Personal consultation

The dynamic often referred to as parental alienation is a relational problem in which a child unconsciously utilises the maladaptive defence of psychological splitting in response to a relational landscape that has become frightening and overwhelming, usually in the context of their parent's divorce or separation.

Our personal consultations offer support and information for parents who believe that their child is or may be alienated. Using our differential approach to alienation, we will help you to gain a greater understanding of the issues you and your child or children face and the best approaches for dealing with them.

Our personal consultations are designed to help you deal with the issues you are facing as effectively as possible. Whilst we offer a therapeutic approach that will help you to process how you feel about what is happening, consultations are not therapy but are, instead, primarily focussed on helping you to:

• understand your child's experiences and behaviours,
• understand the unique dynamics of your situation, and
• build strategies for change.

Through this work, we will explore with you the potential for you to create change without going to court or look at whether legal action may be a necessary condition for change.

Depending on the specific nature of your case, we may then support you to manage things in order to stabilise your relationship with your child(ren), help you to change the existing dynamics in order to reduce any psychological pressures that are creating the problem, explore the potential need to take legal action in order to protect your child(ren), or develop strategies to maintain a presence in your child(ren)'s life and towards reconnection.

Please note that the Family Separation Clinic's work is based in standard psychological, psychotherapeutic and child development theories and we do not use, nor do we support, Parental Alienation Theory or quasi-diagnostic approaches such as 'eight signs' or what is referred to as the 'Five Factor Model.'

We normally recommend an initial session of 90 minutes however, you are free to book a one hour appointment if you feel that will be sufficient.

We are able to offer a limited number of face-to-face sessions, however availability is very limited due to our other work. These are usually conducted at our base near Liverpool Street station in London. Sessions outside London can be arranged but incur travel costs. Skype or telephone working increases flexibility as well as being cheaper.

We also offer a package of six consultations for the cost of five. Please ask for more details.

Please note:

Our ability to schedule appointments is constrained by the nature of the work we do which has to respond to direction from the courts, clinical prioritising and other similar demands.