Premium
When a Child Rejects a Parent: Working With the Intractable Resist/Refuse Dynamic
Author(s) -
Walters Marjorie Gans,
Friedlander Steven
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
family court review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.171
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1744-1617
pISSN - 1531-2445
DOI - 10.1111/fcre.12238
Subject(s) - family court , work (physics) , resist , family therapy , mental health , psychology , public relations , law , medicine , social psychology , political science , psychotherapist , engineering , nanotechnology , materials science , mechanical engineering , layer (electronics)
A subgroup of intractable families, in which a child refuses postseparation contact with a parent, perplexes and frustrates professionals who work with them. This article discusses the underlying forces that drive the family's intractability, as well as guidelines for working with the family. The guidelines include specific court orders developed from the very beginning of the case that elaborate the court's stance about goals and expectations for the family, along with specialized individual and family therapies that are undertaken within a framework of planned collaboration with the court. The collaborative team of legal and mental health professionals works in an innovative and active way to structure, support, and monitor the family's progress in resolving the resist/refuse dynamic.