This is a two day intensive training for professionals who already hold a qualification in the helping therapies.

Designed to strengthen awareness of the complexities of cases in which children refuse a relationship with a parent after separation, this course introduces you to the model of the work which is used by the Family Separation Clinic in London. It additionally enables understanding of how this model of work can be adapted to suit different legislative frameworks.

This course is suitable for those who are already working as expert witnesses in the family court system.

Parental alienation is the complete unjustified rejection by a child of a parent who was once loved dearly. It is a dynamic seen in a particular group of families in which there are identifiable traits. In the most severe cases of parental alienation a child will completely refuse to see a parent, resisting parental encouragement, professional intervention and even orders of the court, leading many to believe that it is not possible to intervene, especially with older children.

Parental alienation is caused by a combination of factors and is not simply the actions of one parent but the actions by one, the responses of the other and the vulnerability of the child. Recognition of this allows practitioners to learn how to differentiate and respond to the problem of parental alienation in a child whilst understanding the conditions necessary to produce effective change.

The Family Separation Clinic is a specialist agency working with alienated children and their families and has significant success in delivering positive outcomes for alienated children and their families. The Clinic has been involved in a number of residence transfer cases in which the care provided for the family has assisted children to reunite with a rejected parent and rebuild relationships with both parents on an ongoing basis. The Clinic also provides interventions in which children are assisted to move from a rejecting position into being cared for by both parents.

Drawing on international research and extensive clinical knowledge in working directly with alienated children and their families, this one day practitioner training is designed to equip practitioners with a first level training that is in line with international standards of intervention. The training examines the research evidence and the translation of this into UK family law and includes case studies from practice.

Suitable for: counsellors and psychotherapists, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists.

Learning Outcomes:

• knowledge of parental alienation in worldwide research
• awareness of how international standards of intervention translate into different legal settings
• understanding of the legal and mental health interlock in case management of parental alienation
• ability to conclude differentiation processes and develop treatment routes response

This training is delivered by Karen Woodall who leads residence transfer care at the Family Separation Clinic and Nick Woodall who works with alienated children and their families in court cases.

The foreword to their co-authored book, Understanding parental alienation: Learning to cope, helping to heal (Charles C Thomas, 2017), was provided by William Bernet M.D. Professor Emeritus of Vanderbilt University and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He said of the book:

'Understanding Parental Alienation is unique... a balance of scholarship and practical, hands-on experience. The notion of parental alienation has been described in mental health literature since the 1940s. Nevertheless, the typical mental health or legal practitioner was not taught anything about parental alienation during the course of their professional education. Understanding Parental Alienation by Karen Woodall and Nick Woodall, may be their textbook and study guide as they learn about this serious mental condition and challenging legal situation.'

Professor Gordana Buljan Flander, Ph.D. who is the Director of the Child and Youth Protection Center of Zagreb, a Child protection consultant to UNICEF and a Council of Europe expert on child protection described it as:

‘a must-read book for every mental health professional, social worker or legal professional working with families in divorce.’