4.12.10

MENS RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AND THEIR ANGRY INCH-Mark Godbey ---cult follower of Dr. Richard Warshak

MENS RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AND THEIR ANGRY INCH

Posted: November 28, 2009 by mamaliberty 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again the story of the MRA, militant (mens rights activists) complaining over a story removed from Psychology Today. They think that PAS will get into the DSM….sorry it will NEVER happen. But interestingly enough there is research that suggests that these types may have what is called….Small Penis Syndrome….I present to you…

http://www.news- medical.net/ news/2007/ 06/01/25800. aspx

REVIEW OF SMALL PENIS SYNDROME

1. June 2007 13:20

Women are much more interested in a man’s personality and looks than the size of his penis, but men can experience real anxiety even if they are average sized, according to a research review published in the June issue of the urology journal BJU International.

Dr Kevan Wylie from the Porterbrook Clinic and Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK, reports that while men often have a better body image, genital image and sexual confidence if they have a large penis, women don’t necessarily feel that bigger is better.

He teamed up with Mr Ian Eardley from St James, Hospital in Leeds to bring together the findings of more than 50 international research projects into penile size and small penis syndrome carried out since 1942.

By drawing together the results of 12 studies that measured the penises of 11,531 men, they discovered that average erect penises ranged from 14-16cms (5.5 to 6.2 inches) in length and 12-13cm (4.7 to 5.1 inches) in girth.

Wylie and Eardley also looked at the bizarre practices used by men worldwide to enhance the size of their penis, including the Topinama of Brazil, who encourage poisonous snakes to bite their penises to enlarge them for six months!

They report that Indian Sadhus men are known to use weights to increase the length of their penis and Dayak men in Borneo pierce the glans of their penis and insert items into the holes to stimulate their partner.

Other key findings of the review include:

  • A survey of over 50,000 heterosexual men and women found that 66 per cent of men said their penis was average sized, 22 per cent said large and 12 per cent said small. 85 per cent of women were satisfied with their partner’s penile size, but only 55 per cent of men were satisfied.
  • Two studies reported that 90 per cent of women prefer a wide penis to a long one. Other studies pointed out that the issue of male attractiveness was complex, but that penile size was not the most important factor for women.
  • Small penis syndrome is much more common in men with normal sized penises than those with a small micropenis with a flaccid length of less than 7cm (2.7 inches).
  • One study found that 63 per cent of men complaining of small penises said their anxieties started with childhood comparisons and 37 per cent blamed erotic images viewed in their teenage years. None of the men studied actually had a micropenis.
  • Another report based on data collected by Kinsey in the 1940s reported that, on average, homosexual men had larger penises than heterosexual men. The report authors suggest that exposure to male reproductive hormones in the womb may be one explanation.
  • Individual research studies have also suggested that penis size is smaller in studies focussing on older men, but Wylie and Eardley found no overall differences when they collated the results of various studies.
  • The review also provided little evidence of racial differences, with the exception of one Korean study where the men had smaller than average-sized penises. The authors suggest this area needs further investigation.
  • Evidence on the effectiveness of vacuum devices, penile extenders and traction devices was found to be limited, but the authors noted that patients may experience psychological benefits from some of them.
  • The review also showed that the results of surgery are poorly documented and significant complications can ensue.

“It is very common for men to worry about the size of their penis and it is important that these concerns aren’t dismissed as this can heighten concerns and anxieties, says Dr Wylie.

“It is helpful to normalise the situation and provide as much accurate information as possible, as many men either lack any information or have been misinformed.

“This extensive review aims to provide clinicians with an overarching summary of the many research projects that have been carried out into penile size and small penis syndrome.”

Clinicians who are presented with a man with small penis syndrome need to consider a number of treatment approaches.

“The initial approach should be a thorough urological, psychosexual, psychological and psychiatric assessment, possibly with more than one clinician involved, say the authors.

“Conservative approaches to therapy, based on education and self-awareness, as well as short-term structured psychotherapies, are often successful.”

They authors are, however, very cautious when it comes to treating a psychological condition like small penis syndrome with gadgets or surgery.

“There is poorly documented evidence to support the use of penile extenders, and while information is starting to emerge on the success of some surgical techniques, this is not backed up by data on patients, satisfaction with such procedures, stresses Dr Wylie.

http://www.blackwel lpublishing. com

http://justice4mothers.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/divorce-separation-and-parental-alienation-syndrome-straightening-them-out-one-social-worker-at-a-time/

Richard Warshak Responds To Critics - And The Countess Responds To Him

Richard Warshak Responds To Critics - And The Countess Responds To Him

http://trishwilson.typepad.com/blog/2010/12/richard-warshak-responds-to-critics-and-the-countess-responds-to-him.html

 

So look at this. After all the attention Richard Warshak's critics have received - including dominating Google searches - he finally addresses them - and completely misses the boat. His comments are indented and in italics. My responses are in between.

Parental Alienation: Impracticality & Impressions. Dr. Richard Warshak Answers Critics
Answering Critics by Dr. Richard Warshak
The many parents I have helped, women and men, express astonishment that some people demonize me, attempt to tarnish my reputation, and spread misleading and false information about my work and me. Although my supporters far outweigh my detractors, the people seeking to quiet my voice yell loudly and work hard to circulate their misinformation.

Your critics and critics of parental alienation have been out there for a very long time. What the most recent critics have been saying is nothing new. However, this is the first time they've found a real voice on the internet, and we can't have that, can we?

Until now I have allowed the personal attacks and gross misrepresentations to go without answer.

Good. So you're finally going to address the facts that parental alienation is not going to be in the DSM-V, that it has never been peer reviewed, that it is not accepted as a valid disorder in the general scientific, medical, psychological, and legal communities, that it has become a huge cottage industry that makes lots of money for the people who make a living using it in divorce and child custody cases, that the man who coined it (original term "parental alienation syndrome") made statements supportive of incest and pedophilia (and he's your mentor), that parental alienation does not meet Frye and Daubert standards for admissibility in court, and that it is the most common weapon used in court by abusive fathers to get custody of their children away from the mothers they've been threatening and abusing.

By the way, you did answer. You and the Huffington Post deleted most comments, most very well-thought out, reasonable, and backed up by research, that criticized you and parental alienation in your "Stop Divorce Poison" HuffPost article.

I understand the mentality of a true believer and realize that clarification of reality and objective evidence will hit the brick wall of a closed mind. For various reasons, these people want to hold on to their beliefs. They cling to misguided ideas rather than acknowledge the widespread mistreatment of children described in Divorce Poison and my other works. In some respects, they resemble people from earlier generations who refused to acknowledge the evidence of their senses that children were being physically and sexually abused with alarming frequency. Just as the professionals who first pointed an accusing finger at a society that tolerated such abuse were attacked, I suppose it is my fate to be the target of similar attacks.

Interesting statement there, since your mentor Dr. Richard Gardner, who created Parental Alienation Syndrome, was one of those people who refused to acknowledge that children were being physically and sexually abused with alarming frequency. He believed most allegations moms and children made of sexual abuse were false. He also claimed that 90% of his PAS caseload was mothers. People who fought for children's welfare in the face of abuse were ridiculed as being "child savers" who were delusional. Fanatics. On a witch hunt. Demonizers. True believers. The same terms you are using to demean professionals and lay people who speak out against parental alienation and work to help abused mothers and children. Ironically, that's the same language used by the false-acc witchhunt sex abuser defense crowd.

More below the fold.

And I continue with my response to Richard Warshak's weak response to his critics. Warshak's statements are indented and in italics. Mine are in between.

Defending myself against such attacks feels a bit undignified. It seems an unnecessary waste of time, and gives currency to a few fanatics who attempt to alienate my audience from me using the same tactics that some parents use to alienate their children from the other parent. Some of these extremists have lost custody of their children in a ruling that seeks to protect the children from severe doses of divorce poison. Rather than recognize the rationale for the court's decision, these people believe that the judge either was biased or was foolishly taken in by the other parent's allegations.

Smooth move, there. You just bashed and minimized abused women who criticized you. And you call yourself a friend of abused women!

Some of these people would have you believe that there is an epidemic of judges who take joy in placing children with parents who beat or sexually molest them. In fact, one website claims a conspiracy of Masonic judges who, in every family court across North America (I am not exaggerating), automatically give custody to pedophiliac fathers who in turn pimp their children to pedophiliac members of the Illuminati (the group profiled in Dan Brown's novel Angels & Demons). I am not kidding. . . . Nor are they.

Now that's a sleight-of-hand move! When I first read this paragraph I wondered what the hell was he talking about. I had to read it a couple of times to make sure I was reading it correctly. I'd never heard of any such thing. So I did a Google search. You found one - one - article by a woman and you try to paint all your critics as crazy fanatics. That article is not on a custody site. There is only one person I know of who believes all that, and she wasn't one of the people commenting on your HuffPost article. I know of only one other person who believes something similar to what you say, minus all the Masonic and Illuminati stuff. The domestic violence community at large doesn't believe any of that. But don't let those facts get in your way of painting all domestic violence critics of you and parental alienation with a broad brush.

As I say in the Afterword to the revised edition of my book, when my wife reads these vicious and absurd accounts, she shakes her head in disbelief at the raw animosity that greets the work I do on behalf of suffering families. She asks, "Don't they know that you've devoted your career to the welfare of children?" The many women I have helped through my writing, consultations, and courtroom testimony cannot understand what motivates the detractors, who claim to be advocates for women.

It's nice your wife supports you. That's what wives are supposed to do. It's also nice your have women who support you. However, your wife's support and the support of some women isn't what matters here. What experts have written about you and parental alienation does matter. See below:

The National Association Of Juvenile And Family Court Judges
A Judicial Guide To Safety In Child Custody Cases - see page 12.

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. (2006).
Navigating Custody & Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence: A Judge’s Guide (2nd edition)

[excerpt]

"The discredited "diagnosis" of "PAS" (or allegation of "parental alienation"), quite apart from its scientific invalidity, inappropriately asks the court to assume that the children's behaviors and attitudes toward the parent who claims to be "alienated" have no grounding in reality. It also diverts attention away from the behaviors of the abusive parent, who may have directly influenced the children's responses by acting in violent, disrespectful, intimidating, humiliating and/or discrediting ways toward the children themselves, or the children's other parent. The task for the court is to distinguish between situations in which children are critical of one parent because they have been inappropriately manipulated by the other (taking care not to rely solely on subtle indications), and situations in which children have their own legitimate grounds for criticism or fear of a parent, which will likely be the case when that parent has perpetrated domestic violence. Those grounds do not become less legitimate because the abused parent shares them, and seeks to advocate for the children by voicing their concerns." - page 24

American Psychological Association. (1996).
Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family
Washington, D.C

[excerpt]

Noting that custody and visitation disputes appear to occur more frequently when there is a history of domestic violence. Family courts often do not consider the history of violence between the parents in making custody and visitation decisions. In this context, the nonviolent parent may be at a disadvantage, and behavior that would seem reasonable as a protection from abuse may be misinterpreted as a sign of instability. Psychological evaluators not trained in domestic violence may contribute to this process by ignoring or minimizing the violence and by giving inappropriate pathological labels to women's responses to chronic victimization. Terms such as `parental alienation' may be used to blame the women for the children's reasonable fear or anger toward their violent father." (p. 100).

The American Psychological Association
Statement On Parental Alienation Syndrome

"The American Psychological Association (APA) believes that all mental health practitioners as well as law enforcement officials and the courts must take any reports of domestic violence in divorce and child custody cases seriously. An APA 1996 Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family noted the lack of data to support so-called "parental alienation syndrome", and raised concern about the term's use. However, we have no official position on the purported syndrome."

Bruch, Carol S. Parental (2001).
Parental Alienation Syndrome and Parental Alienation: Getting It Wrong in Child Custody Cases .
Family Law Quarterly, 35, 527

Meier, Joan S. (January 2009).
Parental Alienation Syndrome & Parental Alienation: Research Reviews.
VAWnet: The National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women .

Jennifer Hoult. (Spring 2006).
The Evidentiary Admissibility of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Science, Law, and Policy
Children's Legal Rights Journal

Court-Appointed Parenting Evaluators And Guardians Ad Litem:
Practical Realities And An Argument For Abolition
Margaret K. Dore, Esq.
2006

Domestic Violence (DV) By Proxy: Why Terrorist Tactics Employed By Batterers Are Not "PAS"
Joyanna Silberg
The Leadership Council
2009

Divorce Poison
A Critique of Richard Warshak's book "Divorce Poison"
Cheryl Melletus

National District Attorneys Association
Parental Alienation Syndrome: What Professionals Need To Know - Part 1 of 2
Parental Alienation Syndrome: What Professionals Need To Know - Part 2 of 2

Justice For Children
Parental Alienation "Syndrome"
"It is the position of Justice For Children that PAS is junk science."

In 1998, Jon Conte [Professor of Law University of the Pacific McGeorge School] wrote that Gardner's Sex Abuse Legitimacy Scale is "probably the most unscientific piece of garbage I've seen in the field in all my time. To base social policy on something as flimsy as this is exceedingly dangerous." (Moss, 1988)

There are many more legitimate organizations that have come down over the years against Parental Alienation Syndrome and it's watered-down cousin Parental Alienation (and Parental Alienation Disorder... how many times are you guys going to reinvent yourselves?). I've listed more than enough here to prove my point.

So why am I writing this article? It occurred to me that those who find value in my work might be confused by the drumbeat of misinformation. The downside of responding to critics is that it fuels their zeal and brings more attention to their smears. They live for the battle and are gratified when anyone takes them seriously. I would rather spend my time providing guidance on how to understand, prevent, and repair damaged parent-child relationships. But, for the sake of those who really want to know, here is some clarification.

So... when are you going to address parental alienation not being in the DSM-V, not being considered valid in the general scientific community, etc. ... I'm waiting...

Are you really afraid your supporters will drop you like a hot potato because of the alleged "drumbeat of misinformation" and "smears"? Or are you really afraid that those who matter most - people in the legal, psychological, and medical communities - will read what has really been published lately about you and parental alienation, such as the statements above, and realize that parental alienation is junk science that is harmful for children and that it's used as a weapon by abusive fathers? And therefore no longer recommend your Bridges program?

One smear that has been making the rounds involves a case where I helped a mother whose children were irrationally alienated. Some important details I cannot divulge because they are not a matter of public record and I wish to protect the family's privacy. Were these details known, domestic violence activists who criticize my involvement in this case would surely regret their words. They would think twice about circulating the innuendos and arguments raised by the father's lawyer in his attempt to defeat the mother.

Parental alienation isn't going to be in the DSM-V. It doesn't meet accepted standards for allowing expert testimony in court. It has no known error rate. Abusive fathers have successfully used parental alienation to wrest child custody away from the abused mothers trying to protect their children. ... Still waiting for you to address all this. I have a feeling I'm going to wait a very long time...

And why focus so much attention on this case when your critics have focused so much more on what I list in my previous paragraph? Is it because this case came out in your favor? One case doesn't prove your program works. It only proves you have one happy customer.

Several mental health professionals concluded that the children's estrangement from their mother was unreasonable. Even the father's own expert witness recommended that the one child under the age of 18 be removed from the father's home (but, for reasons unclear, not placed with his mother).

That's not what the critics have been talking about with that case. They mention the cost - $40,000. For four days. I've seen a report of another case where the program cost $20,000. For four days. Also, critics have pointed out that the program is unproven and untested. We have only your word that it works and you're biased in your own favor, of course.

The case was heard before an arbitrator. The arbitrator found that "the mother was the intentional victim of irrational alienation by her sons, designed and orchestrated by the father." The decision awarded sole custody to the mother and gave her the authority to make decisions on behalf of her son including, at her discretion, enrolling him in my educational workshop. The Arbitrator's decision was appealed to the Family Court. The Court did not dispute the findings of irrational alienation. But the judge did rule that the Arbitrator should have ordered another evaluation. In the decision the judge pointed out that I gave no recommendations because, as I made clear to the Arbitrator, I had not conducted a custody evaluation. The judge set aside the Arbitrator's award and allowed the case to go to a new trial.

You never interviewed the two boys in question before recommending your Bridges Family workshop - at $40,000 for four days. How can you recommend your program when you don't even know if it's appropriate for the family in question? You haven't mentioned the cost here at all.

Here is where the smears begin. The purpose of my testimony was to educate the court about general issues and the state of knowledge regarding parent-child conflicts and children's rejection of a parent, and to describe various interventions for families in which the court finds that the children's rejection of a parent is unjustified, irrational, disproportionate to the child's experience of the parent, and not in the children's best interests. An expert witness who testifies in this capacity is obliged to explain the limitations of his work in the case. As is my duty, I clarified the purpose of my testimony and volunteered the information that I had not conducted an evaluation and was not there to make a specific recommendation for this family.

You still haven't addressed my concerns from the top of this article. Parental alienation isn't accepted by the scientific community at large. It's vague and untested. It won't be in the DSM-V. You have a product to sell and you go to court to do that. Now you're on the Huffington Post Divorce section doing just that - with a dangerous and unproven disorder that has been used by abusive dads in court against the moms they abuse.

Rather than point out that I had testified in a professionally ethical and objective manner and properly apprised the court of the scope of my work in the case, including limitations, some bloggers imply that the Family Court Judge "discovered" the limitations and that I then had to "admit" that I had not seen the children. This is not what happened. I never testified before the Family Court Judge. The Judge simply noted what I had volunteered in my testimony in the Arbitration. My professional colleagues understand that what I did was precisely in accord with professional ethics.
Now it gets interesting, and this is the part critics conceal from their blogs. This was not the conclusion of the case. A new custody assessment was conducted. The assessment results strongly supported the mother's position, recommended giving her the authority to enroll her son in Family Bridges, and concluded that the workshop was the best option for this family.

So you win after all. Another $40,000 goes into your pocket. All for an unproven program.

The case did go to trial. But, on the eve of the trial, the father's lawyer, in what appeared to me to be a desperate last-ditch attempt to try his case in the media when it was clear that the evidence favored the mother, submitted an article to Canada's Law Times that attacked my workshop as unscientific. Fortunately, the editor recognized distortions in the lawyer's submission and asked me to submit commentary to set the record straight. My article was published. It effectively refutes the lawyer's arguments. You do not learn about my article by reading the advocate's blog posts. (See The Slanted Truth for the use of such tactics by alienating parents.) It is as if it did not exist. You can read my article by clicking here.

I read that article. We have only your word that your program (which is similar to the same used by the debunked and abusive Rachel Foundation) has been subjected to peer review and passesDaubert standards. Richard Gardner said the same about Parental Alienation Syndrome, too, when nothing could be further from the truth. Don't forget that Gardner had his own deprogramming program he called "threat therapy", which was very similar to the Rachel Foundation program and Bridges. One child who refused to go committed suicide. That case made the news and tarnished Gardner's reputation even further. He also claimed PAS had been peer reviewed, enjoyed general acceptance in the scientific community, and passed acceptance standards. None of this was true.

And here are statements by other custody evaluators who didn't think very highly of your "The Warshak Parenting Questionnaire 2nd Edition" or "WPQ":

"...We custody evaluators are appointed to do our own work, at least in interviewing and evaluating... I would think that part of my job would be to generate my OWN follow-up questions... don't know how any computerized questionnaire can do that... also a little troubled by the intent that evaluators "cut and paste"... interpretive language of any kind... into their reports... what "follow up" questions will pop up based on the parent's responses?... how would the evaluator-user justify, on the witness stand, why they chose to ask alienation questions... if neither parent has raised that as an allegation? ..." (California Ph.D., September 10, 2006).

"...the section on "Differential Treatment of Parents" (about two-thirds through the sample report (at w w w. wpqonline.com), under "Symptoms of Possible Mental Health Problems") seems to invite alienation claims if parent was not thinking of such claims, and seems to suggest strongly how to support such a claim if parent is thinking of it. It seems to me to be way too suggestive/leading. In effect: Now, parent, would you like to consider making a claim of PAS? If so, have you considered claiming that your child does X? How about claiming that your child does Y? And don't forget Z, have you considered that as possibly supporting a PAS claim? (This is assuming that the questions posed to the parent closely parallel the topics covered in this section of the report, and I suppose I could be wrong in making that assumption.)" (Ohio Ph.D., February 22, 2007).

What you also never learn from reading the blogger's accounts of this case is the ultimate outcome. Notwithstanding the father's lawyer's maneuvers, again, the mother prevailed on all counts. After hearing all the evidence, the judge concluded that "Mother should have sole legal and residential custody of [the child]. Mother shall have complete authority to make decisions regarding [the child's] welfare. She is not required to consult with anyone before doing so; Mother is specifically authorized to obtain any treatment and/or intervention for [the child] as she, in her sole discretion, deems necessary and appropriate for [the child's] best interests; Mother's authority described above includes, but is not limited to `Family Bridges: A Workshop for Troubled and Alienated Parent-Child Relationships,' to enable and assist [the child] in adjusting to living with her."

The program remains unproven. You claim a high success rate. And it's very expensive. Parents of lesser means who are having problems with alleged "alienation" are not able to afford you.

By selectively citing the earlier Family Court decision, and concealing the trial outcome, the bloggers leave the impression that the court was critical of Family Bridges and blocked the family from participating in the workshop. In the end, the truth is the exact opposite. (Selective attention is another tactic of alienating parents that critics adopt to try to alienate audiences from my work.)

Still waiting... parental alienation is not in the DSM... doesn't meet scientific standards for admission into a courtroom ... unknown error rate ... untested ... you aren't going to address those criticisms, are you? You're only going to claim your detractors are as alienated as your clients.

Here is what the judge wrote in her opinion: "This leaves the Workshop, coupled with a change in custody, as the only potential remedy with any chance of success in this difficult case. . . . The court is faced with compelling evidence that a change in custody, coupled with the Workshop is best for [the child]. . . . The Workshop is a last resort. Obviously it would have been better had these problems been identified and corrected early on. . . . Unfortunately, they were not. This leaves the Workshop as [the child's] best last hope." [Emphasis added.]

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement. Your program is the "last best hope"? The "only potential remedy"? Were other remedies even looked at?

I fully expect detractors to post other information attempting to cast doubt on the wisdom of the judge's decision in this case (which was essentially identical to the arbitrator's decision; that is, two different triers of fact, after hearing all the evidence, concluded that the mother should have custody and have the right to enroll her child in Family Bridges). I do not intend to respond to such posts.

The issue isn't whether or not the mother should have custody. It's that your program is a huge money-maker for you, it's unproven, and it's never been tested. All those questions of mine and others that you never answered have gone unanswered. Parental alienation is not regarded as a valid disorder in the general scientific community. It doesn't meet Frye and Daubert standards. It has an unknown rate of error. It's never been peer reviewed. It's never been tested. It's defined in layman's terms you gleaned from the dictionary.

As rebuttal to any future innuendoes and misrepresentations, I can state the following. The mother has authorized me to state that she is very pleased with the ultimate outcome of her case. Her formerly alienated son, estranged for six years, participated in, and greatly benefitted from, the four day Family Bridges workshop. He rapidly restored his loving relationship with his mother and they now live happily together.

One case doesn't make parental alienation valid, and we have only your word that your program works. It's never been tested and its error rate is unknown. It's very expensive. What about parents who can't afford your services?

There are other cases involving reunification programs and parental alienation:

Son’s birthday pact with parents leads to ceasefire in bitter eight-year dispute

Quotes:

Yesterday, in a revealing conversation, P.F. criticized therapists and child welfare authorities in the case for clutching to pet theories about parental alienation syndrome. Under the controversial PAS diagnosis, children who are seen to have been systematically poisoned toward one parent by the other cannot evaluate their emotions accurately.

“I think they have done a lot more harm than good for our family,” P.F. said. “I think they were tilting the whole case in a direction that was more favourable to them, which was a more costly and stressful and damaging alternative for us. We don’t need all these people getting into our lives and directing the way things go.”

He also criticized the justice system for too easily sidelining children who are caught up in their parents’ warfare.

“Where people are making decisions, the kids should at least be heard and their opinions thoroughly considered; not interpreted or cast aside, as they were here,” he said. “When it is possible to simply walk up and say, ‘This kid is parentally alienated,’ that instantly takes away all their credibility. Our family made their minds up for themselves. In a way, we emancipated ourselves from these professionals that have been breathing down our necks the whole time.”

IN RE BIANCA H., On Appeal from the 254th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas

Richard Warshak testified he is a clinical research psychologist. Alfano hired Warshak to evaluate Alfano's case. Warshak has never met with Bianca, but has evaluated reports from other professionals and viewed a videotape of Bianca with Alfano. According to Warshak, Alfano is Bianca's “psychological father,” and ceasing contact with him could be devastating to Bianca. Warshak admitted that the law does not recognize the concept of a “psychological parent.” He further acknowledged that another psychologist said Bianca's attachment to Alfano was more like an attachment to an uncle or a grandfather.

Warshak testified that when conflict between “parents” causes a child distress, a court should order counseling and sanction the parent that instigated the conflict. Warshak believed any harm Bianca suffered because of the conflict would be less than the harm she would suffer if she lost Alfano. Indeed, Warshak testified the best way to remedy the conflict would be to increase Alfano's access to the child.

After the testimony, the trial court stated that Alfano had been put in the position of an uncle since the child was twenty months old. The trial court noted that it had attempted to resolve the situation for four years with no progress. The trial court considered limited visitation, but determined that it would only put off the inevitable. Accordingly, the trial court terminated Alfano's visitation rights.
In its findings of fact, the trial court found that (1) Alfano is not legally or biologically related to the child, (2) a great deal of conflict exists between Mother and Alfano, (3) the conflict was unlikely to abate in the future, (4) the conflict was injurious to the child's best interest, (5) the circumstances of the child have materially and substantially changed since the date of the order sought to be modified, (6) the order has become unworkable and inappropriate under existing circumstances, and (7) modification would produce a positive improvement for and be in the best interest of the child. The trial court modified its prior order eliminating Alfano's right to possession of and access to the child. This appeal followed.

Appellant raises six points of error. In the first five points of error, appellant asserts the trial court abused its discretion in modifying its prior order because the evidence is factually insufficient to support the trial court's findings. In the sixth point of error, appellant asserts the trial court incorrectly applied the law in determining modification would be in the child's best interest.

You never address the primary criticisms made by your critics. Parental alienation is an untested theory that has never been up for peer review. It's not accepted by the legal, medical, scientific, and psychological community at large as valid. Parental alienation has been used by abusive fathers and their hired lawyers, evaluators, and psychs to wrest child custody away from mothers. Rather than point fingers at the Illuminati and one case supporting your Bridges program, and demonize your critics, you need to address your critic's primary criticisms ... which you haven't done. And I'm not surprised.

Posted on December 3, 2010 at 12:12 PM | Permalink

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2.12.10

Whiney, Whiney Dr. Richard Warshak—HE alone responsible for Censorship of Comments on Huffington Post

WHY IS DR. RICHARD WARSHAK WHINING WHEN HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR CENSORING COMMENTS ON THE HUFFINGTON POST?

Poor Richard Warshak.  He asked for commenters to come to his Huffington Post article and comment.  A few of us did, and he refused to post the comments.  He censored out everything that didn’t show adoration for him.  That is what he wanted.  Afterall, he has a book and “expert testimony” services to sell.  Now he is whining about those who he censored…there are many that are upset about this.

Several comments were made about the American Bar Association, the American Judges Association, the National District Attorney’s Association and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges debunking the use of “parental alienation” in child custody cases because of it’s well known use by abusers to take custody of children.  Of course, anyone who makes the kind of money that Warshak makes ($20,000 per patient per four days in “treatment”) doesn’t care who claimed what for what purpose, they just know they will make money.  He doesn’t care that children may be in the custody of someone who beat the other parent, probably in front of the children, or may have even been sexually abusing the children.  No, he doesn’t care, but the professional organizations know what the deal is.  They know that victims of abuse have lost their children to abusers, and corrupt individuals that support the use of this legal tactic should be shut down:

2009: A Judicial Guide to Child Safety in Custody Cases
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Family Violence Department

Page 12:
C. [§3.3] A Word of Caution about Parental Alienation34

Under relevant evidentiary standards, the court should not accept testimony regarding parental alienation syndrome, or “PAS.” The theory positing the existence of PAS has been discredited by the scientific community.35 In Kumho Tire v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999), the Supreme Court ruled that even expert testimony based in the “soft sciences” must meet the standard set in the Daubert case.36 Daubert, in which the court re-examined the standard it had earlier articulated in the Frye37 case, requires application of a multi-factor test, including peer review, publication, testability, rate of error, and general acceptance. PAS does not pass this test. Any testimony that a party to a custody case suffers from the syndrome or “parental alienation” should therefore be ruled inadmissible and stricken from the evaluation report under both the standard established in Daubert and the earlier Frye standard.38

The discredited “diagnosis” of PAS (or an allegation of “parental alienation”), quite apart from its scientific invalidity, inappropriately asks the court to assume that the child’s behaviors and attitudes toward the parent who claims to be “alienated” have no grounding in reality. It also diverts attention away from the behaviors of the abusive parent, who may have directly influenced the child’s responses by acting in violent, disrespectful, intimidating, humiliating, or discrediting ways toward the child or the other parent. The task for the court is to distinguish between situations in which the child is critical of one parent because they have been inappropriately manipulated by the other (taking care not to rely solely on subtle indications) , and situations in which the child has his or her own legitimate grounds for criticism or fear of a parent, which will likely be the case when that parent has perpetrated domestic violence. Those grounds do not become less legitimate because the abused parent shares them, and seeks to advocate for the child by voicing his or her concerns.

More On Warshak, Parental Alienation, and Brainwashing Of Children

More On Warshak, Parental Alienation, and Brainwashing Of Children

[From Miss Fidget.com.]

Canadian Brainwashing Custody Battle

Posted by on May 17, 2009 in FELONIOUSNESS, FORTEANA

With divorce as common as it is it’s about time, “parental alienation syndrome” were recognized, however as this story shows, how to handle it in a legal setting is still being figured out. For a story about the legal resolution of this case, click here. Kudos to P.F. for being an advocate for his younger siblings.

BRAINWASHING BATTLE

The 18-year-old who negotiated the truce between mom and dad

Son’s birthday pact with parents leads to ceasefire in bitter eight-year dispute

KIRK MAKIN | April 28, 2009 | JUSTICE REPORTER | www.theglobeandmail.com
When an 18-year-old man arrived for a birthday dinner at his mother’s house a few days ago, he never dreamed it would end one of the most bitter disputes in Canadian family court history.

Having barely spoken to one another in years, the young man and his Brampton, Ont., mother found themselves calmly discussing a resolution to an eight-year battle that caused a judge to order deprogramming therapy for the man’s two younger brothers and turned parental alienation syndrome into a nationally recognized phenomenon.

“We realized that we were talking all right with each other,” the young man, known as P.F., said in an interview yesterday. “We weren’t jumping at each other’s throats. The idea occurred to us that we might be able to work this out with each other.”
That birthday pact led directly to a firm agreement, signed over the weekend at an emotional meeting attended by lawyers and family members. Under its terms, the family’s three sons cannot be separated or forcibly sent to a parental alienation centre for treatment. All three children will live with their mother, and P.F. may contact his father freely.

His 12- and 14-year-old brothers can contact their father with their mother’s consent.
“My dad came up and shook my mom’s hand,” recalled P.F., a tall, long-haired teen with a reflective intellect and an articulate, soft-spoken manner. “That was something I hadn’t seen in a very long time. It was generally a very happy situation.”

The family burst into the news last fall, when a judge ordered that the two youngest boys be sent to a U.S. treatment facility to be deprogrammed. A judge gave the youth legal standing in the case after he said he wanted to raise his brothers apart from either parent.

Yesterday, in a revealing conversation, P.F. criticized therapists and child welfare authorities in the case for clutching to pet theories about parental alienation syndrome. Under the controversial PAS diagnosis, children who are seen to have been systematically poisoned toward one parent by the other cannot evaluate their emotions accurately.

“I think they have done a lot more harm than good for our family,” P.F. said. “I think they were tilting the whole case in a direction that was more favourable to them, which was a more costly and stressful and damaging alternative for us. We don’t need all these people getting into our lives and directing the way things go.”

He also criticized the justice system for too easily sidelining children who are caught up in their parents’ warfare.

“Where people are making decisions, the kids should at least be heard and their opinions thoroughly considered; not interpreted or cast aside, as they were here,” he said. “When it is possible to simply walk up and say, ‘This kid is parentally alienated,’ that instantly takes away all their credibility. Our family made their minds up for themselves. In a way, we emancipated ourselves from these professionals that have been breathing down our necks the whole time.”

Those who signed the weekend peace accord included P.F., his parents and their lawyers: Jeffery Wilson, Marvin Kurz and Terrence Edgar. P.F. said his mother and her former lawyer, Beverley Martel, wept from the emotion of the moment.

In brokering the deal that ended the family hostilities, P.F. also put the lie to allegations that his father had transformed the youth into his agent.

The agreement provides for all of the family members to be enrolled in therapy sessions – at the mother’s expense – “to achieve the objective of the children eventually enjoying a relationship with both of their parents, wherever they reside.”

Mr. Wilson said in an interview yesterday that the parties were optimistic that Ontario Court Judge Steven Clark would endorse the agreement this week.

P.F. agreed, saying: “I trust that Justice Clark will respect our efforts and our sacrifices and our trust for each other. Because this is really what it is. We are trusting each other.”

Posted on December 2, 2010 at 12:40 PM | Permalink

Do As I Demand Or The Kids Die!

Do As I Demand Or The Kids Die!

This post is a riff of two earlier posts I wrote, Do As We Demand Or The Bitch Dies - Part 1 and Do As We Demand Or The Bitch Dies - Part 2. Over the past couple of years there has been a rash of dads murdering their exes and children (as reported on Dastardly Dads).

The latest case making the news is giving feelings of doom for three missing children that I and other people I've talked to suspect with a sinking feeling are already dead. We now have the case ofJohn Skelton a dad who supposedly sent his three young sons off with a woman (who likely doesn't exist) and then attempted suicide. Mom, Tanya Skelton, is obviously beside herself since her sons have been missing since Thanksgiving. Skelton had court-ordered visitation, something that shouldn't be allowed in cases with a history like this one. This isn't the first time John Skelton ran off with his boys. The day Tanya Skelton filed for divorce, John Skelton took two of the boys and spirited them to Florida. After this stunt, Tanya Skelton was awarded custody but later she and Skelton agreed to visitation with a judge's encouragement.

This story is bad enough, but the rats are coming out of the woodwork latching onto this case to promote their propaganda and to advertise their "services". More below the fold.

Now we have fathers' rights advocate Jeffrey Leving pontificating about how families like the Skeltons need supervised visitation centers to help both parents have continuing access to their children. The father's rights group The Children's Rights Council also got in on the gravy train. Lo and behold - CRC has visitation centers! Can you hear the money? The articles below are bald ploys to attract more attention - and more clients and money - for CRC's visitation centers and for Jeffrey Leving. Oh, yeah, visitation centers work well. Pay the father's rights group fees for supervised visitation for fifteen years. Teenagers especially love to be in a room with toys for three hours.

Here's the piggyback-onto-a-tragedy article by an Ohio chapter of the father's rights group The Children's Rights Council. CRC is not a child welfare group. It is a male supremacy group that has made lots of money over the years from supervised visitation centers. No link. Not giving this garbage traffic.

So what's the implication here? To keep children "safe", or to give abusive dads their access regardless of how little that benefits the children? Child welfare is given lip service in this article. It's all about father supremacy and getting more clients and money for CRC visitation centers.

And national leader? Of a tiny chapter in Ohio? Oh, please...

Amid Morenci search, expert advises on custody disputes

Posted: Dec 01, 2010 4:06 AM EST
Updated: Dec 01, 2010 4:10 AM EST

By Jonathan Walsh
Posted by Lisa Strawbridge

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The Children's Rights Council provides a safe place for
parental visitation when custody becomes an issue during or after divorce.

Margaret Wuwert is the national leader for the chapter in northwest Ohio. She
says she's very saddened about the case involving John Skelton and his three
sons.

"We want to make sure the kids are safe and that they do get to see both
parents," Wuwert said of her organization.

The purpose of the council is to provide divorced parents or single parents with
a safe way to have visits with children.

A room is provided for the custodial parent to drop off their children. Then 15
minutes later, the other parent comes in to spend time with the kids. She says
there are no confrontations among the parents, and the kids just play and enjoy
their time with mom or dad.

She says 90 or 95 percent of parents using the program think it's a good thing.

She adds there are so many emotions involved in a divorce. Then economic stress
and even the arrival of the holidays can add to those emotions. Wuwert suggests
parents always think of the kids first.

The Children's Rights Council of Northwest Ohio has 20 rooms available. It
serves 80 families a month with each session lasting three hours.

As sad and difficult as the Skelton story is to hear, Wuwert hopes it's at least
a wake-up call for adults who may be feeling some of the same emotions involved
with the Skelton case.

I won't give a link to this article below by Jeffrey Leving because I don't want to give it traffic, but here it is in full. It's pretty heinous, piggybacking on a tragedy of three lost boys who are likely dead by now - at the hands of their father.

When Divorce Kills: How Gender Bias Pushes Some Men Over the Edge
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
By Jeffery M. Leving

Chicago, IL – (April 9, 2009) – In the past two weeks, the nation has been shocked by three cases of domestic violence ending in the deaths of innocent children. Two weeks ago, two Illinois boys and their father, Michael Connolly, were found dead in an apparent case of murder-suicide. Last week, James Harrison, a father in Washington, allegedly shot to death his five children before killing himself. On Monday, an Alabama man, Kevin Garner, allegedly killed his estranged wife, their daughter and two other relatives before committing suicide. A common factor in these three cases is divorce: a father in distress probably because he was losing all that he held dear.

I lament these terrible tragedies; as a parent myself, I can imagine the agony the death of a child must bring to a family. As a fathers’ rights attorney, I regret that these high-profile cases are reinforcing the malicious stereotype of the brutal father, a stereotype that sabotages the efforts of many good fathers who love their children.

The fact is that most fathers do not harm their children. Domestic violence is not gender specific, as some mothers have also committed similar unnatural acts. For example, I am currently representing a soldier, formerly deployed in Iraq, who is now struggling to rescue his daughter from the alleged abuse of her mother in Chicago.

Divorce is often regarded as one of the most stressful events in an adult’s life. However, it is especially painful for men in our society due to blatant gender bias in our system. Most divorced men lose custody of their children, and have to pay substantial and sometimes onerous child support. This bias is evident when examining the raw numbers of custody rulings from jurisdictions across the United States. Mothers win 85 percent of all such disputes. According to the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, divorced and separated men are two and a half times more likely to commit suicide than married men. By contrast, the incidence of suicide among divorced women is no greater than that for married women.

The notion that divorced or otherwise estranged fathers don’t want or need continuing involvement with their children is insensitive and false. Fathers suffer very real pain and an overpowering sense of loss when excluded from their children’s lives. In my book “Fathers’ Rights,” I warned of the agony suffered by fathers affected by the gender bias, pointing out that “fathers from all walks of life find separation from their children to be a torturous, devastating experience.”

While most divorced men are able to cope with the unfair treatment by our system, some individuals collapse under the pressure of their emotions, destroying their family and themselves. Sometimes all these fathers need is someone who understands; someone to share their problems with. This and more can be provided by the not-for-profit organization which I founded in Illinois, the Fatherhood Educational Institute (URL deleted - I won't give traffic to these guys), as well as the government agency that I chair, The Illinois Council for Responsible Fatherhood (URL deleted). Similar organizations are needed everywhere. Both organizations offer resources to educate fathers to deal with their emotions, and to assist them in times of crisis.

The stress of divorce is well-known. However, it is manageable and should not lead to killings. Instead of focusing on those three men who allegedly committed unforgivable crimes, we should look at our society and our attitudes towards the role of fathers after separation and divorce and correct these unhealthy stereotypes.

Leving's brand of giving access to even violent fathers because it's society and its horrid attitudes about fathers that causes these tragedies is nothing new. Want to see some comments from father's rights activists about dads murdering their children and exes? These are some pretty noxious comments that give you an idea of the real nature of the father's rights movement, and it's not concern with children's welfare. It's all about male supremacy. Well, here you go:

From my article, Do As We Demand Or The Bitch Dies - Part 1:

Some of you may have heard the story about a fathers' rights advocate Darren Mack, who had stabbed his wife to death and shot the judge who heard his case. The judge lived. This guy is now at large. Well, fathers' rights groups got wind of the story, and they are excusing this guy's behavior. They blame "the system" for what this guy has done.

This is nothing new for these guys. They already blame "the system", feminists, and ex-wives when dads commit suicide. What they usually keep quiet is that they also blame "the system" et al when dads murder their wives and children. Lowell Jaks of The Alliance for Non-Custodial Parent's Rights had gone as far as to blame "the system" for the D. C. sniper shootings. In the article Divorced Dads Snap Under Pressure, which is available at ANCPR's web site, Jaks said that "[s]ome guys kill themselves, some snap and go out and kill others. You can dismiss them as crackpots, you can say we need more protection for women, but it's not going to take away the problem." In another article, available at the web site for the fathers' rights group "A Kid's Right", Jaks said ""None of these guys are poster children. But when you cause this much pain to so many men, there are going to be repercussions. A certain percentage are going to crack."

Quotes from father's rights activists from the same article, referencing Darren Mack murdering his ex-wife and shooting the judge who heard his case. Mack got lots of sympathy from father's rights activists. No surprise there. Would you as a mom (or dad) want to give these guys access to your children? Hell, no!

Jim Deeny said,
on June 13th, 2006 at 1:49 pm

There’s only one wat to stop this nonsense! Stop paying!

mikevac said,
on June 13th, 2006 at 4:56 pm

The harder the courts pushes people the harder they will push back. This bastard judge lived - this time. Next time he will not be that lucky. And there will be a next time because he is a bigot. Eventually, he’ll push another person to the brink and they will kill him. Unfortunately, this is the only way a victim of this the family court can get justice - by killing the judge.

anothervoice said,
on June 13th, 2006 at 5:31 pm

This judge all like him get absolutely no sympathy from me. Here’s a solution: Have judges in family court (now there’s a contradiction in terms) only limited to five year terms and and for every complaint against them such as violating someone’s due process because it helps the custodial parent then they aren’t allowed to work for a year; hey, better yet, sned the jackass/bitch to jail for three months for each and every violation accrued to be run consequetively. Then maybe they won’t be so eagar to assholes.

buddyhyatt said,
on June 13th, 2006 at 7:00 pm

I do not condone this type of retaliation. However “you reap what you sow” and evidently this judge had it coming. I am in this very situation in Tennessee. I am paying $1005 per month to the child’s mother whom I was not married to, while she does not work but fishes and hunts 10 to 18 days per month. (Yes she’s a lesbian now.) All the while I have the child more than half the time??? I am being rail roaded as we speak. I will fight it tooth and nail until it is settled fairly. I will not however shoot the judge. God’s vengeance will be much worse than anything I could do.

Jeffrey Leving and his ilk don't care about child welfare, "equality", or giving dads a fair shake. They care only about making sure men, especially the mad dads of the father's rights movement, have the ability to lord it over the women who try to leave them. They use the children to get back at the women who have the audacity to leave them. Remember that a Florida Bar Journal article noted that abusive fathers are much more likely than nonabusive parents contest custody, not pay child support, and kidnap children. You can add killing exes and children to that list. Comments such as the above prove those facts.

Posted on December 2, 2010 at 12:41 PM | Permalink

30.11.10

Faces of the Family Court Crisis from James Hall Photography

Faces of the Family Court Crisis from James Hall Photography on Vimeo.

A project for Center for Judicial Excellence (centerforjudicialexcellence.org).
Video and photography by James Hall (88zero.com).
Original score by Matteo Favero (figuramusicstudio.com/​)
To learn more go to: centerforjudicialexcellence.org/​PhotoExhibit.htm

American Mothers Political Party Upcoming Show: 12/2/2010 5:00 PM SUSAN MURPHY-MILANO SPECIAL GUEST

 Call-in Number: (347) 205-9977

Presents:

 American Mothers Political Party BTR—LIVE Radio

 

 www.AmericanMothersPoliticalParty.org


SPECIAL GUEST! Susan Murphy-Milano is a non-fiction author and violence expert—a defender of victims' rights. A radio show host, Susan has appeared on Oprah, 20/20, American Justice, and CNN.

As a nationally recognized women's advocate, she was instrumental in the passage of the Illinois Stalking Law and the Lautenberg Act.

Susan's 4th book, "Time's Up” How to Escape Abusive and Stalking Relationships Guide , A Survival Manual for those in abuse, stalking and Violent Relationships.

Creator and Co-host of the hottest shows on Blog Talk radio: "Intimate Partner Homicide Investigation" with co-host Sheryl McCollum Director of the Cold Case Institute and sponsored by www.websleuths.com and Crime Wire www.blogtalkradio.com/crimewire for families seeking answers in suspicious and unsolved crimes with co-hosts veteran law enforcement and authors Vito Colucci, Jr., and Dennis N. Griffith.

We will be discussing the latest case of a suicidal fathers rampage, John Skelton, who on Thanksgiving day gave his children to a woman so that he could commit suicide.

He survived but the children and the mystery woman are still missing. We will be asking Susan questions on how this case relates to the countless she has experienced and taking your thoughts and questions.

This is the show you don't want to MISS!

 

29.11.10

Anonymoms Message to Family Courts

 

The Annihilation of Motherhood

Another MOTHER HATING JUDGE- “NO MOTHERS” “NO MOTHERS” “NO MOTHERS……

DUNG

by mamaliberty

WHATS BROWN AND SOUNDS LIKE A BELL?

I think the appropriate word for this dude isninny….

UK based mail online MR. Justice Coleridge states that:

Mothers who refuse to let separated fathers see their children should have them taken away, a senior family court judge said yesterday.

The children should be handed over to the full time care of the father if the mother persistently defies court orders, Mr Justice Coleridge said.

He called for a ‘three strikes and you’re out rule’ by which children would be taken away if mothers ignored three court orders.

The judge said that family courts are losing their authority because so many people take no notice of their judgments.

Around 5,000 new cases a year come before the family courts in which parents – almost always mothers – defy orders to let the other parent have contact.

Judges are extremely reluctant to jail such mothers because of the damaging effects on the children, so many continue to get away with it.

Mr Justice Coleridge, 61, said: ‘If I were to call it three strikes and you’re out it sounds insensitive but something like it perhaps should be the norm.’

He added that occasionally it might be necessary to send a mother to jail.

First things first….how you could even take this Marie Antoinette cross dressing wannabe serious is beyond me!  If the laws were applied the same for fathers abusers to be to held to the same standards in family court we would have no issue.

BUT….this is NOT the case in family court. 

Mothers and children are dying at the hands of their former abuser thanks to family court ordered visitation abuse.  Maternal deprivation is NOT acceptable any longer.

So as the old Monty Pythons Flying Circus recurring joke goes….Whats brown and sounds like a bell?

The idiot above.

28.11.10

PARENTAL ALIENATION TREATMENT CENTRAL: RICHARD WARSHAK’S WORK DOESN’T MEET GENERALLY ACCEPTED PRINCIPLES FOR A VALID SCIENTIFIC STUDY

Rights For Mothers

In light of Dr. Richard Warshak continuing to censor most comments that oppose him or question him in any way, discussion must continue on the many other websites that have been covering this issue that the Huffington Postcontinues to ignore.  Here is an interesting article to read, especially since I have been reading Warshak is denying any involvement in a “treatment” center.

Speaker’s Corner: Does the Warshak workshop work?

By Jan Weir | Law Times Publication Date: Monday, 19 April 2010

It can be put no better than the oft-reported quote of Dr. Sol Goldstein, who talked about the “scourge” of parental alienation in Canada.

Some commentators call it the “20/80” of the court, referring to the 20 per cent of the cases that take up 80 per cent of the time. There seems to be no effective solution.

Dr. Richard Gardner, a New York psychiatrist, proposed a theory in the early 1980s that some alienation was irrational in that the accepted parent had brainwashed the children to the extent that the cure was to deprogram them of their rejection of the other parent.

Enter Richard Warshak into the Ontario court system. He’s a psychologist from Texas who claims to have developed a four-day workshop at a cost of up to $20,000 to cure the irrational brainwashing type of alienation.

Only a handful of psychologists have training in the techniques. In some cases, the courts will order children into the custody of the rejected parent, who will then have them take the program. Sometimes, the court suspends contact with the accepted parent for a period of time.

One criticism of this theory is that it gives a tremendous amount of power to the health professional in that a misdiagnosis takes away the children’s right to object to certain parental behaviour and subjects them to an intimidating experience. The risk of that scenario increases when one parent is wealthy and the other is unable to retain an expert.

But how successful is the workshop? While it’s been around for 17 years, there hasn’t been an independent study to decide the criteria for evaluating success, monitor the cases, and compile the data.

The courts have developed rules of evidence on expert opinions because judges are intelligent amateurs who don’t want to pass judgment on the validity of scientific theories.  Thus, they are gatekeepers. For the first test of admissibility, they rely on the scientific community to determine whether the theory or technique is generally acceptable. There is no such evidence for the Warshak workshop.

Additionally, because there is a recognition that a novel theory or technique may not have been in existence long enough, the courts have developed four criteria to admit such evidence. The Warshak workshop doesn’t meet the criteria for novelty because it has been around for more than 17 years.

However, even if it were novel, the reliability of the evidence on its validity wouldn’t meet the four-part test. That’s because the first element is that it’s capable of being and in fact has been tested. Here, while the data is available for an independent test, none has taken place according to generally accepted scientific principles.

Warshak has recently published a study he did himself claiming the workshop is highly effective. But this work doesn’t meet generally accepted principles for a valid scientific study.

The guarantee of validity is independent confirmation or repeatability by other scientists. The history of science is replete with examples of very intelligent and respected scientists who have made claims that, after review by other experts, have proven unreliable.

There is enough data for short- and long-term evaluation of the Warshak workshop. One of the concerns is whether, even if the data confirms the claims, the workshop works for the right reasons.

The procedure may be so intimidating that it may frighten the children into submission. Some of them are now old enough to give feedback on such concerns.

I know of the results of just two orders from Ontario judges sending children to the Warshak workshop. One is J.K.L. v. N.C.S. The other is a case widely reported in the media in which an older brother sought to intervene to get custody of his brothers after an associate of Warshak sent them to a hospital psychiatric department alleging they had mental health issues.

The report in The Globe and Mail on the case noted that the psychiatrist at the hospital said there was nothing wrong with the boys.

Judges appear to be ignoring the Mohan general acceptance test out of desperation for a solution to this seemingly unsolvable problem. But will this prove justified?

Given that judges are making these orders and there is now local data, a study could keep track of these cases. It’s an important issue for which a research grant would likely be available.

Warshak may also reach into his altruism to make his techniques known to the health profession at large. Although it would entail a significant financial sacrifice, doing so would bring the benefit of these methods to people of more modest means and permit evaluation of them according to the usual cautionary measures of science.

The idea isn’t to deny that the workshop is effective. Warshak’s claims may in fact be correct. What’s missing is the proper scientific basis to support them and hence their admissibility in court.

There is no doubt in my mind that Warshak believes in his theory and techniques. However, as Ontario’s recent experience has shown, belief in a beneficial theory can be harmful. The only safe control on such good intentions is an independent review by the scientific community.


Jan Weir is a Toronto lawyer who was involved in S.G.B. v. S.J.L., a case in which a judge overturned an arbitrator’s award ordering participation in Warshak’s program. That matter is to go back to court for a new trial.