Innovative Programs in Israel for Prevention & Responding to Parental Alienation: Education, Early Identification and Timely, Effective Intervention

• Published date: 01 April 2020
• Date: 01 April 2020
• Author: Philip Marcus
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12486

SPECIAL ISSUE: PARENT-CHILD CONTACT PROBLEMS: CONCEPTS,

CONTROVERSIES, & CONUNDRUMS

INNOVATIVE SYSTEMIC RESPONSES

INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS IN ISRAEL FOR PREVENTION &

RESPONDING TO PARENTAL ALIENATION: EDUCATION, EARLY

IDENTIFICATION AND TIMELY, EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION

Philip Marcus

There is substantial research and documentation showing that behavior of a parent which alienates a child against the other

parent (PA) and other family members may cause serious, and sometimes permanent, damage to the child. Building on the

work that defines maladaptive parental gatekeeping (MG) and PA, and on identifying typologies of behavior, and their effects

on the alienated child, the need for prevention of children in these cases is well established. This paper describes programs

and responses in Israel, some already in place and others under development, almost all of which require multidisciplinary

collaboration between professionals. The programs include: primary prevention; early identification, so as to allow prompt

secondary intervention by advice and treatment of parents and child; and immediate tertiary intervention when alienation has

led to contact failure or is about to do so. Prevention and early intervention can reduce the need for the massive investment

of resources needed for attempts to restore contact, and also for treatment of those affected by PA.

Practitioner Key Points:

Parental alienation is highly damaging to the child, and the damage lasts into adulthood.

The general public and professionals who workwith children are largely unaware of PA, and its damaging effects.

Prevention of PA is a public health issue.

Prevention of PA is possible, but depends on public awareness and training of professionals to take preventative

steps.

Prevention requires identification of at-risk children and parents, and of situations in which PA is liable to develop.

After identification, immediate intervention –therapy for the child and parenting education –are required.

If PA has already resulted in contact failure, courts must act speedily and resolutely to make orders for reconciliation

therapy and treatment.

Identification, treatment, and judicial intervention require multidisciplinary coordination.

The court must supervise progress of reconciliation and therapy, and impose sanctions for parental disobedience.

Israel has programs which address all the above issues.

Keywords: Maladaptive Gatekeeping; Multidisciplinary; Parental Alienation; Prevention; Public Awareness.

In a previous paper, Parental Alienation, Contact Refusal and Maladaptive Gatekeeping: A Mul-

tidisciplinary Approach to Prevention of Contact Failure,

1

the author made use of a quasi-medical

analogy to describe the need for multidisciplinary collaboration in preventing parental alienation

(PA). PA is comparable to a disease or illness.

2

To the extent that disease can be prevented, every

effort must be invested; this is primary prevention. When the symptoms of sickness first manifest,

prompt diagnosis and treatment by the family physician can often provide a cure –secondary

Correspondence: philipmarcusjurist@gmail.com; www.philip-marcus.com

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 58 No. 2, April 2020 544–559

© 2020 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

intervention. When the symptoms do not disappear, and become acute, there is no alternative to

intervention by specialists, often in the emergency room –tertiary treatment; in many cases, time is

of the essence because if such treatment is not given promptly, the situation may become incurable.

3

Further developing the themes of that paper, this article discusses how many of the recommenda-

tions are being implemented in Israel and sets out plans for further multidisciplinary work.

4

I. PRIMARY PREVENTION –AWARENESS

A. THE GENERAL PUBLIC

A person who has no knowledge of their sickness will not ask for treatment. For example, high

blood pressure or bad HDL/LDL ratio in the blood are described as the silent killers, because they

can lead to disaster when the potential victim is unaware of the risk. Similarly, some types of cancer

are symptomless until they reach the stage when treatment is highly expensive and the chances of

success are relatively low. In recent years, public health authorities have realized that in many cases

the costs of awareness campaigns and screening are minimal when compared with the costs of treat-

ment, and in addition, ultimately lead to better quality of life and longer life expectancy. Attempts

to encourage the general population to change to a healthier lifestyle and undergo screening for

these diseases have been met with significant success.

5

In the same way, primary prevention of PA starts with raising public awareness of the existence of

the phenomenon, its causes, and its devastating results. Campaigns need to utilize all media of commu-

nication to ensure that to the extent possible, all sectors of the public are exposed to the message.

Thus far, we can point to the following successful outreach efforts, aimed at the general public:

A three-part documentary on television, shown at prime time, produced and narrated by

Tzofit Grant, a well-known investigative journalist, featuring alienated parents, alienated

children, alienating parents, and experts, emphasizing that much still needs to be done to

ensure that the social welfare authorities and the courts deal swiftly and effectivelywith PA.

A large demonstration in a central square in Tel Aviv, featuring large boxes on which

there were quotes from responses of alienated children to expressions of affection and

longing by parents: “I never want to see you again,”“You are not my mother/father,”“Do

not harass me by trying to make contact.”

Articles by experts and others, in print and on-line media, describing PA and its

consequences.

Legislative proposals also bring public attention to the issues being tackled. In Israel, an

ambitious Bill was presented to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, by then-member of the

Knesset, Ms. Revital Swed. The Bill proposed expanding the powers of the courts, includ-

ing accelerated procedures for cases in which PA is alleged, and for setting up a cadre of

professionals who specialize in PA to whom the courts must refer to in dealing with such

cases, etc. Another Bill proposes criminal sanctions against alienating parents, and a stan-

dard fixed fine for non-compliance with court orders regarding contact and treatment of

children affected by PA. The present writer has criticized some of the proposals as dis-

cussed below; some may be unnecessary or even counterproductive. However, the public-

ity attracted by these Bills has drawn PA to the attention of legislators and members of the

public who were not previously aware of the phenomenon and its effects.

There has been coverage, largely positive, in the press of judicial decisions relating to PA,espe-

cially those under the new schemes, described later in Part Three, for tertiary court interventions.

However, with regard to publicity relating to individual cases, a word of caution is in order. In

some cases, an alienated parent may use the press and social media to lash out at everyone who was

involved in therapeutic or judicial activities in the case. Admittedly, it may be true that in many

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