Association's next edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, more often referred to as the DSM-5.
For this upcoming edition family law practitioners, family court mediators, and mental health professionals everywhere are sitting up and taking notice as the landmark decision could possibly change family court rulings along with parent/child interactions everywhere.
Parental Alienation Disorder (P.A.D.) has been defined as a mental condition in which a child, usually one whose parents are engaged in a high conflict divorce, allies himself or herself strongly with one parent (the preferred parent), and rejects a relationship with the other parent (the alienated parent), without legitimate justification. The child’s maladaptive behavior & refusal to see one of the parents is driven by the false belief that the alienated parent is a dangerous or an unworthy person.
There are many family lawyers, authors and organizations that are voicing their opinions on the matter and the dire need for the disorder's inclusion within the APA's manual.
"P.A.D. is a widespread disorder that is little understood and warrants serious study and attention by the mental health and legal community," states Dr. Amy J. Baker, a highly respected researcher in the field of parental alienation and the author of peer-reviewed articles and books on the subject.“Inclusion of P.A.D. in the A.P.A.'s diagnostic book will go a long way towards creating awareness and helping children and families affected by this disorder."
One growing organization based out of Canada called the Canadian Symposium for Parental Alienation Syndrome is a large supporter of the disorder being included within the DSM-5.
This being said, they are holding their annual C.S.P.A.S in New York City on October 2nd and 3rd 2010 at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the Stern Auditorium. This conference is specifically geared towards the interests of mental health and family law professionals, but is also open to the general public.
The organization's goal is to assist children and families in need of educational information and referrals to professionals with a specialized expertise for counseling, psychological or psycho-educational services. Parents and professionals in both the family law and mental health communities will be able to locate a number of experts in parental alienation by simply visiting their website.
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