The Takedown of the Alienation Movement
There is a part of me that can’t believe we are still talking about something that has been debunked over and over but the reality is, the “alienation” garbage gets repackaged faster than I can type or say the words, junk science.
Why? Because a lot of very dangerous people are making a lot of money off of this movement. Case in point, Dr. Robert A. Evans (we will get to him in a moment).
Claims of “alienation” become the abuser’s weapon and legal strategy to deflect or minimize allegations of abuse in the family court system when it is their own behavior or actions that caused the children to reject them. This can range from the fact that they never established a bond with the child to begin with and they need a victim card or an excuse for not having a bond with the child. That victim card becomes an accusation that the primary parent is at fault. Maybe the child was abused (or witnessed abuse, which is abuse) and they are fearful of the unhealthy parent. Enter claims of alienation - it’s a way to flip the tables and avoid responsibility while achieving their ultimate goal: hurting the healthy parent. It’s extreme gaslighting - they are gaslighting the court system and attempting to recreate reality.
Now let’s talk about Dr. Robert Evan’s recent testimony in Pennsylvania family court. Dr. Evan’s is a “alienation expert” despite the fact that it’s been discredited and dismissed by every credible organization under the sun. In other words, he is an expert on something that doesn’t exist.
EXCERPT
Q. (Attorney Richard Ducote) Okay. How about if you have a four-year-old, and the father forces the child to perform fellatio on him. Could that be less harmful to the child than parental alienation?
A. (Evans) Potentially, yes.
Q. How about the father actually fully penetrates his four-year-old daughter's vagina with his penis. Could that be less harmful to the child than parental alienation?
A. Potentially.
Q. Okay. What about poisoning the child. If a parent, say, gives a child poison, not a big enough dose to kill the child but just to make the child seriously ill. Could that be less harmful to the child than parental alienation?'
History of Parental Alienation: Disgraced psychologist, Richard Gardner coined, “parental alienation syndrome" (PAS) based on his own observations. Known to be "pedophile friendly" and said to be biased against women, none of his work has been peer reviewed. Gardner’s theory is junk science, concocted by a man with ties to pedophilia who took his own life in 2003.
Gardner is known for quotes such as,
"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."
Present Day: There is a large group (and growing) of individuals who have repackaged Garner's theory of PAS and re-labeled it, "parental alienation" or, "alienation." While many do not follow Gardner’s “original version” of the syndrome, the repackaged variations are still used by abusers to take custody from healthy parents. Regardless of the name, it remains the go-tool weapon for abusive, high-conflict individuals who are utilizing the court system to hurt and control their ex-spouse or ex-partner.
There is a lot of money to be made from this disturbing movement. Attorneys unethically push alienation claims forward knowing it has no scientific basis or credibility. There are reports of therapists and other family court professionals who are financially incentivized to label children as "alienated." In extreme situations, children are removed from their safe parent and sent to reunification camps. These camps continue to be exposed by news organizations and investigative reporters however, they remain operational.
As I read Dr. Evan’s testimony, I am left wondering - are they really repackaging it? It doesn’t sound too far off from Gardner’s originally theory.
Full transcripts of Richard Ducote’s cross examination of Dr. Evans can be found here.
Bravo to attorney Richard Ducote - we applaud you and your work to takedown the Dr. Evan’s of the world.
