' ' J, &, y ffieeny· MIMEV· MO • FOUMD A T IO M

...

Parental Alienating Behaviours

Power & Control Wheel

Use child as
Use child
weapon as
against
TP.
Targetagainst
weapon Parent.
Encourage child's
Encourage child's
Put
defiance of TP.
defiance of TP. Put
middle
Brainwash in the
child in
child the middle Minimise
Minimise
Brainwash thethe child.
child.
of parents.
of responsibility
Paint
Paintthe
theTarget Parent
TP & others
parents. responsibi lity for
for
& others associated behaviours.
behaviours. Blame
Blame
associated with the TP
with the TPDiminish
neg atively. others
others for
for problems.
problems.
negatively. the
Diminishrole parental
the of Minimise authority
Minimise authority
parental the TP.
role of the TP. of
of court.
court.

Use privilege of
gender, marriage,
Use privilege of Control and
Control and harm
harm
custodial status or
gender & custodial the child
the &&
child Target
TP
financial gainto
ability
status to Parent economic
through through
gain custody
custody advantage. economic means.
means.
advantage.

Isolate child &

Isolate child &
Target Parent from emotional
Physical,abuse of TP
TP from social Physical
social supports, (or sexual abuse) of
Sexual
supports. Child and/or child.
therapists, etc. Child Target& Parent and/or
exploitatio n of
abduction. abuse
abduction / alienation child.child.
TP and/or

Require child
Require child to
to be
be
loyal. Coerce child
loyal. Coerce child to
to Stalking && harassing
Stalking harassing
reject
reject and
and fear
fear the
the TP. the
theTarg
TP. et Parent.
Legal &
Target antilise
Adultify/inf Parent. the Legal & administrative
administra tive
Adultify/infantilise
child. Block accessthe to aggressionthreats
aggression threats &&
child. BlockMisuse
the child. accessofto antisocial behaviours
antisocial behaviours..
thethird
child.parties.
Misuse of Staging events.
Staging events.
third parties.

Adapted from:

Harman, J. J., & Matthewson, M. (2020). Parental alienating behaviors. In D. Lorandos and W. Bernet (Eds.), Parental
Alienation - Science and Law, pp. 82-141. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher.

emmm.org.au
facebook.com/EMMMFoundation
PO Box 3873 Victoria Point West QLD 4165
 Counter DV by Proxy
Parenting When the unhealthy
The unhealthy parent has parent continues to exert
so much hatred for the other control and is intent on
parent that their judgment tormenting the other parent
center is compromised, and post-separation by weaponizing
their actions are driven by the children and using them
anger and the desire for as pawns in a variety of
unwarranted revenge. ways.
Financial Neglectful
Abuse or Abusive
In court, financial games Parenting
and deception are rampant, Exposing children to unsafe
with the intention of hurting the situations or people, the
healthy parent. The abuser will unhealthy parent’s motivation is to
create financial discord by blocking cause concern and fear for the other
parent. Their parenting style is
access to bank accounts and and
Post
other financial resources. neglectful and includes varying
Separation degrees of abuse.

Legal Abuse Abuse Discarding

The abuser wears a mask in the The unhealthy parent will wage a
courtroom, fooling the top family war for 50% parenting time;
court professionals, such as custody Wheel however, their conveyed interest in
evaluators, therapists, GAL’s, and the children is not honorable.
judges. Behind the courtroom They often discard the
mask is malicious intent. children after a perceived
Harassment Isolation
“win” in court.
and Stalking The unhealthy
Typically very covert parent often sets out
in nature, this type of to destroy the healthy
harassment and stalking parent’s social capital,
usually flies under the radar such as family, friends,
of most law enforcement teachers, and other community
officers and family court profes- relationships with the goal of
sionals. compromising their entire
support system.

A training resource for professionals working with victims and survivors of family violence.