Woodland Park Parental Alienation

Being a child whose parents are going through a separation or divorce can be emotional and traumatic. However, when the child is a victim of parental alienation, the effects can be devastating. Parental alienation essentially occurs when one parent manipulates their child to believe that their other parent is “bad” to the point that the child no longer wants a relationship with the supposed “bad” parent. This is actually considered a form of emotional and psychological child abuse where the consequences not only have damaging effects on the child but also on the targeted parent. If you think that your child is the victim of parental alienation, you should seriously consider consulting with an experienced Woodland Park Parental Alienation Attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights to parenting time or custody of your child.

As mentioned in the foregoing, parental alienation occurs when one parent attempts to damage or destroy their child’s relationship with their other parent. When this happens, the child is repeatedly brainwashed and indoctrinated with harmful and negative information from the alienating parent about the other parent. Oftentimes, the alienating or interfering parent will make up lies just to limit or deny the targeted parent’s access to their child. Parental Alienation Syndrome is the name for the adverse emotional and psychological effects that a child experiences as a result of parental alienation. Some common signs and symptoms of parental alienation include:

• Your ex limits or denies access to your child, and in some cases, they do not allow you to visit your child or even speak to them;
• Your ex blames you for the separation or divorce, and your child believes the same;
• Your ex speaks negatively or makes disparaging comments about you in front of your child;
• Your ex blames you for anything that goes wrong in their lives;
• Your ex denies access to your child’s health or school records;
• Your child refuses to visit with your or speak with you;
• Your child is angry with you or lashes out at you for no apparent reason;
• Your ex asks your child to choose one parent over the other;
• Your ex schedules a number of activities for your child that interfere with your visitation;
• Your ex asks your child to spy on you;
• Your ex listens in on phone calls that you have with your child.

While any child might act emotional or upset about your separation or divorce and changing family dynamics, if one or more of the above indicators are present, your child may be a victim of parental alienation. If you suspect that your ex is manipulating your child, it is imperative that you address the situation right away. Parental alienation can be damaging to your child’s mental and physical well-being, and it can have a lasting impact on your relationship with your child. If you think you are in a situation that involves parental alienation, the experienced Woodland Park Parental Alienation Attorneys at Aretsky Law Group, P.C., can work with you to preserve and protect your relationship with your child.

Unfortunately, parental alienation is a real problem that effects many families who are going through the changes associated with separation and divorce. While not all psychologists or even judges believe that parental alienation is a legitimate syndrome, when it comes to custody decisions, judges will always try to do what is in the best interest of the children involved. What this means is that if you can establish that your ex-partner is actively interfering with your relationship with your child to the point that your child no longer wants to see you or speak to you, a judge may decide that the interfering parent’s actions are enough to warrant a custody order modification. In addition, a judge can also sanction your ex for interfering with your relationship with your child or for disobeying custody orders. Some of the penalties your interfering ex might be subject to include:

• An order requiring your ex to pay for court costs and attorney’s fees;
• An order requiring your ex to attend parenting classes or therapy sessions;
• An order requiring your ex to pay for your child’s therapy sessions.

Moreover, a judge may also order compensatory parenting time which is essentially “make up time” that you get to spend with your child because your ex was actively preventing your child from seeing you.

If you suspect that your ex is brainwashing or manipulating your child to the point that your ex’s conduct is adversely affecting your relationship with your child, be sure to contact the Aretsky Law Group, P.C., today by calling 800-537-4154 to schedule your initial consultation.