Beyond Divorce Casualties: Reunifying the Alienated Family
Ten years after writing Divorce Casualties, psychologist Darnall follows up with an update on new research on how families can successfully reconstitute themselves after divorce. Darnall explores the severe alienation that some parents and children feel, unable to connect or maintain a sense of belonging. Darnall draws on research and his practice to offer real-life examples of behavior that has garnered a diagnosis worthy of a listing in the diagnostic manual. Alienating parents typically are angry and litigious; they resist court orders, criticize and denigrate the other parent, and believe that everything would be better if the other parent would disappear. They often have secrets with the child, which they keep from the other parent; refuse access to the child’s medical and school records; and try to block or interfere with visits. Darnall offers chilling examples of nasty behavior by divorced parents, from name-calling to false accusations of sexual abuse. He describes the cycle of alienation that some divorced families fall into, with children pushed and pulled emotionally, and how they can break the cycle. --Vanessa Bush