http://www.raven1.net/parentalienation.htm
Some of this stuff is just sick...
"Parental Alienation Syndrome". The theory - one of the most insidious
pieces of junk science to be given credence by US courts in recent years"
Dr Richard A. Gardner - Child psychiatrist who developed the theory of
Parental Alienation Syndrome 5/31/03 (deceased 5/25/03) "In a
contentious child custody dispute in the suburbs of Pittsburgh a few
years ago, three teenage boys begged a family court judge not to force
them to continue visits to their father because, they said, he was
physically abusive towards them. Rather than believe the boys, the
judge relied on the testimony of an expert witness retained by the
father, a Columbia University professor of clinical psychiatry,
Richard A. Gardner.
Gardner insisted the boys were lying as a result of brainwashing
by their mother and recommended something he called "threat therapy".
Essentially, the Grieco boys were told they should be respectful and
obedient on visits to their father and, if they were not, their mother
would go to jail. Shortly afterwards, 16-year-old Nathan Grieco, the
eldest of the brothers, hanged himself in his bedroom, leaving behind
a diary in which he wrote that life had become an "endless torment".
Both Gardner and the court were unrepentant even after the suicide, and
it was only after an expose in the local newspaper that custody
arrangements for the two surviving boys were changed.
This "threat therapy" was part of a much broader theory of Gardner's
known in family courts across the United States as "Parental Alienation
Syndrome". The theory - one of the most insidious pieces of junk science
to be given credence by US courts in recent years - holds that any
mother who accuses her spouse of abusing the children is lying more or
less by definition. She tells these lies to "alienate" the children
from their father, a shocking abrogation of parental responsibility
for which she deserves to lose all custody rights in favour of the
alleged abuser. This is not only tawdry logic, guaranteed from the
outset to protect the interests of divorcing fathers, by far Gardner's
most enthusiastic constituency, but it has also destroyed the lives of
hundreds, maybe thousands, of American families over the past 15 years.
In state after state, courts deferred to Gardner's academic credentials
and put children in the custody of their alleged abuser, even in cases
where police records, medical records and testimony by teachers and
social workers supported the mother's accusations. By now, the concept
of "parental alienation" has entered case law and swayed thousands of
disputes in which Gardner himself played no part. Yet it has no
scientific basis whatsoever. It is not recognised by the American
Psychiatric Association or any other professional body."
An obituary for Richard A. Gardner, MD:
Richard Gardner, 72, Dies; Cast Doubt on Abuse Claims By Stuart
Lavietes "His theory has provoked vehement opposition from some mental
health professionals, child abuse experts and lawyers. Critics argue
that it lacks a scientific basis, noting that the American Psychiatric
Association and the American Medical Association have not recognized
it as a syndrome. They also say that the theory is biased against
women, as allegations of abuse are usually directed at fathers, and
that it is used as a weapon by lawyers seeking to undermine a mother's
credibility in court."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/09/obituaries/09GARD.html
Selected Quotes from Richard A. Gardner, M.D.
"At the present time, the sexually abused child is generally
considered to be the victim," though the child may initiate sexual
encounters by 'seducing' the adult."
Gardner, Richard A., _Child Custody Litigation_ (1986), p.93
Sexualizing children can have procreative purposes, because a
sexualizedchild is more likely to reproduce at an earlier age. "The
younger the survival machine at the time sexual urges appear, the
longer will be the span of procreative capacity, and the greater the
likelihood the individual will create more survival machines in the
next generation."
Gardner, Richard A., _True and False Accusations of Child Sex
Abuse_ (1992), pp.24-25
"It is of interest that of all the ancient peoples it may very well be
that the Jews were the only ones who were punitive toward pedophiles."
Ibid. pp.46-47
Many child advocates are "charlatans, and/or psychopaths, and/or
incompetents."
Ibid. p.526
"It is _extremely_ important for therapists to appreciate that the
child who has been genuinely abused may _not_ need psychotherapeutic
intervention."
Ibid. p.535
"There is a whole continuum that must be considered here, from those
children who were coerced and who gained no pleasure (and might even
be considered to have been raped) to those who enjoyed immensely (with
orgastic responses) the sexual activities."
Ibid. p.548
"Older children may be helped to appreciate that sexual encounters
between an adult and a child are not universally considered to be
reprehensible act. The child might be told about other societies in
which such behavior was and is considered normal. The child might be
helped to appreciate the wisdom of Shakespeare's Hamlet, who said,
'Nothing's either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.' In such
discussions the child has to be helped to appreciate that we have in
our society an exaggeratedly punitive and moralistic attitude about
adult-child sexual encounters."
Ibid. p.549
"If the mother has reacted to the abuse in a hysterical fashion, or
usedit as an excuse for a campaign of denigration of the father, then
the therapist does well to try and 'sober her up'... Her hysterics...
will contribute to the child's feeling that a heinous crime has been
committed and will thereby lessen the likelihood of any kind of
rapproachment with the father. One has to do everything possible to
help her put the 'crime' in proper perspective. She has to be helped
to appreciate that in most societies in the history of the world, such
behavior was ubiquitous, and this is still the case."
Ibid. p.584-585
"Mothers who have been sexually abused as children may have residual
anger toward her molesting father or other sexual molester, and this
may be interfering with her relationship with her husband. This should
be explored in depth, and she should be helped to reduce such residual
anger... Perhaps she can be helped to appreciate that in the history
of the world his behavior has probably been more common than the
restrained behavior of those who do not sexually abuse their
children."
Ibid. p.585
"It is likely that the mother has sexual problems... In many cases she
herself was sexually molested as a child... She may never have
achieved an org@sm -- in spite of the fact that she was sexually
molested, in spite of the fact that she had many lovers, and in spite
of the fact that she is now married. The therapist, then, does well to
try to help her achieve such gratification. Verbal statements about
the pleasures of orgastic response are not likely to prove very
useful. One has to encourage experiences, under proper situations of
relaxation, which will enable her to achieve the goal of orgastic
response... Vibrators can be extremely useful in this regard, and one
must try to overcome any inhibition she may have with regard to their
use... her own diminished guilt over masturbation will make it easier
for her to encourage the practice in her daughter, if this is
warranted. And her increased sexuality may lessen the need for her
husband to return to their daughter for sexual gratification."
Ibid. pp.584-585
"If he [the molesting father] doesn't know this already, he has to be
helped to appreciate that pedophilia has been considered the norm by
the vast majority of individuals in the history of the world. He has
to be helped to appreciate that, even today, it is a widespread and
acceptedpractice among literally billions of people. He has to
appreciate that in our Western society especially, we take a very
punitive and moralistic attitude toward such inclinations... He has
had a certain amount of back [sic] luck with regard to the place and
time he was born with regard to social attitudes toward pedophilia.
However, these are not reasons to condemn himself."
Ibid. pp.593
"Of relevance here is the belief by many of these therapists that a
sexual encounter between an adult and a child -- no matter how short,
no matter how tender, loving, and non-painful -- automatically and
predictably _must_ be psychologically traumatic to the child... The
determinant as to whether the experience will be traumatic is the
social attitude toward these encounters."
Ibid. pp.670-71
"I believe it is reasonable to say that at this time there are
millions of people in the United States who are either directly
accusing or supporting false sex-abuse accusations and/or are reacting
in an extremely exaggerated fashion to situations in which _bona fide_
sex abuse has occurred."
Ibid. p.688
Mandated reporting of child abuse has resulted in the "reporting of
the most frivolous and absurd accusations by two- and three-year-olds,
vengeful former wives, hysterical mothers of nursery school children,
and severely disturbed women against their elderly fathers."
Gardner, Richard A., _Issues in Child Abuse Accusations_, 5(1),
p.26
"We need well-publicized civil lawsuits against incompetent and/or
overzealous psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, child
protection workers, 'child advocates,' police, and detectives whose
ineptitude has promulgated a false accusation."
Ibid. p.26
