Parental Alienation

Get expert help and advice with parental alienation

Have you started to notice a change in your child’s behaviour since you and your partner separated? Have they become unjustifiably distant, fearful or even hostile?

If so, you could be the victim of “parental alienation” and Harrogate Family Law can help you resolve it.

Parental alienation is when a child’s resistance or hostility towards one parent is not justified by any current or previous factors, and is therefore the result of psychological manipulation by the other parent. This situation can occur in any family unit, but is most common when the family is separated.

Are you an estranged partner who suspects that their former partner has turned a child against them? Harrogate Family Law have specialist expertise in this difficult and traumatic area of the law, so contact us today and we can help define this problem, establish your options and address the issue.

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How do I know that Parental Alienation is happening?

Parental alienation is a very complex area. It can be very difficult to prove but we find there are usually five factors which generally help to define that parental alienation is taking place:

  • There are clear signs that the child is actively avoiding, resisting or refusing to have a relationship with the affected parent.
  • There is clear evidence that the child and the now rejected parent enjoyed a prior positive relationship.
  • There is no evidence of abuse, neglect or seriously deficient parenting on the part of the now rejected parent which could justify these new behaviours.
  • There is evidence of the use of multiple alienating behaviours by the favoured parent.
  • The child shows a change in behaviour , such as fear, disrespect or hostility.

Harrogate Family Law can help you establish that these factors are in place and that the current relationship between you and your child is disproportionate to your conduct, and therefore, the manipulation of the other parent could be the cause of these issues.

Our family law experts can help you resolve parental alienation disputes

Parental alienation syndrome is not recognised as a diagnosable mental condition, so finding clear evidence of these factors can be challenging. Harrogate Family Law have experience in the sympathetic and compassionate investigation of these situations, and can help you resolve this.

We have highly respected and recognised experts in family law. We follow the principal that shared parenting is usually the best way to avoid irreparable harm to children. Alienation can lead to children having future trust and relationship issues, and also having problems with depression and substance abuse.

Contact Harrogate Family Law as soon as you suspect that parental alienation may be happening so we can help you resolve this.

Andrew Meehan

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