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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Hannah Summers and Beatrix Campbell

Parental alienation and the unregulated experts shattering children’s lives

Illustration of a group of people, perhaps experts, with their eyes downcast, behind a family photo in a frame with shattered glass and a judge’s gavel lying beside it
Campaigners say that some experts diagnosing parental alienation have a financial interest in offering therapy for it. Illustration: Steven Gregor/The Observer

Amanda wept as she recalled her children being removed from her home several years ago – her youngest clinging to her as they were dragged away screaming. They were frightened. After all, they had made their feelings clear: “We want to stay with Mummy. We love Daddy but he scares us.” Yet their wishes were attributed to their mother’s “brainwashing”.

The cracks in Amanda’s relationship appeared years earlier. Her husband persuaded her to give up work. “He would shout at me and demand sex. I became isolated as a full-time mum and became depressed, my creativity was gone,” she said.

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