Between 21 and 23 October 2017, practitioners from the Family Separation Clinic attended the first international conference of the Parental Alienation Study Group in Washington, D.C.

The first day of the conference was based on the theme of ‘Education of Mental Health Professionals and the General Public’ and was co-ordinated by Lena Hellblom-Sjögren from Sweden. Day two focussed on ‘Research Regarding Parental Alienation’ and was moderated by Robert H. Ferrer from Illinois. The third and final day, titled ‘Educating and Influencing Lawyers and Judges’ explored legal interventions and was curated by Demosthenes Lorandos, a lawyer and writer from Michigan,

The conference heard from many experts in the field of parental alienation including Bill Bernet, Robert Evans, Steven Miller, Linda Gottlieb, Abe Worenklein, Michael Bone, Catherine MacWillie and Brian Ludmer. Nick Woodall, from the Family Separation Clinic delivered a presentation on ‘Educational Needs Identified During Reunification Training’ and Karen Woodall gave a presentation outlining successful interventions and standards of practice in alienation cases (see below).

The Parental Alienation Study Group (PASG) is an international, not-for-profit corporation with around 400 members – mostly mental health and legal professionals – from 43 countries. Members of PASG are interested in educating the general public, mental health clinicians, forensic practitioners, attorneys, and judges regarding parental alienation. PASG members are also interested in developing and promoting research on the causes, evaluation, prevention, and treatment of parental alienation.

The second international conference will be held in 2018, in Stockholm.