Author: Linda Turner

Whilst the consultant psychologist instructed as an expert in these proceedings was criticised by the Judge it was not because of the standard of his assessment or the quality of his reports or oral evidence. In fact, it was entirely unrelated to his expertise and instead arose because of an email he sent to counsel representing Mother who had clearly caused this expert some annoyance by suggesting that parental alienation was his ’hobby horse.’ The expert subsequently emailed this counsel very shortly after concluding his evidence the word ‘muppet.’

The Judge determined that whilst his email to counsel required judicial condemnation it did not make his assessment unreliable.

The sending of that email was clearly an error of judgment and inappropriate and has resulted in this expert no longer being permitted to assist with this case. It is a lesson in the exercise of restraint! Continue reading “Consultant Psychologist Expert” →

The High Court has overturned a tribunal decision to fine a solicitor who overcharged for costs, ruling that he should immediately be struck off.

In Solicitors Regulation Authority v Good, Lord Justice Flaux said the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal should have found that solicitor Andrew Good acted dishonestly. Instead it had imposed a ‘clearly inappropriate’ fine of £30,000.

The tribunal found that Good, founder of Hull firm Rapid Response, had set a £400 hourly rate for clinical negligence cases as a matter of policy, producing bills that were ‘unreasonable and disproportionate’. On one detailed assessment, the tribunal heard, a district judge had reduced a bill of costs by 91% to £3,330.

Good was found to have acted without integrity, but the tribunal dismissed an allegation of dishonesty, determining that Good believed he was entitled to ‘test the rate’ and that bills would be subject to the scrutiny of costs experts.

Flaux LJ said the tribunal’s analysis was ‘fundamentally flawed’ and was satisfied there were ‘clear and obvious’ errors of principle in its decision. Continue reading “Overcharging solicitor struck off after £30k fine ruled too lenient” →

A man ‘fixated’ on fulfilling his dream career as a barrister has been jailed after falsely securing a chambers role and working on cases despite not having legal qualifications.

Scott Willey worked at a chambers – today revealed to have been 4 Brick Court in London – for around eight months before his lies were uncovered.

According to City of London Police, Willey, 27, attended City Law School in London, but did not graduate and was never called to the bar. Despite this, he became intent on pursuing a career in law.

Willey, without authority, accessed a colleague’s email account and stole a copy of a practising certificate, which he then edited to pass off as his own. He used the fraudulent practising certificate to obtain a legal aid account and informed the chambers he had qualified from the Bar Professional Training Course with a mark of ‘very competent’.

He also provided another colleague’s Bar Council membership number to ’maintain the appearance of being a barrister’ to the Bar Standards Board and to the chambers. Continue reading “Fake barrister pursuing ‘dream career’ jailed after working in chambers for months” →

It was clear from cross-examination on behalf of the Father that this social worker, had not read the relevant historical papers in this case including previous judgments where serious criticism of the Mother had been made. Therefore, the social worker was assessing the case without relevant and proper knowledge of the facts. She was taking what the Mother was saying on ’face value’ and failed to observe the child with his Father.

When commenting on this failure, the Judge concluded that ’One of the most disturbing aspects of Miss S’s work was her failure to acquaint herself adequately with the relevant background papers. As I noted at the beginning of this judgment, in the period from 2008 to 2012 there were several contested hearings between the parents concerning [the child]. Those hearings took place before different judges. One of those judges, Recorder McLaren QC, rejected all of the mother’s allegations of violence by the father, including an allegation of rape. He also rejected her allegation that the father had physically abused [the child].. He made a number of withering criticisms of the mother.’ [209]

• A lack of significant experience, expertise or training in the field of parental alienation

Continue reading “Experts are criticised in recent case” →

Dr. Pat Love wrote a book about this phenomenon, called “The Emotional Incest Syndrome: What To Do When A Parent’s Love Rules Your Life.” She describes the cost to the child: “If the parent represses the girl’s (or boy’s) anger not just once but over and over again, a deeper injury occurs: the girl will eventually dismantle her anger response. Ultimately, it’s safer for her to cut off a part of her being than to battle the person on whom her life depends.”

It can feel following these rules has to happen, like a job you can’t quit. So you swallow your anger. 

If you’re one of these adult children, many people may have told you how lucky you were — to have a parent that sang your praises and adored you so much. It’s difficult to question this bond, because you may feel extreme guilt, as if you’re being disloyal for not being there for your mother or father. The slightest bit of separation can be interpreted by the parent as disrespect, disloyalty or even abandonment. You can never emotionally leave nor can you express anger about how trapped you feel. You may look like adults on the outside, but inwardly, you may doubt your own reasoning and capabilities. 

“I never realized that I don’t make a decision without talking to my mom about it first.”

“I just assumed that I would help with my dad’s business. I never gave one thought to doing something on my own. So, what now?” Continue reading “How Does Enmeshment Affect a Child?” →

The assessment of parenting has been problematic due to theoretical disagreement, concerns over generalisability, and problems with the psychometric properties of current parenting measures. The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive, psychometrically sound self-report parenting measure for use with parents of preadolescent children, and to use this empirical scale development process to identify the core dimensions of contemporary parenting behaviour. Following item generation and parent review, 846 parents completed an online survey comprising 116 parenting items. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a six factor parenting model, comprising Emotional Warmth, Punitive Discipline, Anxious Intrusiveness, Autonomy Support, Permissive Discipline and Democratic Discipline. This measure will allow for the comprehensive and consistent assessment of parenting in future research and practice Continue reading “The Parenting Behaviours and Dimensions Questionnaire” →

Your case is cut and dry.  The abductor took your child and returned her in a form you do not recognize.  This child has low self-esteem, wears masks, lies about things that don’t matter and keeps secrets.  You constantly feel you are living with a stranger.

You tell the court you cannot put your finger on it, but there are days you’re unsure if it’s actually your child. The innocence seems lost.

The abductor is a narcissistic liar.

The clear cut, open and shut case becomes anything but.

People start questioning your credibility.

You are the outsider in your own home.  You become paranoid, unsure, and suspicious.  Everything you once knew to be the truth, you suddenly question.  Did I just overhear a conversation with the abductor? Was that last text messageto the abductor?

You wonder if you’re living with a spy.

Your circle becomes smaller.  Trusting people becomes harder.

Still, you are unrelenting.  You tell the court repeatedly that your child is not the same child.  There are bizarre accusations and bursts of anger seemingly out of nowhere.

You have no proof.  The court doesn’t care.

The court tells you that you and the abductor will now share custody of your child.  You are required to pay the abductor a monthly stipend.

You are outraged. Continue reading “Abducted a day in the life of parental alienation By Cheryl Mefferd, Parental Alienation Warrior” →

What happens once they gain autonomy and no longer are controlled by the alienating parent? Is there a way they are able to be reached?

Some stories don’t seem to offer much hope: I Am A Daughter of A Mother Who Alienated Me From My Father, Erasing Him From My Life…

Amy Baker and others advise that the alienated parent allows the child to take the lead in terms of discussing the alienation, but that they should be there for the child and just do their best to remain a steady presence.

But what if the child has been kidnapped or otherwise totally cut off from the target parent. Must the parent wait until the adult child contacts them? Should the parent instead contact the child?

Counselors don’t necessarily agree about how target parents who have been completely cut off, should proceed. Many parents have been able to locate their now adult child or children (today it isn’t hard, online searches are helpful). Whether or not to reach out to the alienated adult child seems up for grabs, with logic and emotion vying for priority. Continue reading “But where are grown-up children of parental alienation holding?” →

According to clinical psychologist Margaret Singer, there are six conditions under which a person must be subjected, where mind control happens. These are (Singer, 2003):

1. Keep the target in the dark, unaware that he/she is being changed. Victims of this type of manipulation are psychologically led to change their behaviors in order to meet the agenda of the leader.  The end goal is for the target to do the bidding of the leader. In the case of parental alienation, the end result is to hurt the targeted parent. In other cases, the end goal is to fulfill the leader’s personal needs for power and control and even to fulfill his/her ultimate fantasies.
2. Control the person’s physical and social environment.  Leaders of mind-control provide ample structure, rules, and assignments to keep targets constantly on task.
3. Create a sense of powerlessness in the target. Leaders ensure that the target is away from his/her social support system and puts him/her in an environment with those already entrenched in the group.  This helps targets of mind control lose personal autonomy, power, and confidence. This erodes the target’s intuition. As the target’s sense of powerlessness increases, his/her sense of good judgment and understanding of the world decreases (view of reality is destabilized.) As the  other members of the group attack the victim’s worldview, cognitive dissonance results. No talking about this is allowed. In the case of parental alienation the empathic or “normal” parent is villianized.
4. Incorporate a system of rewards and punishments in the person’s life; ones that promote the manipulator’s agenda, and undermine the target’s autonomy and individuality. Members get positive feedback for conforming to the leader’s beliefs and behaviors and negative feedback for old beliefs and behavior.
5. Create a system of rewards, punishments, and experiences in order to promote learning the group’s ideology or belief system and group-approved behaviors.  Good behavior, demonstrating an understanding and acceptance of the group’s beliefs, and compliance are rewarded, while questioning, expressing doubts or criticizing are met with disapproval, redress and possible rejection.  If one expresses a question, he or she is made to feel that there is something inherently wrong with them doing so.
6. The system is closed, with an authoritarian structure that allows no feedback and refuses input not approved of by leadership approval.  The group has a top-down, pyramid structure.  The leader never loses.

Remember this, targets of mind-control are not valued for their individuality; rather, they are mere objects (actors) in the leader’s personal production, where the leader is the director, producer, author, and playwright of his/her own saga.

Source: Understanding Manipulative Mind Control and What to do About It (Part 1)

This article addresses the subject of psychological abuse and why victims/targets can be manipulated and controlled mentally by narcissists and sociopaths (general psychopaths,) and what can be done when it happens. This occurs in families with narcissistic parents, and in cases of parental alienation, where one parent uses the child as a psychological weapon to abuse the other parent. Mind control can occurs in any system involving people, such as in churches, the workplace, and families. Ingredients required: human beings, narcissistic leader, scapegoat(s), lieutenants (‘flying monkeys,’) and keeping secrets. What can’t be allowed in this type of system is free thinkers or free spirits. People with these qualities will be banished. Mind control is similar to what happens when people join cults. Cult leaders manage to coerce strong-minded, intelligent people away from loving family and friends; all in exchange for a false promise. Usually people are manipulated, but believe the

Source: Understanding Manipulative Mind Control and What to do About It (Part 1)