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The Eight Symptoms of Parental Alienation: Independent Thinker Phenomenon

3/10/2017

 
This is the fourth post in a series of eight centered on the eight symptoms identified by Richard Gardner, MD in 1984, which he coined as being the Parental Alienation Syndrome. You can read the first post here. The fourth symptom is referred to as the Independent Thinker Phenomenon.
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Again, we should be reminded that as Gardner saw case after case of divorcing families where a once loving child would suddenly profess antipathy for their once loved parent, patterns were noticed. The pattern became the eight symptoms of the Parental Alienation Syndrome, or PAS, for short.

As a clinician, I can verify that after one sees hundreds and hundreds of patients, in a given context, that the effect of this sort of experience is that one begins to notice repetitive patterns of symptoms and behaviors. When one sees these repetitive patterns, clinical insight begins to develop about what the patient is experiencing. I know that this is exactly the experience that Gardner began to have in the 1970’s, ultimately leading to his first publication regarding Parental Alienation in 1984.

I mention this because the symptom of this post, the Independent Thinker Phenomenon, is a symptom that can be easily missed, or perhaps given less significance than it deserves.
The Independent Thinker Phenomenon refers to the consistent behavior seen in alienated children where they claim that their resistance to seeing the unfavored or targeted parent derives from their own independent thought and is not the result of the other parent’s influence.

Very often, this symptoms appears as the child - very much out of the blue - announces that no one told them to say this, and that this is his or her own thought. The significance of this “out of context” expression is that it reveals an agenda, on the part of the child, to carry out their assignment of: 


  1. arguing that their resistance to seeing the unfavored parent is their independent thought.
  2. that this thought is not result of the influence of the other parent.

While these two components are in many ways overlapping, their separate expression is consistent with the kind of urgency that only alienated children experience. The purpose of this symptom is to convince the audience - very often court appointees - that they should not have to see their once loved parent. 

The urgency that is the fuel for this symptom is simply unseen in other contexts of divorce. When parents divorce and parental alienation is not present, this phenomenon is inconceivable. When parental alienation is not present, and divorce is in process, children make every effort to stay out of the middle, never taking a position in the parental conflict.

This symptom is the opposite of this. In so being, it is a quiet hallmark of parental alienation. 

In this context, the custody evaluator, that is those evaluators who have an understanding of parental alienation, often see this symptom as the spontaneous statement, “you know, no one told me to say this” or perhaps, “my (mother or father - alienating parent) did not influence me”. Again, we see the completely unnatural favoring of one parent and the commensurate rejecting of the other, in one simple statement.

As always, I would be appreciative of any feedback about the appearance of 
 the Independent Thinker Phenomenon in your experience. ​

Parental Alienation Education for Attorneys

Effective litigation can change the face of Parental Alienation. The National Association of Parental Alienation Specialists, of which I am Co-Founder, has launched a new online workshop - "Litigating Family Law Cases with Parental Alienation" - please help us to spread the word about this FL Bar approved workshop by sharing this link with your attorney, and others specializing in Family Law. ​

Eric Schaller
1/20/2018 07:15:15 am

In the case I'm most familiar with, this behavior in the child seems to have become more prevalent as the alienating parent becomes more agitated. Also, does this dovetail at all with the work of Dr Craig Childress (Attachment Based Parental Alienation, AB-PA), or any DSM diagnosis?

Jaclyn
2/13/2018 05:41:13 am

I just finished reading and I have to say I am so interested in this entire I guess I'll use the word circumstance I have watched parent alienation rise dramatically through the court system as I sat there and court and watched it rise with my children I have gone to therapist I have read up on it I have gone to seminars I have tried to add the Kate to get laws passed because hundred percent of divorce cases have some small piece of parent alienation in them and others have 95 to 100% which is where I'm at I have an amazing story with documentation to support my story that I need some how to share I would like the opportunity to speak with you in reference to and possibly look at additional ways to make mandatory laws in the state that I reside in other states 4 people in these situations I think that the sandcastles program in Florida is extremely helpful especially in cases of parent alienation it's less expensive no need for Guardian ad litems and additional calls to child and family which are unnecessary and untrue please contact me if anything that I'm saying make sense as it is scattered with numerous thoughts

Chris link
4/4/2019 02:52:38 am

What is the SandCastles program?


Comments are closed.

    J. Michael Bone, PhD.

    Dr. Bone is an experienced consultant for cases involving Parental Alienation and has spent over 25 years working with high conflict divorce as a therapist, expert witness, mediator, evaluator and consultant, both nationally and internationally. 

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