When Alec Baldwin was captured on a phone message berating his 11-year-old daughter he was put in the unenviable position of having to defend his actions to a nationwide audience. Outside the Los Angeles courtroom on May 4th, about a dozen protestors held signs in support of Baldwin. After a whirlwind apology tour, including talk show hosts Barbara Walters and Rosie O'Donnell, Baldwin asked NBC to let him out of his "30 Rock" contract. His stated reason was so that he could work on the issue of parental alienation.
Mark Gouras, an attorney with the Gouras Law Firm P.L.L.C. in the Seattle area, handles many types of difficult divorces, including parental alienation cases. Gouras says that there is a significant difference between the parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome. Parental alienation is the general allegation one parent is making derogatory remarks about the other parent. Gouras says that simple alienation seems to be what Baldwin is complaining about. "From the recording that I heard, Mr. Baldwin is the one who is driving a wedge between himself and the child. So far, I haven't heard any specific allegations that Ms. Basinger has been making derogatory comments. Even if that were the case, family court has the power to punish bad behavior by the parents and get them to behave better - at least around the child," Gouras said.
A far more serious type of parental alienation is called Parental Alienation Syndrome. Parental Alienation Syndrome has been accepted by many family court judges. The alienation is often of a more subtle type. Gouras says that an example would be when a child comes back from a baseball game and the mother asks "are you okay?" "There is often no ranting or name calling, like the Baldwin case, but the message is sent with equal or greater force. The child understands that an afternoon at the ballpark with dad may mean that their life is in danger," according to Gouras. The main distinguishing factor is that the child incorporates the alienation into their own belief system. When the courts are called upon to intervene, they are often successful at getting the parents to behave, but by then it is too late.
The groundwork for Parental Alienation Syndrome was done by the late Richard A. Gardner, M.D., who broke the syndrome down into three types: mild, moderate and severe. Mild and moderate cases are treated with therapy for the child and strict court supervision of the alienating parent. Severe cases are the most difficult, and no amount of therapy or court supervision may be sufficient. "Therapists and the court system need to intervene earlier. The attorneys need to be able to recognize the issue and the courts need to intervene as soon as possible, before the child is beyond help," says Gouras.
