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The alienated child
- Author:
- O’SULLIVAN Brian
- Journal article citation:
- Irish Social Worker, Autumn 2012, pp.13-16.
- Publisher:
- Irish Association of Social Workers
Marital breakdown has becomes a serious issue in Ireland, with an increase of 150% over the last decade. One emerging phenomenon that faces families, social workers, judges and mental health professionals relates to cases where a child rejects and denigrates a previously loved parent following separation or divorce. Often, when the alienated child is refusing contact with the rejected parent, all efforts to communicate are to no avail. This article considers some of the contributions put forward by authors to explain this phenomenon, identifies clinical presentations of an alienated child, and identifies the impact of alienation on children.