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A Psychologist's Thoughts on Clinical Practice, Behavior, and Life

Thoughts Aroused By A Wall Street Journal Article On Family Court Decisions

"Court-Ordered Therapy That Separates Kids from a Parent They Love Stirs a Backlash/A controversial treatment used in custody fights can keep family members apart for years against children's wishes./'It all absolutely destroyed me.''' begins the article.

Knowledge of child psychological development is greatly lacking among doctors, the legal system, and the general public. Children are not easily swayed, being fully capable of deciding who most loves them. The concept that a child needs both parents in their life for healthy psychological development is untrue. What most often reflects such Family Court conflict is parental narcissism, the lack of self-knowledge.

I have known children who were overjoyed when their parents separated, one teenager telling her mother that if she divorced the alcoholic father she would get a job to help support the family. A seven-year-old once told me, "I need a new family."

As every lawyer will tell you, the Family Court is a Wild West show where the parent with the most skilled lawyer usually wins despite the best interests of the child being the sole deciding mandate which should occur. In New York State two children were recently murdered by their abusive parent after being returned to them from foster care despite the opposition of mental health professionals. Nuff said.

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