CASE MANAGEMENT IN THE CASES OF PARENTAL ALIENATION SYNDROME

Abstract

Divorce is a rather difficult process for both children and parents. After separation or divorce, the child may reject one of the parents, s/he may typically strongly object seeing one parent or may not want to go to that parent. This rejection may be for normal or acceptable reasons, or the child’s “alienation” against the parent may be the reason. Defined as Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS), this case is actually a form of emotional abuse. This process can be carried out in a healthy manner by ensuring coordination among the court, treatment providers, children and families; that is, case management. Child abuse is related to multiple disciplines in terms of causes and consequences. Hospital-based, multidisciplinary teams meet the legal, psychosocial support, and treatment needs of the abused child in a holistic approach. There are views on PAS, stating that it is a syndrome or just alienation. The ongoing discussions about it do not change the fact that there is a clinical situation affecting the children and parents. In this study, it is aimed to create a roadmap for the evaluation of these cases, by presenting the examples where the reports, which has been prepared at the end of the process evaluated at a hospital-based Child Protection Centre and conducted with case management, have affected the Court’s decision. In PAS cases, separate works carried out with a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach by multiple professionals can be conducted at a low cost with a case management by the coordination of a social worker at the team. The reports submitted to the courts will include the evaluations of all the professionals in the team and will transparently and clearly highlight the common decision that is made in line with the child’s primary benefit. The reports prepared in this way will affect the decisions of the Court and the victimization of children and parents will be prevented.