Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

Carol Hayden, University of Portsmouth (carol.hayden@port.ac.uk)This paper takes a critical look at how current policy initiatives in Britain characterise andrespond to 'troubled families'. The paper draws on current empirical research into the needs andissues in the lives of 196 children taken into care or custody in one city; and, the adults in theirfamilies. The research is being used to inform the development of a new service that will useMulti Systemic Therapy (MST) to work with 'troubled' families. The developing MST service ispart of a range of nationally promoted interventions and supports to troubled'families. The paperconsiders the evidence and value base for this type of intervention.A Case of Matrilinear Transgenerational Parental Alienation in Sweden -Lessons Learned and Recommendations for ChangeNils-Göran Areskoug, Strömstad Academy (nilsare@gmail.com)This case of parental alienation by a father toward his two children born in 1973 and 1975evolved across generations. An analysis of the case reveals a sequence of decisions by social andlegal authorities that brought about alienation over more than 30 years until the stage of"parentectomy". Major factors that cause such failure include (1) the level of competence amonginvestigators and judges, (2) the mode of communication and interaction between social andlegal agencies, and (3) the failure of prevention, including an inability to assess the probability oflong-term effects on children during development. It is concluded that authorities need to preventaggravation of parental alienation by (1) developing methods of coordinated efforts, (2) updatingthemselves on clinical research (and scientific progress) in the field, and (3) developing anepistemology for interdisciplinary interpretation that integrates insights from sociology,psychology, and psychiatry with the legal system. The system fails to protect children andparents from lifelong harm and victimization. Point by point recommendations focus on how toprovide an integrated "sociolegal" method for adequate handling of these cases as is required byinternational conventions of human rights, both those of the United Nations and of the EuropeanCourt of Human RightsParental Alienation Violates the Child's Legal and Human Right to Family Life:An American-Swedish Case StudyLena Hellblom Sjögren, Testimonia, Fagersta, Sweden (mail@testimonia.se)The child belongs to a family system, with roots on both parents’ sides, even if the parents do notstay together. The child has a legal and a human right to family life. The European Court ofHuman Rights (ECHR) has recognized how these rights are violated in complicated custodyconflicts when a child is alienated from one parent. In its decisions, the ECHR has supported the245