Richard A. Gardner

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Richard Alan Gardner
Born April 28, 1931(1931-04-28)
Died May 25, 2003 (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 a clinical professor of psychiatry in the Division of Child Psychiatry at Columbia University from 1963 until his death in 2003. He was known for coining the term parental alienation syndrome (PAS) in 1985. He published more than 40 books and more than 250 articles in a variety of areas of child psychiatry. He also 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.[1]

Gardner was a consistent advocate for fathers in custody battles, particularly fathers accused of child abuse. His most recent book, The Parental Alienation Syndrome, describes in detail the stages (i.e., mild, moderate, severe) of destructive impact on a child of one parent's alienation of another parent, and fully describes the three types of alienator parent (i.e., naive, active, obsessed).

Contents

[edit] Career

Gardner wrote the first self-help book for children of divorce; was reviewed by Time, excerpted in the Sunday New York Times magazine, and is currently in its 28th printing. He devised a therapeutic technique, Mutual Story-Telling, that is included in child psychiatry curricula and listed as one of 35 significant events in the history of play therapy.[citation needed] In addition, he originated a new therapeutic modality with his introduction of the first therapeutic board game for use in psychotherapy with children. The use of such games has since become standard in child psychotherapy with many games following Gardner’s lead. Gardner’s books and therapeutic games have been translated into nine languages.

[edit] Criticism

Gardner's main contribution was to draw attention to parental alienation processes, that is, 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.[2] 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. [3] Research has found that Gardner's claims that PAS is "scientifically valid and legally admissible" are not supported .[4] Studies have found many deficiencies in Gardner's PAS theory.[5] PAS has never been scientifically confirmed as a legitimate theory, and it has little probative value in court in terms of making decisions about sexual abuse.[6] in [7]It is not listed "in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) as a psychiatric disorder and is not recognized as a valid medical syndrome by the American Medical Association, or the American Psychological Association."[6] Other research shows that Gardner provides no data to support his theory of PAS and some of its tenets are wrong.[8]

The issues he raised, by their nature, stirred considerable controversy. Because of this, he felt compelled to publish a rebuttal before he died. Noteworthy scholars such as Bruce Sales have cast serious doubt upon the workings of the family courts in the United States and elsewhere. Furthermore, scandals in New York City and San Diego have blown open a small window into the world of custody evaluation and revealed what may be a massive corruption scam.[9][10] Gardner has been criticized for his atypical views on sexuality and pedophilia.[11] His views have been compared to The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), a political, civil rights and educational organization that advocates sex between adult males and male children.[11] It has been stated that Gardner’s theory of human sexuality, sees "adult-child sexual contact as benign and beneficial to the reproduction of the species."[4]

There is considerable criticism of Gardner by feminist critics. Kim Gandy, President of theNational Organization for Women alleged him to say rape victims "gain pleasure from being beaten, bound, and otherwise made to suffer" and that it is "the price they are willing to pay for gaining the gratification of receiving the sperm."[12] or that masochistic women gain pleasure in this way and that "the child who has suffered bona fide abuse may very well have enjoyed the experience".[12]

Gardner did write about physical pleasure by children at the time of the abuse and the child's possible feelings of "guilt over such pleasure because ... the act is an unacceptable, sinful, or even criminal act."[13]

Richard Gardner denied that he in any way condoned pedophilia: "I believe that pedophilia is a bad thing for society. 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.".[14][15]

"As a political advocate, Gardner lobbied to abolish mandated reporting of child abuse, to abolish immunity for reporters of child abuse, and for the creation of federally funded programs to assist individuals claiming to be falsely accused.[4]"

[edit] Suicide

Gardner took his own life on May 25, 2003, using a kitchen knife to stab himself multiple times in the chest and neck.[16] His son Andrew said shortly after his father's death that Gardner was "distraught" over the advancing symptoms of reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a painful neurological syndrome, at the time he took his life.[17]

[edit] Selected books

  • The boys and girls book about divorce, with an introduction for parents, by Richard A. Gardner. Foreword by Louise Bates Ames. Illustrated by Alfred Lowenheim (1970), Science House, ISBN 0-553-27619-0
  • Doctor Gardner's Modern Fairy Tales (1977) ISBN 0-933812-09-4
  • The Parental Alienation Syndrome (1992) ISBN 0-933812-42-6
  • Protocols for the Sex-Abuse Evaluation (1995) ISBN 0-933812-38-8
  • Psychotherapy With Sex-Abuse Victims: True, False, and Hysterical (1996) ISBN 0-933812-41-8
  • Sex-Abuse Trauma?: Or Trauma from Other Sources? (2001) ISBN 0-933812-47-7

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Hoult, JA (2006). "The Evidentiary Admissibility of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Science, Law, and Policy". Children's Legal Rights Journal 26 (1). http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=910267. 
  2. ^ Waldron, KH; Joanis DE (1996). "Understanding and Collaboratively Treating Parental Alienation Syndrome". American Journal of Family Law 10: 121-133. http://fact.on.ca/Info/pas/waldron.htm. "Gardner's conceptualization of the problem and the dynamics underlying the problem proved at best incomplete, if not simplistic and erroneous.". 
  3. ^ Wood, CL (1994). "The parental alienation syndrome: a dangerous aura of reliability". Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 29: 1367–1415. http://fact.on.ca/Info/pas/wood94.htm. "PAS testimony should not be admitted in court because of the causation and evidentiary problems with the theory. Because of the dangerous aura of reliability and trustworthiness extant in Dr. Gardner's self- published theory, admission of PAS is inevitable and particularly disconcerting.". 
  4. ^ a b c Hoult, Jennifer Ann (2006). "The Evidentiary Admissibility of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Science, Law, and Policy". Children's Legal Rights Journal 26 (1). http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=642440. "The article also analyzes the writings of PAS’s originator, child psychiatrist Richard Gardner - including twenty-three peer-reviewed articles and fifty legal decisions he cited in support of his claim that PAS is scientifically valid and legally admissible - finding that these materials support neither PAS’s existence, nor its legal admissibility. Finally, the article examines the policy issues raised by PAS’s admissibility through an analysis of PAS’s roots in Gardner’s theory of human sexuality, a theory that views adult-child sexual contact as benign and beneficial to the reproduction of the species.". 
  5. ^ Bruch, Carol S. (2001). "Parental Alienation Syndrome and Parental Alienation: Getting It Wrong in Child Custody Cases". Family Law Quarterly 35 (527). http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=228611. "The deficiencies in PAS theory are multiple...PAS as developed and purveyed by Richard Gardner has neither a logical nor a scientific basis. It is rejected by responsible social scientists and lacks solid grounding in psychological theory or research.". 
  6. ^ a b Dallam, S.J. (1999). "The Parental Alienation Syndrome: Is It Scientific?". http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/dallam/3.html. "The diagnosis of PAS relies heavily on subjective clinical judgments rather than objective, validated criteria. Although it has been almost 15 years since Gardner first proposed PAS theory, he has never performed any tests to confirm PAS or any of the various instruments he developed based on PAS theory. However, many of the assumptions upon which PAS theory is based have been tested by various researchers and been found to be erroneous. Because Gardner 's methods of determining abuse have been found to be seriously flawed, PAS provides little probative value to courts in making decisions about the presence or absence of sexual abuse." 
  7. ^ St. Charles, E.; Crook, L. (1999). Expose: The failure of family courts to protect children from abuse in custody disputes .. Los Gatos, CA: Our Children Our Children Charitable Foundation.. 
  8. ^ Faller, K. C. (1998). "The parental alienation syndrome: What is it and what data support it?". Child Maltreatment 3 (2): 100-115. http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/docs/Faller1998.pdf. "No data are provided by Gardner to support the existence of the syndrome and its proposed dynamics. In fact, the research and clinical writing of other professionals leads to a conclusion that some of its tenets are wrong and that other tenets represent a minority view". 
  9. ^ Brad Hamilton, Tug of Love, N. Y. Post, May 18, 2003 [1]
  10. ^ Gardner's a rebuttal in 1999.
  11. ^ a b Dallam, S.J. (1998). "Dr. Richard Gardner: A review of his theories and opinions on atypical sexuality, pedophilia, and treatment issues.". Treating Abuse Today 8 (1): 15-23. http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/dallam/2.html. "As part of his theory, Gardner (1992, pp. 24-5) proposes that pedophilia serves procreative purposes....Gardner 's Views on Pedophilia "The sexually abused child is generally considered to be the victim," though the child may initiate sexual encounters by "seducing" the adult.". 
  12. ^ a b Below the Belt: Sick Joke or Sick Reality?
  13. ^ Richard A Gardner, The Parental Alienation Syndrome and the Differentiation Between Fabricated and Genuine Child Sex Abuse (1987).
  14. ^ Misperceptions versus facts about Richard A. Gardner
  15. ^ The American Journal of Family Therapy October 2002
  16. ^ Dr. Richard Gardner's Complete Autopsy Report - Suicide
  17. ^ Richard Gardner, 72, Dies; Cast Doubt on Abuse Claims New York Times, June 9, 2003

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_A._Gardner"
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