Maternal Alienation - South Australian Policy Online

Domestic Violence HELPLINEKathy White, Manager:• The training was very important for all workers who work withchildren, women and men who have experienced abusiverelationships.• Important for anyone involved in relationship counselling orinvolved with couples who are separating or divorcing, custodyissues even if abuse is not apparent.• I think maternal alienation happens in varying degrees in manyrelationships and if workers, counsellors, doctors, churches areaware of maternal alienation issues then they can be alert for itspresence. The effects on women and their bonds with theirchildren can be devastating and long lasting.• The project should continue to be funded and the trainingextended to other areas.• The training was very professional and useful. The informationincluded how workers could use both theory and practice withintheir workplace setting and in their individual work.• The ability for workers to assist women identify and name maternalalienation is very powerful, as is naming other aspects of domesticviolence for clients. Naming maternal alienation identifies it as atactic used to control and put down women and can help theirunderstanding of what is happening to them and reassure themthey are not to blame, worthless, stupid etc.• It is important in working with men to be alert for issues ofmaternal alienation, and the strategies used to identify theircriticisms of their partner as a person, wife and mother.• All Adelaide Central Mission Lifeline counsellors should receivetraining in maternal alienation as many of calls are aboutrelationship difficulties and this issue is present.20