WHEN CHILDREN RESIST/REFUSE CONTACT with a parent after the breakup of the family, the cause for the contact resistance can be from various sources. When children resist/refuse contact with a parent and when it is objectively determined that parental alienation is the cause for the contact refusal, the issue is quite serious. This is because the contact refusal is without a rational basis and because it is being fueled by a parent whose own needs and wishes are seen as a substantial cause of the child’s resistance. In many, if not most of these cases, the parent who energizes the contact refusal, sometimes referred to as the alienating parent, can also be thought of as perpetrating a form of psychological abuse on the child.
Finally, when selecting experts, keep in mind there are different kinds, and varying skill sets. Some experts are consulting only and not disclosed to the other side. Others are general experts who opine as to hypotheticals presented to them during testimony. And some experts examine the pleadings and read the files to be testifying experts. For this last type of expert, make sure that any testimony they offer is carefully confined to ethical parameters (for example, not offering opinions about parties in litigation that the expert has not directly assessed).
Excerpted from PASG Newsletter: Building a Strong Child-Centered Case in Parent-Child Contact Litigation: A Guide to Research, Experts, and Ethical Strategy Robert A. Simon, PhD, and Virginia E. Griffin, Esq