The Parental Alienation Syndrome and the DSM-5 (2 of 2)

The DSM is an exhaustive bible used by psychiatrists, psychologists, family practitioners and other health professionals, to classify mental disorders. Now that its publishers are working on its fifth edition, or DSM-V, there is a movement to include Parental Alienation in it, a movement that includes among its members hundreds of mental health professionals, doctors, educators, family law professionals, and prominent citizens from 10 different countries. A team integrated by psychiatrist William Bernet, M.D., Wilfrid v. Boch-Galhau, M.D., Joseph Kenan, M.D., Joan Kinlan, M.D., Demosthenes Lorandos, Ph.D., J.D., Richard Sauber, Ph.D., Bela Sood, M.D., and James S. Walker, PhD, wrote a text titled “Parental Alienation Disorder and DSM-V”, in which they make the case for including Parental Alienation Disorder in DSM-V. Their proposal was submitted to the Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence Work Group in August of 2008.

If Parental Alienation is included in the DSM-V, it will have radical effects in the way this disorder is treated by insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, government, and academia. It will increase Parental Alienation’s recognition and legitimacy in the eyes of family court judges, mediators, custody evaluators, family law attorneys, and the legal and mental health community in general. According to the above mentioned William Bernet, adding Parental Alienation “would (…) lend credence to a charge of parental alienation in court, and raise the odds that children would get timely treatment.”

Fathers & Families is asking everyone to write the DSM-V Task Force to urge them to consider including Parental Alienation Disorder. Thanks to this effort, the Task Force has now listed Parental Alienation Disorder among the “Conditions Proposed by Outside Sources” that are under consideration to be included.

The Task Force welcomes comments that could provide evidence indicating that Parental Alienation should be included in DSM-V. People can send letters to the DSM-5 Task Force until the middle of 2010. In 2011 the issue will be considered; the DSM-5 will be written in 2012 and published in 2013. Fathers & Families advises that when you write your letters you should:

1)Keep the focus on your children and how the Parental Alienation has harmed them.

2)Stick to the facts related to the Parental Alienation.

3)Be succinct.

4)Fill in all fields on our form.

5)Be civil and credible, and avoid any profanity or use of insulting language.

6)Emphasize that Parental Alienation Disorder is a large-scale problem.

To send your letters through the Fathers & Families initiative, please click here.

The Parental Alienation Syndrome and the DSM-5 (1 of 2)

Fathers & Families, the pro-shared parenting organization, is leading a campaign to include Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) in the fifth edition of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” or DSM-5 (Campaign: Ask DSM to Include Parental Alienation in Upcoming Edition). Before inviting my readers to join the campaign, I would like stop and give a brief explanation of what the Parental Alienation Syndrome is.

The Parental Alienation Syndrome or PAS is a mental disorder that appears during divorce/separation and/or child-custody disputes, and its primary symptom is the child’s unjustified rejection against the non-custodial parent. It grows out of the brainwashing performed by the custodial parent, who turns his or her children against the other parent, destroying this way the attachment between the children and the target parent. PAS is a very common and well-documented phenomenon. Estimates of children with PAS are close to 200,000 children in the U.S., the same amount as children with autism.

The child also contributes to the disorder, denigrating the alienated parent, while giving frivolous reasons for his or her behavior, insisting that he or she alone came up with the ideas towards the alienated parent, and feeling obligated to protect the alienating parent.

Dr. Douglas Darnall describes three categories of alienating parents:

-The naïve alienators (mild): They are ignorant of what they are doing and are willing to be educated and change.

-The active alienators (moderate): When they are triggered, they lose control of appropriate boundaries.

-The obsessed alienators (severe): They are committed to destroying the other parent’s relationship with the child.

For more information on PAS, please refer to the following books:

Douglas Darnall. Divorce Casualties: Protecting Your Children from Parental Alienation

Jayne A. Major. Parents Who Have Successfully Fought Parental Alienation Syndrome

The Fresh Air Fund

Last week, I received an e-mail from Sara Wilson of The Fresh Air Fund, regarding their Host Family Program for 2010. Since the main goal of this blog is precisely the welfare of our children, and The Fresh Air Fund is an organization that actively looks for the same goal, this week I am reproducing most of the message sent by Sara:

"In 2009, The Fresh Air Fund's Volunteer Host Family program, called Friendly Town, gave close to 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences in the country and the suburbs. Volunteer host families shared their friendship and homes up to two weeks or more in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. (…)

The Fresh Air Fund needs hosts for the summer of 2010. More than 65% of all Fresh Air children are reinvited to stay with their host family, year after year. Thanks to host families who open up their homes for a few weeks each summer, children growing up in New York City’s toughest neighborhoods have experienced the joys of Fresh Air experiences.

Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town communities. Host families range in size, ethnicity, and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial requirements for hosting a child. Volunteers may request the age group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host. Click here to learn more about becoming a host or call (800) 367-0003!

Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.

The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.

Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social service and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City. These community-based agencies are in close contact with children in need of summer experiences in rural and suburban areas. Each agency is responsible for registering children for the program.
(…)
You can give a child the experience of a lifetime with your gift to The Fresh Air Fund! Every year, The Fresh Air Fund gives thousands of inner-city children the priceless gift of fun – and opens the door to a lifetime of opportunities. Whether it's a two-week trip to visit a volunteer host family, or a fun-filled and educational stay at one of our camps, our programs make for unforgettable memories – and open a world of new friendships and fresh possibilities. We are a not-for-profit agency and depend on tax-deductible donations from people like you to keep our vital programs flourishing. Donate online now."

To read the full text, please click here.