UK mother accused of alienating children from father wins appeal over psychological assessment

The Association of Clinical Psychologists UK has said parental alienation is a question of fact and not a ‘syndrome’ to be diagnosed. Photograph: Nadezhda1906/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A mother accused of alienating her children from their father has won an appeal to overturn a decision by a district judge to instruct a psychological expert in her case.

The lower court had been wrong to make an order inviting the expert to undertake psychological assessments of the parents and two children and for doing so without giving proper reasons, according to a more senior judge.