To reject a parent – when is it reasonable and when is it not?
Arranged by the Parental Alienation Study Group, PASG, and PASG Nordic
Contact: Ph.D. Lena Hellblom Sjögren, lenahellblomsjogren@gmail.com, +46 709 88 88 68
August 24-25, 2018
Day 1: Östasiatiska Muséet, 9 AM-5 PM
Day 2: Skeppsholmens folkhögskola, 8 AM-4 PM
In recent years, there has been an increase in cases in which one parent undermines a child’s relationship with the OTHER PARENT – in which one parent indoctrinates and manipulates the child to resist contact with and/or to reject, the other parent. That can lead to a type of child alignment.
In some cases of child alignment, there is a legitimate or reasonable reason for a child to align with one parent and to resist contact with, or reject, the other parent. That is known as estrangement. In other cases, there is no legitimate or reasonable reason for a child to resist contact with, or reject, a parent. That is known as alienation.
This conference will address these important public health issues. The speakers will be 15 mental health and legal professionals from North America and Europe who specialize in strong child alignment, including alienation and estrangement, and – importantly – how to distinguish between the two.
The speakers are well-known specialists in child alignment, parental alienation, realistic estrangement, pathological enmeshment, and child maltreatment. They include mental health and legal experts from both the U.S. and Europe. They include: DAY 1 – William Bernet, M.D., Amy Baker, Ph.D., Nick Child, M.D., Steven Miller, M.D., Rohner, Ph.D., Simona Petcu, Ph.D., and Matej Zaplotnik, B.A. DAY 2 – Asuncion Tejedor Huerta, Ph.D., Ursula Kodjoe, M.A., Demosthenes Lorandos, Ph.D., J.D., Ashish Joshi, LL.M., Jennifer Harman, Ph.D., Karen and Nick Woodall, and Linda Gottlieb, LMFT, LCSW-R.
Moreover, alienation of a child by one parent toward the other is generally considered a form of psychological maltreatment.
To minimize or prevent mental and physical health problems among alienated children, mental health and legal professionals must know how to distinguish between alienation and estrangement, and how to properly address and/or manage these conditions. The goal of the conference is to increase knowledge and awareness in this regard among professionals and the general public.
The phenomenon of alienation was recently recognized in a leading reference work for health professions published by the World Health Organization (WHO), the 11th Edition of the International Classification of Diseases, or the ICD-11. This highlights the point that parental alienation is an important public health problem.
At the end of each day there will be a panel discussion. On the first day, the subject will be Nordic perspectives. On the second day, the focus will be on early identification and early intervention.
All participants will have an opportunity to interact with the speakers and panel members.