Law Times

PAGE 8 COMMENT May 10, 2010 • Law TiMes Warshak responds: workshop has scientific support F BY RICHARD WARSHAK For Law Times amily Bridges: A Work- shop for Troubled and Alienated Parent-Child Relationships has been the sub- ject of recent controversy over its track record and concern about its general acceptance in the scientifi c community and the family justice system. Family Bridges helps ease children's adjustment to court orders that place them with a parent they claim to hate or fear. Courts issue such orders when the evidence demon- strates that the rejected par- ent is better suited to meet the child's best interests. Parents may then respond in one of three ways. Th e parent who objects to the court orders can try to fl out the law, as occurs when a parent abducts the chil- dren. Alternatively, the rejected parent can receive the children without any professional assis- tance to help the family adjust to the situation while hop- ing that time will heal their wounds. In addition, the re- jected parent can enlist help to ease the transition for the children. Family Bridges is an eff ective option to facili- tate the family's adjustment when children are severely alien- ated and a court has decided to transfer custody to the rejected parent. Th ough in one sentence ques- tioning whether this program should exist, in another lawyer Jan Weir seems to calls for its wider availability (see "Does the Warshak workshop work?" Law Times, April 19). He asks me to publicize my techniques to the health profession, provide proof of general acceptance in the sci- entifi c community, and docu- ment the scientifi c basis of the workshop. All of this has been done. In January, after passing a rigorous peer review, a com- prehensive article I authored titled, "Family Bridges: Using Speaker's Corner Insights From Social Science to Reconnect Parents and Alien- ated Children" was published in Family Court Review, an international scholarly journal guest edited by two Canadians, professor Nicholas Bala and Barbara Jo Fidler. Describing in great detail the procedures, syllabus, and scientifi c basis of Family Bridges, the article provides far more information than courts typically consider before appointing psychother- apists, co-parenting instructors or parent co-ordinators. Two additional articles published in that issue clarify various details about the program. Th ree published articles, numerous referrals from cus- tody assessors and the courts, and an invitation to present our techniques to the forth- coming annual conference of the Association of Fam- ily and Conciliation Courts are testament to the gen- eral acceptance of Family Bridges procedures in the relevant scientifi c commu- nity as well as peer review of them. My testimony on the psychology and remediation of alienation has been accepted in courts in Canada and the United States. It has never been excluded and has been held to meet the Daubert test of scien- tifi c reliability, which is similar to Mohan in Canada. My article documents the well-established scientifi c foun- dations of Family Bridges. In addition, Joan Kelly, a well- known contributor to the lit- erature and continuing legal education programs on child custody, has underscored the scientifi c basis of the program. "In the overall development of Family Bridges, its goals and principles, and particularly the varied and relevant materials se- lected for use with parents and children, the incorporation of relevant social science research was evident. Further, the daily structure and manner of pre- sentation of the Family Bridges workshop were guided by well- established evidence-based in- struction principles and incor- porated multimedia learning, a positive learning environment, focused lessons addressing rele- vant concepts, and learning ma- terials providing assistance with integration of materials. "Th e most striking feature The Law of Climate Change in Canada An essential text for those developing expertise in climate change law This is the first and only resource to provide an in-depth description and analysis of the complex and ever expanding array of domestic and international laws and initiatives addressing climate change in Canada. Containing comprehensive coverage of provincial and federal legislation and policy developments from across Canada, The Law of Climate Change in Canada also describes in detail some of the many emerging climate change law sub-disciplines, including: • carbon finance • litigation • real property • tax • securities law and disclosure Co-authored by leading lawyers and academics from across North America The editor, Dennis Mahony, is widely regarded as a leading expert in this complex and emerging new field. He has recruited an exceptional group of lawyers and academics from across Canada and the US to ensure unrivalled subject matter breadth and depth. Stay on top of the latest legal developments and manage emerging issues ORDER your copy today Looseleaf & binder • $320 Releases invoiced separately (2/yr) P/C 0268030000 • ISSN 1920-695X of the Family Bridges work- shop was the empirical research foundation underlying the spe- cifi c content of the four-day educational program. Th e les- sons and materials were drawn from universally accepted re- search in social, cognitive, and child developmental psychol- ogy, sociology, and social neu- roscience." Weir suggests that any suc- cess of the program may be due to children being intimidated. No peer-reviewed literature has suggested that Family Bridges is intimidating. Rather, we of- fer a benign process that brings welcome relief by restoring the child's capacity to give and re- ceive love. As documented in my article, a substantial majority of children who go through our program spontaneously express the wish for their other par- ent to learn the same material, which the children fi nd enjoy- able and instructive. While in a few cases the program wasn't eff ective in the long term in which the children rejected the parent with custody, we believe this was due to the continued strong infl uence of the alienat- ing parent. Signifi cantly, there have been no reports of children suff ering ill eff ects from attend- ing the program. Some skeptics will refuse to accept any evidence of the program's value. Th e same crit- ics who claim that children are the only people whose attitudes towards others are immune to outside infl uence may be quick to ascribe any improvement in children's perspectives as a re- sult of brainwashing rather than learning how to think critically. Children who lose half of their family as a result of alien- ation suff er a tragic loss that compromises their present and future happiness and well-being along with that of their parents. People who understand these concerns will want parents to have the option to enrol their children in programs such as Family Bridges. LT For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.565.6967 Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd. Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. Mahony_Law of Climate Change (LT 1-2x4).indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com LT0510 5/7/10 9:06:09 AM Richard Warshak is a clinical professor of psychology at the University of Texas Southwest- ern Medical Centre in Dallas; author of Divorce Poison: How to Protect Your Family from Bad-mouthing and Brainwash- ing; and co-author of Welcome Back, Pluto, a DVD to help un- derstand, prevent, and overcome parental alienation. Editor: Dennis E. Mahony W ith contributions from a team of leading lawyers and academics from across Canada and the U.S.

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