Family Reflections: A Promising Therapeutic Program Designed to Treat Severely Alienated Children and Their Family System

Abstract

Parental alienation is a form of child psychological abuse and traditional therapeutic approaches do not work with these types of cases. This article provides explanation for the gross failure of traditional therapeutic approaches. The rest of the article discusses the Family Reflections Reunification Program (FRRP), specifically designed to treat severely alienated children and their family system. This program was piloted in 2012 with 22 children in 12 families. Evaluations at the end of the retreat and at 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, and 12-month follow-ups demonstrate a 95% success rate in re-establishing and maintaining a relationship between children and once-rejected parents.

Notes

¹A lengthier discussion of these topics is available upon contact with the author.

²A lengthier discussion of sub-sections in this paper is available upon contact with the author.