You Are Not Alone

What the evidence shows

What we know — and what it means

Parental alienation is recognised as harmful

The psychological and medical communities have moved — slowly, but measurably — toward recognising parental alienation as a real phenomenon with serious effects on children. The American Psychological Association, the American Bar Association, and family court systems in multiple jurisdictions now acknowledge it, even if their responses vary widely.

Children suffer long-term harm

Research by Amy Baker and others documents the long-term effects on children who were alienated from a parent: higher rates of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, difficulty forming trusting relationships, and — in many cases — eventual regret and grief when they understand what happened. This is why fighting for your relationship with your child is not futile: it matters for their future, not only yours.

You are statistically far from alone

If parental alienation affects even 11% of high-conflict divorces — a conservative estimate — and there are hundreds of thousands of such divorces per year in English-speaking countries alone, the number of affected parents runs into the millions. The isolation you feel is a result of stigma, legal confidentiality, and the shame that is imposed on alienated parents — not of rarity.

The legal system is behind

Family courts in most jurisdictions are not well-equipped to identify or respond to parental alienation. Judges, CAFCASS officers, and court-appointed therapists vary enormously in their understanding. This is why having a clear, evidence-based account of what is happening — and why — is so important if you are engaged in legal proceedings.