I recently received an email request from a family law judge overseas who asked for input on resolving “parental alienation” in the family courts. I thought my email response to this question might be more broadly of interest, so I am providing it here as well.
What has traditionally been called “parental alienation” represents an attachment-related pathology. The attachment system is the brain system that governs all aspects of love and bonding throughout the lifespan, including grief and loss. A child rejecting a parent following divorce is a problem in the love-and-bonding system of the brain — the attachment system.
The key to solving this attachment-related family pathology is to return to the standard and established constructs and principles of professional psychology. The problem faced by the family courts is that professional psychology is not providing the court with the necessary level of professional expertise needed to solve the pathology. …
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Madison Elizabeth Baylis 