1st Edition

Someone Said Parental Alienation About Divorcing Families Whose Children Avoided One Parent

By Jean Mercer Copyright 2025
236 Pages
by Routledge

236 Pages
by Routledge

236 Pages
by Routledge

This book introduces readers to the concept of parental alienation (PA), a belief system that is used with increasing frequency in judicial child custody and parenting plan decisions. PA is essentially a legal concept without validated psychological definition, assuming that children who resist contact with one divorced parent have in many cases been “brainwashed” or persuaded to do so by the... Read more

1.An Introduction to Parental Alienation Concepts.  2.When Parental Alienation Is Alleged: How Help or Harm Can Result.  3.Reunification Therapies.  4.Three Young Men Talk About Parental Alienation Allegations.  5.Young Women Talk About Allegations of Parental Alienation.  6.The Parental Alienation Stories of Four Mothers in North America.  7.A Global Problem: Parental Alienation Allegations Against Mothers Around the World.  8.Three Fathers Who Were Alleged to Have Alienated Their Children.  9.Two Fathers Who Reported Positive Results From Reunification Programs.  10.Nature, Nurture, and Avoidance of a Parent: How Child Characteristics May Affect Parental Alienation Allegations.  11.Conclusions and Directions: Dealing With Parental Alienation Allegations.

Biography

Jean Mercer has a doctorate in psychology from Brandeis University and is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Stockton University. Her work for decades has focused on potentially harmful psychological treatments for children and adolescents.