Forensic psychiatry assessment during parental alienation claims: two cases with different outcomes

When a forensic psychiatrist is appointed to assess parental alienation in child custody cases, the implications of this duty must be recognized. Firstly, parental alienation is not a diagnosis,¹ but a legal term (described, in the Brazilian context, in Law 12,318/10).² The expert should focus on evaluating the child’s functionality within family relationships and to investigate if any mental disorder is present. This brief communication discusses the underlying forensic logic involved in two claims of parental alienation in divorce litigation.

In the first case, the child was 5 years old when her parents divorced after 8 years of marriage. The parents shared custody uneventfully for the first year, until conflicts regarding visitation arose. After an attempt by the father to regulate the situation, the mother made a series of allegations of child sexual abuse and domestic violence, backed by reports from the child’s new psychologist. Following nearly a decade of multiple forensic psychological, psychiatric, and social assessments, all evidence of abuse was found to be fabricated by the mother, who was diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder, and the child was placed in the custody of the father. Moreover, parental alienation was not verified, since the child never perpetrated the mother’s speech about the father. The mother lost custody due to psychological and physical child abuse and now maintains contact with her daughter solely through supervised visits.

The second case involved twins, who were 13 years old when their parents divorced after 16 years of marriage. The mother had an extramarital affair and moved in with her new partner, while the adolescent twins decided to live with their father. After some visits were canceled, the mother claimed that the boys were behaving distantly as a result of their father’s manipulation. After evaluations by a forensic psychiatrist and social worker (including interviews with the school staff), there was evidence of difficulties in the relationship between the boys and the mother. Furthermore, they did not perpetrate any speech against the mother as a result of the father’s influence. No psychiatric disorder was diagnosed in any family member, the twins continued to live with their father, and psychotherapy was recommended to all evaluees.

These cases demonstrate that the assessment of parental alienation demands attentive study of the legal process, multiple evaluations carried out with different family members, and collateral sources of information. In a context of conjugal disputes and possible psychiatric disorders (in parents or children), it is mandatory to characterize the child behavior as consistent in rejecting one parent due to manipulation and indoctrination performed by the other – therefore, identifying incorporation of the alienating parent’s speech. It is also important to identify in the child a phenomenon known as the “independent thinker”: the child consistently claims that his resistance to the unfavored parent is due to his own independent thought, and not the result of the other parent’s influence.³

Additional challenges are listed in Box 1. ⁴ Moreover, the distinction between parental alienation and estrangement (justified rejection of one parent following a real history of neglect, physical and sexual abuse, or domestic violence)³ must be made. Finally, the most important factor according to expert recommendations refers to a “potential harm to the child” criterion, related to developmental and psychological maladaptation.⁵

Box 1 Challenges in examining parental alienation in child custody cases

1. The child is too young

2. Much time has passed since the allegations were made

3. Presence of severe personality disorders (PD) in parents

4. Dysfunctional personality traits in parents or children/adolescents

5. Delusional disorders in parents

6. Severe PD or delusional disorders in evaluees with high intelligence

References

• ¹
  Bernet W, Baker AJ. Parental alienation, DSM-5, and ICD-11: response to critics. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2013;41:98-104.
• ²
  Brasil, Código Cívil. Lei n° 12.318, de 26 de agosto de 2010. http://www.crpsp.org.br/interjustica/pdfs/Lei-12318_10-Alienacao-Parental.pdf
  » http://www.crpsp.org.br/interjustica/pdfs/Lei-12318_10-Alienacao-Parental.pdf
• ³
  von Boch-Galhau W. Parental alienation (syndrome) - a serious form of psychological child abuse. Ment Health Fam Med. 2018;14:725-39.
• ⁴
  Dutton DG, Denny-Keys MK, Sells JR. Parental personality disorder and its effects on children: a review of current literature. J Child Custody. 2011;8:268-83.
• ⁵
  Zumbach J, Wetzels P, Koglin U. Predictors of psychological recommendations in child protection evaluation. Child Abuse Negl. 2018;84:196-204.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  03 Apr 2020
• Date of issue
  Jul-Aug 2020

History

• Received
  20 Oct 2019
• Accepted
  17 Jan 2020