A review of legal interventions in severe parental alienation cases

Abstract

Parental alienation is central in child custody litigation, with false allegations of abuse by the alienating parent against the target parent dominating the family court system, to ensure custody or residency court rulings in their favour. After a brief description of the symptoms of parental alienation, this study moves to a review of the various interventions employed by courts in cases of parental alienation, backed up by literature discussing case studies that review the different court responses. The review concludes that changes in custody or residency favouring the targeted parent are the most effective means of combating parental alienation, coupled with specialised family therapy that tackles the alienation.