Page 9 - Parental Alienation Conference 2018

Professional Practice Presentations
Perspectives on parental alienation as a social phenomenon
Presenter: Stan Korosi
Historically, parental alienation has been defined by pathology, particularly in alienated children and situated within the domains of psychology and psychiatry. This locates parental alienation as an intrapsychic and interpersonal phenomenon that is relatively silent on parental alienation as a social phenomenon. Parental alienation has antecedents in socio-political notions of social alienation and contemporary ideas of oppression of minority groups. Sociologically, parental alienation may be considered to be an expression by the individual of societal conditions that enable alienation. It is proposed that a sociological analysis of parental alienation is needed to address the absence of a social dialogue that disables discussion about, and attention being paid to, this social issue. A social dialogue may situate parental alienation together with other social issues such as family violence and child abuse but without being subsumed within them. This may lead to consideration of parental alienation with the same level of public concern as these other forms of social abuse and may assist social institutions to address unintentional social validation and normalisation of alienating behaviours. The presenter will explain how sociological formulations of parental alienation may enable more socially just responses to the social phenomenon of parental alienation. This is especially the case for alienated children and their targeted parents who can otherwise suffer the social injustice of being blamed for their own alienation.
Eeny Meeny Miney Mo Foundation
9