Parental alienation is more common than people realize. This is partially attributable to the fact that there are many ways that parental alienation can occur. While some forms are extreme and create a rapid shift in your child’s behavior, such as when they’re told that they were previously abused or neglected by their other parent, other forms chip away at a child’s understanding of and relationship with their other parent. For example, in many instances, a manipulating parent blocks the other parent from having communication with the child and the child is told that the lack of communication is attributable to a lack of love and affection.
If you’re on the receiving end of parental alienation, you need to take action to protect your child and your relationship with them. The prospect can be scary, especially given that parental alienation can be difficult to prove. However, there are strategies that you can implement to build a compelling case to present to the court.
Strategies for proving your parental alienation case
Although it may seem impossible to show that parental alienation is occurring, there are steps that you can take to support your position. This includes using the following:
- Testimony from your child’s therapist: If your child has a therapist, they might be able to speak to any observations that they’ve made relevant to parental alienation. This might include interactions with the alienating parent and the verbiage that the child uses to disparage you. If the therapist is familiar with parental alienation, they’ll know how to approach the matter to learn more about what’s actually going on. If your child isn’t seeing a therapist and the other parent is hesitant to allow it, you might need to seek a court order.
- Testimony from those who have witnessed alienating behavior: It’s likely that your child’s other parent has been vocal in their denigration of you. As a result, there are probably a number of witnesses who can testify to the alienating behavior that’s occurred and how it’s impacted your child. Make sure you’re being diligent in identifying these individuals and carefully analyzing how they’ll couch their testimony so that you’re not taken by surprise in court.
- Social media posts: If your child’s other parent frequently uses social media, they might’ve been vocal about their feelings toward you. While there may not be anything inherently wrong with that, those posts may have been easily accessible to your child, which could’ve changed their perception of you. These posts, along with posts made by your child that show how they’ve been manipulated, can serve as powerful evidence in your case.
- Written communications: Emails and text messages can help paint a picture of how you’ve been treated and how you’ve been portrayed to your child. These written messages can also help you demonstrate the other parent’s intent, which can be persuasive in arguing parental alienation to the court.
As you build your parental alienation case, keep in mind that you might need expert testimony, too. After all, one of these individuals can help educate the court as to the intricacies of parental alienation and give an opinion that can carry a lot of weight.
Don’t leave your child’s well-being to chance
Parental alienation is a serious issue that some consider to be a form of child abuse. Therefore, if you suspect that your child is being manipulated, now is the time to take action to bring it to a stop. If you feel like you need to learn more about how to prepare your legal arguments in this regard, please continue to read up on the topic and how best to pursue the legal action necessary to protect your child.