“Parental alienation” cases: Experiences of Ontario legal and mental health professionals

Abstract

This paper reports on two related studies on the experiences of Ontario therapists, parenting evaluators, child protection service (CPS) staff, and lawyers for parents, children and CPS about parent–child contact problem cases involving claims of parental alienation. One qualitative study was based on interviews with 62 professionals (45 parents' lawyers and 17 therapists) involved in reported Ontario cases between 2010 and 2022 where the court made a finding of parental alienation. The second qualitative study was based on nine focus groups with 50 Ontario professionals (31 children's lawyers, four CPS lawyers, five CPS workers and 10 parenting evaluators) about their experiences with this type of high conflict separation case. The majority of professionals in both studies found that parents in these cases are often very challenging clients. The professionals shared their frustration that the family justice system is slow to respond and has few effective legal responses or clinical resources that can provide appropriate services for these cases. The studies highlight the complexity of these cases and the need for the family justice system to better provide coordinated legal and clinical responses for these families. There is a need for more evidence-based collaborative interdisciplinary practice, research and professional education.