Richard Warshak


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Richard A. Warshak (born December 18, 1949) is an American clinical and research psychologist and author. He is best known for his expertise on child custody, shared parenting, and parental alienation disputes in the context of divorce. Warshak has written three books, The Custody Revolution,[1] Divorce Poison: Protecting the Parent-Child Bond From a Vindictive Ex,[2] and the revised edition, Divorce Poison: How to Protect Your Family from Bad-mouthing and Brainwashing.[3]

Richard Warshak

Born1949
NationalityAmerican
EducationPh.D., Clinical psychology
Alma materUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Known forChild custody, Shared parenting, Parental alienation
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Thesis The Effects of Father Custody and Mother Custody on Children's Personality Development  (1978)

Education

Warshak graduated from Brooklyn's Midwood High School[4] in 1966 and received his B.S. degree from Cornell University in 1971. Warshak received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (formerly the University of Texas Health Science Center) in 1978 where he stayed to eventually become Clinical Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry.[5]

Research

Child custody

Warshak's doctoral dissertation, The Effects of Father Custody and Mother Custody on Children's Personality Development,[6] was the first study to directly compare children growing up in father-custody homes to children growing up in mother-custody homes.[7] He later collaborated with John Santrock on the Texas Custody Research Project on a series of studies on the effects of different custody dispositions and stepfamilies.[8]

Warshak's subsequent research in this area has focused on remarriage, relocation, parenting plans for young children, the American Law Institute's approximation rule and children's preferences in custody disputes. His child custody studies have been cited in case law and legislation.[9][10][11][12]

Parental alienation

In 2010, Warshak's articles on Family Bridges: A Workshop for Troubled and Alienated Parent-Child Relationships were followed by discussion of the concept of parental alienation by mental health professionals and in the Family Court Review.[13] Warshak published an article that discussed the controversy about whether a child's unreasonable alienation from a parent could be diagnosed as a syndrome and presented arguments both for and against the use of the term parental alienation syndrome.[14]

Warshak takes the position that the origin and maintenance of a child's unreasonable alienation from a parent alienation may result from a variety of causes, including the behavior of the rejected parent.[15][16]

Warshak asserts that the emotional and financial costs of severe irrational alienation, and the obstacles to its alleviation, make it important to educate judges to prevent unreasonable parental alienation and quickly identify children who are at risk. He authored and co-produced a video, Welcome Back, Pluto: Understanding, Preventing, and Overcoming Parental Alienation, directed at children, teens, and young adults who are alienated or at risk for becoming alienated.[17] In addition to education, Warshak asserts that courts must rapidly and effectively enforce orders related to children's contact with both parents.[18]

Consensus report on shared parenting

In 2014 Warshak wrote Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children: A Consensus Report[19], which summarize research on different child custody arrangements after divorce, recommending shared parenting in the vast majority of cases. The paper was endorsed by 110 leading researchers and practitioners, and was published by the American Psychological Association in the journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.[20][21]

Organizational service

Warshak was a founding member and past president of the Dallas Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology and was the founding editor of the Dallas Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology Bulletin.[22]

Warshak has written several op-ed columns published in U.S. newspapers,[23] and in 2010 he was one of the original team of authors invited to launch the Divorce section of the Huffington Post.[24] He was one of the four contributors selected to inaugurate the Child and Family Blog co-sponsored by Princeton University, Brookings Institution, University of Cambridge, and the Jacobs Foundation.[25]

As an international guest commentator Warshak has contributed to media segments on custody disputes, parental alienation, child abuse, stepfamilies, celebrity divorces, child psychology, parenting, and helping children cope with fears and trauma. In 2006 he appeared in the PBS documentary Kids and Divorce.[26] Warshak has been interviewed by major television networks in the United States, Canada, England, and Germany, including ABC 20/20,[27] NBC Today, Dateline NBC, CBS, CNN, BBC, CTV, Fox, Geraldo, and CourtTV. His work has been featured in international print media in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Columbia, England, Germany, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, and Scotland, including The New York Times (front page story),[28] The Washington Post (cover story), USA Today (cover story), The Sunday Telegraph, Il Giornale, the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail (front page and editorial), Maclean's, The Age,[29] and Time magazine[7][30][31]

Controversy

Warshak has suggested that when courts place irrationally alienated children in the custody of the parent whom they reject, some children benefit from assistance to adjust to the court ordered arrangement. Fidler and Bala concluded, “All severe and some moderate cases of alienation . . . are likely to require a different and more intrusive approach if the relationship with the rejected parent is not to be abandoned and the alienation is to be successfully corrected.”[32]

In the past Warshak provided traditional therapy and Family Bridges educational workshops to help children and custodial parents deal with the court-imposed transition of living together. Warshak now studies the outcome of such programs. Joan Kelly described the Family Bridges workshop as “a rigorous and disciplined approach designed to help participants repair severely derailed parent–child relationships. Family Bridges uses evidence-based instruction principles to maximize learning and create a safe atmosphere enabling the alienated child(ren) and rejected parent to be, and work, together.”[33] A few children who participated in such programs have alleged that they were forced to repudiate their complaints about a parent they rejected.[34][35] The results of a 2018 peer-reviewed study on the outcome of Family Bridges with 83 children indicate that such allegations are not typical of children’s reports of their experiences in the workshop.[36]

Selected publications

Books

  • The Custody Revolution. (1992). NY: Simon & Schuster.
  • Divorce Poison: Protecting the Parent-Child Bond from a Vindictive Ex. (2002). NY: HarperCollins. Hardcover, paperback, Kindle and other e-book editions.
  • Divorce Poison: How to Protect the Parent-Child Bond from Bad-mouthing and Brainwashing. (2010). NY: HarperCollins. Paperback, Kindle and other e-book editions. Foreign editions: Czech Republic, Croatia, Korea, Finland, Japan.

Articles

  • Santrock, J. W. & Warshak, R. A. (1979). Father custody and social development in boys and girls. Journal of Social Issues, 35 (4), 112-125.
  • Santrock, J. W., Warshak, R. A. et al. (1982). Children’s and parents’ observed social behavior in stepfather families. Child Development, 53 (2), 472-480.
  • Warshak, R. A. (1986). Father-custody and child development: A review and analysis of psychological research. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 4, 185-202.
  • Warshak, R. A. (1996). Gender Bias in Child Custody Decisions. Family and Conciliation Courts Review, 34 (3), 396-409.
  • Warshak, R. A. (1999). Observers of Childhood Sexual Behavior. Pediatrics, 103 (4), 853.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2000). Remarriage as a Trigger of Parental Alienation Syndrome. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 28, 229-241.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2000). Social Science and Children’s Best Interests in Relocation Cases: Burgess Revisited. Family Law Quarterly, 34 (1), 83-113.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2000). Blanket Restrictions: Overnight Contact Between Parents and Young Children. Family and Conciliation Courts Review, 38 (4), 422-445. Reprinted in M. K. Pruett (Ed.), Overnights and Young Children: Essays from the Family Court Review, 45- 65.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2001). Current Controversies Regarding Parental Alienation Syndrome. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 19, 29-59.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2002). Misdiagnosis of Parental Alienation Syndrome. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 20, 31-52.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2003). Bringing Sense to Parental Alienation: a Look at the Disputes and the Evidence. Family Law Quarterly, 37, 273-301.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2003). Payoffs and Pitfalls of Listening to Children. Family Relations, 52 (4), 373-384.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2007). Punching the Parenting Time Clock: The Approximation Rule, Social Science, and the Baseball Bat Kids. Family Court Review, 45 (4), 600-619.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2007). The Approximation Rule, Child Development Research, and Children’s Best Interests After Divorce. Child Development Perspectives, 1, 119-125.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2010). Family Bridges: Using Insights From Social Science to Reconnect Parents and Alienated Children. Family Court Review, 48 (1), 48-80.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2011). The Approximation Rule Survey: The American Law Institute’s Proposed Reform Misses the Target. State Bar of Texas Section Report: Family Law, Volume 2011-5 Fall, 22-32.
  • Hands, A. J. & Warshak, R. A. (2011). Parental Alienation Among College Students. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 39, 431-443.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2011). Parenting by the Clock: The Best Interests of the Child Standard, Judicial Discretion, and The American Law Institute’s “Approximation Rule.” "University of Baltimore Law Review, 41 (1), 83-163.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2013). In a Land Far, Far Away: Assessing Children’s Best Interests in International Relocation Cases. Journal of Child Custody, 10, 295-324.
  • Warshak, R. A., with the endorsement of 110 researchers and practitioners listed in the Appendix. (2014). Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children: A Consensus Report. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 20, 46-67.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2015). Poisoning Parent-Child Relationships Through the Manipulation of Names. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 43, 4-15.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2015). Securing Children’s Best Interests While Resisting the Lure of Simple Solutions. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 56, 57-79.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2015). Parental Alienation: Overview, Intervention, and Practice Tips. Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 27, in press.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2015). Ten Parental Alienation Fallacies that Compromise Decisions in Court and in Therapy. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 46 (4), online first publication June 22, 2015.

Book chapters

  • Warshak, R. A. & Santrock, J. W. (1983). Children of divorce: Impact of custody disposition on social development. In E.J. Callahan & K.A. McCluskey (Eds.), Lifespan Developmental Psychology: Non-normative Life Events. New York: Academic Press.
  • Warshak, R. A. & Santrock, J. W. (1983). The impact of divorce in father-custody and mother-custody homes: The child’s perspective. In L. Kurdek (Ed.), Children and Divorce. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • Santrock, J. W. & Warshak, R. A. (1986). Development, relationships, and legal/clinical considerations in father-custody families. In M.E. Lamb (Ed.), The Father’s Role: Applied Perspectives. New York: Wiley.
  • Warshak, R. A. (1987). Father-custody families: Therapeutic goals and strategies. In M. Lindblad-Goldberg (Ed.), Clinical Issues in Single Parent Households. Rockville, MD.: Aspen Publishers.
  • Warshak, R. A. (1996). The Primary Parent Presumption. In G. Herman (Ed.), 101+Practical Solutions for the Family Lawyer. Chicago: American Bar Association.
  • Warshak, R. A. (1999). Psychological Syndromes: Parental Alienation Syndrome. In R. Orsinger (Ed.), Expert Witness Manual. Austin: State Bar of Texas Family Law Section.
  • Warshak, R. A. (1999). Relocation Litigation: A Social Science Critique of Burgess v. Burgess. In R. Orsinger (Ed.), Expert Witness Manual. Austin: State Bar of Texas Family Law Section.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2003). Current Controversies Regarding Parental Alienation Syndrome. In W. von Boch-Gallhau, U. Kodjoe, W Andritsky, and P. Koeppel (Eds.), The Parental Alienation Syndrome: An Interdisciplinary Challenge for Professionals Involved in Divorce. Berlin, Germany: VWB-Verlag für Wissenshaft and Bildung.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2006). Social Science and Parental Alienation: Examining the Disputes and the Evidence. In R. A. Gardner, R. Sauber, and D. Lorandos (Eds.), The International Handbook of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Conceptual, Clinical and Legal Considerations. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, LTD.
  • Warshak, R. A. (2013). Severe Cases of Parental Alienation. In D. Lorandos, R. Sauber, and W. Bernet (Eds.), Parental Alienation: Handbook for Mental Health and Legal Professionals. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, LTD.

References

  1. ^ Warshak, R. A. (1992.) The Custody Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  2. ^ Warshak, R. A. (2002). Divorce Poison: Protecting the Parent-Child Bond from a Vindictive Ex. New York: ReganBooks.
  3. ^ Warshak, R. A. (2010). Divorce Poison: How to Protect Your Family from Bad-mouthing and Brainwashing. New York: Harper Collins.
  4. ^ Midwood High School Brooklyn, NY Alumni List
  5. ^ UT Southwestern Clinical Psychology Faculty
  6. ^ Warshak, R. A. (1978). The Effects of Father Custody and Mother Custody on Children’s Personality Development. Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas Health Science Center, Dallas, TX.
  7. ^ a b Behavior: Woe Is One. (1980, September 8).Time, 116 (10).
  8. ^ Warshak, Richard A.; Santrock, John W. (March 1983). "The impact of divorce in father-custody and mother-custody homes: The child's perspective". New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. 1983 (19): 29–46. doi:10.1002/cd.23219831905.
  9. ^ Hague Conference on Private International Law, Permanent Bureau, Child Abduction/Protection of Children (2012). Preliminary Note On International Family Relocation, referring to Warshak, R. A. (2000). Social Science and Children's Best Interests in Relocation Cases: Burgess Revisited. Family Law Quarterly, 34 (1), 83-113 as one of “three of the most cited articles” on relocation.
  10. ^ Parental Alienation Case Law
  11. ^ German civil code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch –BGB), Palandt, C. H. Beck-Verlag, München 2006, 65th edition, Vol. 7, § 1684, Rd-Nr. 7, p. 1970 and 2007, 66th edition, Vol. 7, § 1684, Rd.-Nr. 7, p. 1975.
  12. ^ Eduskunta (Finnish Parliament). Lapsen vieraannuttaminen etävanhemmastaan avioerotilanteessa. [dead link]
  13. ^ Fidler, B. J. & Bala, N. (2010). Guest Editors’ Introduction To Special Issue On Alienated Children In Divorce And Separation: Emerging Approaches For Families And Courts. Family Court Review, 48 (1), 6-9. “The impetus for this special issue arises from the preparation of a paper by Richard Warshak that was submitted for publication in FCR. His article 'Family Bridges: Using Insights from Social Science to Reconnect Parents and Alienated Children' is the first to appear in a refereed journal on the workshop. It went through a rigorous peer-review process before being accepted for publication” (page 7).
  14. ^ Warshak, R. A. (2003). Bringing Sense to Parental Alienation: a Look at the Disputes and the Evidence. Family Law Quarterly, 37, 273-301.
  15. ^ In Focus: Divorce Poison (2010-02-19). PBS KNME-TV.
  16. ^ Warshak, supra note 3 at 61-62: "Relief from alienation requires an understanding of all the contributing factors.The child may have her own motives, the rejected parent may be responding in a rigid manner that reinforces the negative attitudes, and the favored parent may be actively or passively supporting the rupture of the parent-child relationship. In additron to the actions of the parents and child, sometimes the circumstances of the marriage and divorce play a key role." Warshak, supra note 3 at 63: "The search for the roots of alienation is not a quest to place blame but to find effective solutions to this tragic problem."
  17. ^ Levy, D. L., & Sauber, S. R. (2011). Review of the DVD Welcome Back, Pluto: Understanding, Preventing, and Overcoming Parental Alienation. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 39, 77-85.
  18. ^ Pigg, S. (2010, February 9). Tough Love From Texas. Toronto Star.
  19. ^ Richard Warshak, Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children: A Consensus Report, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2014
  20. ^ Ohio legislators should support shared parenting and parental equality, by Professor Donald Hubin: “[T]he American Psychological Association published a report by prominent psychologist Richard Warshak, titled "Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children: A Consensus Report," that concluded shared parenting should be the norm. What's more, the conclusions were endorsed by 110 researchers and practitioners who added their names to the paper -- a rare occurrence in social science."
  21. ^ Nielsen, L. (2015). Pop Goes the Woozle: Being Misled by Research on Child Custody and Parenting Plans, Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 56, 595–633. DOI: 10.1080/10502556.2015.1092349 "In the group that endorsed the Warshak paper, there were 11 people who had held major office in professional associations, such as a former president of the American Psychological Association; 5 university vice-presidents, provosts, or deans; 14 professors emeriti; 17 department chairs; 61 full professors; 16 members of the American Board of Professional Psychologists (ABBP), and eight professors with endowed chairs. Others were leading attachment researchers, the current editor of the major journal on attachment, and leading daycare and early child development researchers."
  22. ^ Brix, D. J.(1994). Dallas Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology: A brief history Archived 2011-11-13 at the Wayback Machine. In R. C. Lane and M. Meisels (Eds.), A History of the Division of Psychoanalysis of the American Psychological Association. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  23. ^ Making kids chose not wise in custody battles
  24. ^ The Huffington Post: Richard Warshak.
  25. ^ About the Child and Family Blog
  26. ^ PBS(2006). Kids and Divorce: For Better or Worse.
  27. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/2020/ChrisCuomo/fighting-liam-fathers-custody-battle-continues/story?id=9315571
  28. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20040809monday.html
  29. ^ Arndt, B. (2014, April 28). Empty days, lonely nights. The Age.
  30. ^ Paul, P. (2004, August 30). Joint Custody Blues. Time.
  31. ^ Rochman, B. (2011, May 19). The Schwarzenegger Kids: Coping with Parental Betrayal in the Public Eye. Time.
  32. ^ Fidler, B. J. & Bala, N. (2010). Children Resisting Postseparation Contact with a Parent: Concepts, Controversies, and Conundrums Family Court Review P. 25.
  33. ^ Kelly, Joan B. (2010). Commentary on “Family Bridges: Using insights from social science to reconnect parents and alienated children.” (Warshak, 2010) Family Court Review. Kelly described the workshop’s lessons and materials as “drawn from universally accepted research in social, cognitive, and child developmental psychology, sociology, and social neuroscience.” (P. 83)
  34. ^ Bundy, Trey (9 March 2019). "Bitter custody". The Center for Investigative Reporting. Reveal. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  35. ^ Tabachnick, Cara (11 May 2017). "They were taken from their mom to rebond with their dad. It didn't go well". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  36. ^ Warshak, R. A. (2018). Reclaiming Parent–Child Relationships: Outcomes of Family Bridges with Alienated Children. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage. Five different measures completed by the children affirmed that most of the children had positive feelings about the experience and about the workshop leaders. But 8% of the children rated the workshop as “poor,” whereas 75% of the parents who participated in the workshop rated it as “excellent” and 25% rated it as “good.”