Mental Health Professionals’ Practice of Reintegration Therapy for Parent–Child Contact Problems Post-separation: A Phenomenological Study

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Reintegration therapy (RT) is an evolving therapy that aims to ameliorate parent–child contact problems and alienation post-separation/divorce. This study explored how RT is defined and practiced among experienced mental health professionals and the underlying theory informing practitioners’ understanding of contact problems. Findings were used to generate practice recommendations.

Method: A hermeneutic phenomenological design was used based on a purposive sample of 14 clinically experienced mental health professionals from Canada and the United States.

Results: Analysis revealed substantial variance among practitioners’ underlying theoretical frameworks which inform clinical practice and service delivery models. Two distinct themes related to the definition of RT and treatment goals emerged signifying some consensus.

Implications: Given the variation in models and practice, findings illustrate the need for professionals and researchers to collaborate toward the development of a unified theoretical model and the creation of practice guidelines. This, in turn, will allow for objective assessment and evaluation of its effectiveness.

KEYWORDS:

• Parent-child contact refusal
• child rejection of a parent
• reintegration therapy
• court-ordered therapy
• phenomenology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.