Richard A. Gardner

Richard Alan Gardner
Born	April 28, 1931(1931-04-28)
Died	May 25, 2003(2003-05-25) (aged 72)
Nationality	United States
Fields	Child psychiatry
Institutions	Columbia University
Known for	Parental alienation syndrome

Richard Alan Gardner (April 28, 1931 – May 25, 2003) was psychiatrist known for proposing the controverisal hypothesis of parental alienation syndrome (PAS) in 1985. He developed the idea through personal observation in his private practice to explain what he considered to be an epidemic of false accusations of child sexual abuse. In addition to his practice, Gardner held a volunteer position as a clinical professor of psychiatry in Columbia University's division of child and adolescent psychiatry. Over the course of his career he published more than 40 books and 250 articles in a variety of areas of child psychiatry and operated a company, Creative Therapeutics, Inc., that marketed materials based on his theories. Gardner testified as an expert witness in many of custody cases in the USA. Gardner committed suicide in 2003 in the late stages of type I complex regional pain syndrome.

Career

Gardner had a private practice and held an unpaid, volunteer position at Columbia University. Gardner authored 85 articles in peer review journals, numerous books and testified in more than 400 child custody cases.

Criticism

Main article: Parental alienation syndrome

Gardner's theory of a "parental alienation syndrome" focused on how one parent may misuse the powers of socialization to turn a child against a once loved parent. Gardner's labeling of alienation processes as a "syndrome" remains controversial among psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists. “PAS” is merely a theory, not an accepted psychological syndrome or diagnosis. It has not been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association or any other respected medical or professional association. Parental alienation syndrome has been extensively criticized by some scientists and jurists, who describe it as inadmissible in child custody hearings based on both science and law. Gardner's claims that PAS is scientifically valid and legally admissible are not widely supported and PAS is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. DSM-5 Task Force Chair David Kupfer and DSM-5 Task Force Public Representative James McNulty have written letters to concerned professionals that PAS will not be included in DSM-5.

His views stirred considerable controversy and he published a rebuttal of his critics' arguments before he died.

Carol S. Bruch, Research Professor of Law, University of California, Davis, implied that Dr. Gardner's description of PAS could inflict emotions on his audience. She found lack of careful analysis and rigor among the adopters of Dr. Gardner's theory.

In a 2002 article in the American Journal of Family Therapy Gardner dismissed most of his critics as either biased or misinformed. "Attorneys frequently select out-of-context material in order to enhance their positions in courts of law... some of these misperceptions and misrepresentations have become so widespread that I considered it judicious to formulate this statement," he wrote.

In the same article, Gardner denied that he condoned pedophilia. "I believe that pedophilia is a bad thing for society," he wrote. "I do believe, however, that pedophilia, like all other forms of atypical sexuality is part of the human repertoire and that all humans are born with the potential to develop any of the forms of atypical sexuality (which are referred to as paraphilias by DSM-IV). My acknowledgment that a form of behavior is part of the human potential is not an endorsement of that behavior. Rape, murder, sexual sadism, and sexual harassment are all part of the human potential. This does not mean I sanction these abominations."

Gardner also advocated against mandatory reporting laws for child abuse and immunity from prosecution of individuals reporting child abuse and advocated for the creation of programs with federal funding designed to assist individuals claimed to be falsely accused of child abuse.

Suicide

Gardner committed suicide on May 25, 2003, using a kitchen knife to stab himself multiple times in the chest and neck. His son Andrew said shortly after his father's death that Gardner was "distraught" over the advancing symptoms of type I complex regional pain syndrome (formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy), a painful neurological syndrome, at the time he committed suicide.

Publications

• Richard A. Gardner (1 April 1985). The Boys and Girls Book About Divorce. Bantam. ISBN 978-0-553-27619-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=thw5VThSL4sC. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
• Richard A. Gardner (1983). Dr. Gardner's Modern fairy tales. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-09-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=_yUNAQAAMAAJ. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
• Richard A. Gardner (March 1998). The parental alienation syndrome: a guide for mental health and legal professionals. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-42-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=lYAOAAAACAAJ. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
• Richard A. Gardner (May 1995). Protocols for the sex-abuse evaluation. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-38-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=SOVyAAAACAAJ. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
• Richard A. Gardner (1 March 1996). Psychotherapy with sex-abuse victims: true, false, and hysterical. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-41-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=SMoAAAAACAAJ. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
• Richard A. Gardner (December 2001). Sex-Abuse Trauma?: Or Trauma from Other Sources?. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-47-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=iGkAAAAACAAJ. Retrieved 27 November 2011.