Is pathological alienation an act of love, or of hatred toward the children?
I do think this is the most under-recognized form of emotional abuse toward children. What happens is parents who do this are so caught up in their emotions that they lose sight of their children’s needs. They don’t deliberately intend to hurt their children. The children are just collateral damage. Q: Can you give examples from your experience of how this brainwashing is done? A: It usually begins with a theme: “Your mom left us.” Or, “Your dad goes on business trips because he doesn’t care about us.” The parent’s love for the child is put in question: “She never really wanted you.” Sometimes a parent’s past mistakes are exaggerated. Other times entire episodes are manufactured to make the parent look bad to the child. Q: That’s particularly evil. A: In some cases, children’s memories of the good things that were done are wiped out, so they don’t remember that the parent was present at an important event. Even though the parent has pictures to prove it, the child’s negative view is so
