hope this helps;
"Not all therapists, even family therapists, are familiar with PA. Unknowledgeable therapists are at a terrible disadvantage when trying to navigate the vicissitudes of PA situations. Getting supervision on PA from an experienced therapist is critical. In some instances, referring the case to a PA specialist makes the most sense. Unfortunately, an inexperienced family therapist can do more harm than good by trying to treat an unfamiliar condition."
( Blotcky and Bernet, 2024 online)
"In severe cases, the notion that an alienated child should not be removed from their favored parent is false and harmful.PA does not spontaneously disappear without clear, focused interventions."
( Blotcky and Bernet, 2024 online)
“In severe PA cases—where the alienated child is completely cut off from the rejected parent—a different treatment protocol is indicated. In these cases, the alienated child must be removed from the care of the alienating parent, placed with the rejected parent, and have no contact with the alienating parent for an extended period of time, perhaps 90 days or more. Simultaneously, the alienating parent must have individual therapy or coaching and the alienated child and rejected parent must have reunification therapy. Once significant improvement is seen, the alienating parent can begin to have supervised visits with the child. A standard visitation schedule may be a reasonable goal if progress is maintained and PA behaviors have remitted. “
( Blotcky and Bernet, 2024 online)
"Key Clinical Points;
PA is a complex and toxic family dynamic that is present in some families during separation, divorce, and post divorce. PA is a diagnosable condition based on specific criteria that are rooted in both scientific research and accumulated clinical experience.
PA in a child can be mild, moderate, or severe. PA-specific treatment can be successful. Different severities of PA require different treatment protocols. Traditional family therapy is contraindicated in most cases. Reunification therapy alone often does not work.
Mental health and legal practitioners can make sure the correct treatment approach is taken in a PA case. Attorneys, judges, and mental health practitioners hold the key to remedying PA in families."
( Blotcky and Bernet, 2024 online) https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/treatment-of-parental-alienation-guidelines-for-mental-health-and-legal-practitioners
Dr Blotcky, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Alabama and Dr Bernet, Professor Emeritus, Vanderbilt University
Therapy / Family therapy for families that have PA occurring in the family system is a complex area of helping and to provide effective help and 'do no harm' I refer to (Sillars & Matthewson 2026);
Recommended assessment knowledge-
Minimum knowledge base for complex parenting matters; Evidence that the assessor understood the relevant domains raised by the case, including family violence, coercive control, child maltreatment, sexual abuse, attachment theory, personality functioning, anxiety, fears and phobias, family systems, complex trauma, alienating behaviours, child development, trauma-informed practice, child interviewing, risk assessment, and child safety.
Memory, suggestibility, and belief formation; Evidence that the assessor understood cognitive distortions, false confessions, false memories, claimed repressed or recovered memory, suggestibility, source misattribution, learning and conditioning processes, compliance, dependency, information control, adult influence, and belief formation under relational pressure. The report should explain how those issues were considered when interpreting allegations, fear, avoidance, memory, child alignment, attachment deactivation, and relationship rupture.
(Sillars & Matthewson 2026)
For complex parenting matters the recommended knowledge base for the assessor includes family violence, coercive control, child maltreatment, sexual abuse, attachment theory, personality functioning, anxiety, fears and phobias, family systems, complex trauma, alienating behaviours, child development, trauma-informed practice, child interviewing, risk assessment, and child safety. And knowledge of cognitive distortions, false confessions, false memories, claimed repressed or recovered memory, suggestibility, source misattribution, learning and conditioning processes, compliance, dependency, information control, adult influence, and belief formation under relational pressure. (Sillars & Matthewson 2026)
The report should explain how those issues were considered when interpreting allegations, fear, avoidance, memory, child alignment, attachment deactivation, and relationship rupture."
(Sillars & Matthewson 2026)
Parental alienation is similar to cult / Stockholm syndrome which are psychologically unsafe environments for adults and children.
PA is Attachment Survival, within an psychologically unsafe environment
Survival-Based Rejection of one Parent [Alienated parent]
Parent-Child Trauma–Coerced Attachment with other parent [Alienating parent]
Survival-Based Rejection within Parent-Child Trauma–Coerced Attachment and Alienation framework
(Sillars 2025)
https://emmm.org.au/levels-and-interventions
https://emmm.org.au/survival-based-rejection
https://online.fliphtml5.com/utsul/uhgy/#p=1
'Coercive Control of Children in Post Separation Family Violence' [EMMM 2026]
"Children may be exposed to adultification, parentification, infantilisation, loyalty pressure, gatekeeping, denigration, repeated negative messaging, interference with contact or communication, emotional manipulation and other forms of relational control. "
https://emmm.org.au/survival-based-rejection
"In order to protect children from the harm of PA,
researchers have determined that the intervention
must include: (1) education about PA and its con
sequences; (2) challenges to the child’s distorted
thinking; (3) instruction in critical thinking skills;
(4) a focus on improving the relationship between
the child and the target parent; (5) preparation of
the alienating parent for the improved relationship
between the child and the target parent; (6) conflict
resolution strategies for all; and (7) the establish
ment of “healthy boundaries and communication
within the family.” (Templer, Matthewson, Haines,
& Cox, 2017, p. 118–19)."
[Lorandos2020]
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341913490_Parental_Alienation_Traditional_Therapy_and_Family_Bridges_What_Works_What_Doesn't_and_Why_Part_I_of_II
References
Parental rejection by a child without just cause or reason is parental alienation and family violence. (Sillars & Matthewson 2026, Haines, J, Matthewson, M & Turnbull, M 2019; Harman, JJ, Kruk, E & Hines, DA 2018)
Withholding children without just cause or reason is family violence. (Carter & Wilson [2023] FedCFamC1A 9 (10 February 2023))
Dr Stan Korosi PhD ‘Parental alienation is a form of child psychological abuse and coercive family violence (Haines, J, Matthewson, M & Turnbull, M 2019; Harman, JJ, Kruk, E & Hines, DA 2018).
‘Recognising the signs of parental alienation early is crucial for parents to take action and prevent further harm;
A child may believe they must reject the targeted parent to keep the alienating parent happy.
A child may refuse to see the targeted parent, avoid calls or messages, or suddenly stop communicating as they previously did. This limited contact often reflects pressure or influence from the alienating parent rather than the child’s genuine feelings.
A child may be hesitant to show any warmth, affection or care to the targeted parent, or the targeted parent’s relatives, either when they are together, or when they are in the presence of the alienating parent. This may be because they have been told they are not loved, or because they fear the alienating parent’s reaction or rejection.
Communication with the targeted parent may be blocked or discouraged. Calls, messages, or mail might be delayed, cut short, or ignored. The child may seem vague, disinterested, or hurry conversations, reflecting interference from the alienating parent rather than their true feelings. Children may also be guilted, pressured or monitored when they are with the targeted parent, damaging parent-child bonds. A child may withdraw to avoid emotional pain.
A child may feel unsafe or anxious around the targeted parent despite a previously healthy relationship. This often results from repeated manipulation, false narratives, fear or negative messages from the alienating parent.
Alienated children may express that they don’t love the targeted parent, or don’t feel loved by them, often due to anxiety or messages from the alienating parent. This occurs without any history of abuse, reflecting the negative views the child has been taught to adopt.
A child may feel they can only “choose” one parent, even if they internally feel differently. This usually occurs after a previously healthy relationship has been undermined by the alienating parent. Repeated messages and psychological pressure can make the child truly believe they must side with the favoured parent.
A child being alienated may speak negatively, unkindly or badly to or about the targeted parent and their family, often using language or ideas they would not normally know. These views are typically adopted from the alienating parent, and may ‘please’ or win the ‘approval’ of the alienating parent. The child may verbalise or display strong, one-sided opinions with no balance, reflecting black-and-white thinking. ‘
(Judy Stewart, 2025 online, based on 17 Signs of Parental Alienation (Darnell 2001)
(Judy Stewart, LLB, BSW, Accredited Family Law Specialist https://stewartfamilylaw.com.au/signs-of-parental-alienation/ )
Dr Stan Korosi PhD states: ‘Family violence are significant considerations in resolving disputes over children’s best interests (Jeffries, S. 2016).
Parents that are the target of alienation may face allegations of family violence. False and misleading claims against alienated parents are one of the hallmark indicators of parental alienation and child psychological maltreatment (Haines J et al, 2019; Lorandos, D et al, 2020).
Family violence claims that occur together with validated parental alienation behaviours warrant consideration as possible false allegations for the purpose of alienation (Haines et al. 2019; Lorandos, D & Bernet, W (eds) 2020; Saini, M, Laajasalo, T & Platt; S 2020).
False, malicious or deliberately misleading claims are examples of alienating narratives and behaviours designed to vilify a targeted parent and eliminate them. ‘
[Korosi 2021 online]
Parent suicide risks, see
https://dialogueingrowth.com.au/proxy-murder-how-parental-alienating-behaviours-lead-to-suicide/
Dr Stan Korosi, PhD (Soc).
From FLAST lessons website-
In Adamson v Adamson, The central FLAST lesson is:
*can the Court trust the mother when she says: she will facilitate the child’s relationship with the father; has not coached the child or planted seeds in the child’s thinking; and, that she considers the child-father relationship to be important*.
*The short answer is no*
FLAST lessons;
> In Billings & Clowes (No 2) [2026] FedCFamC2F 1367, Judge Murdoch made one of the most serious parenting orders available: an immediate change of residence for an 11-year-old child, supported by an ex parte recovery order, a three-month moratorium on time and communication with the mother, supervised maternal time after that period, and the father having sole decision-making responsibility.
> The Court accepted that moving the child from the mother, his primary attachment figure, would cause serious short-term distress. But the Court found the greater long-term risk was that, if the child remained with the mother, his relationship with the father and paternal family would probably be permanently lost, with serious developmental and relational consequences.
Take-Home Lesson
> This case is a sharp example of the Court choosing between two harmful options.
> The mother had provided X with practical care, schooling, support and attachment. But practical care was not enough where the Court found she could not support restoration of X’s relationship with the father and that the relationship was likely to be permanently lost.
> The father had real issues too: historical coke use, a long absence from daily care, and an estranged child likely to resist the transition. But those risks were found to be manageable through therapy, protective restraints, school continuity, professional support and the father’s demonstrated insight.
> The central FLAST lesson is:
> A change of residence is not ordered because one parent is perfect. It is ordered where the risks of staying are worse than the risks of moving, and the moving risks can be managed.
