Amy J. L. Baker, PhD
Dr. Amy J.L. Baker has a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College of Columbia University. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in parental alienation and psychological maltreatment of children. She is the author or co-author of 8 books and over 115 articles. Some of her books are Adult children of parental alienation, surviving parental alienation, co-parenting with a toxic ex, and the high conflict custody battle. She has conducted trainings for legal and mental health professionals around the country.
Dr. Amy J.L. Baker, has a PhD in developmental psychology and specializes in parent-child relationships. Based on her research in the field as well as her training in human development, Dr. Baker offers personalized telephone coaching for parents dealing with parental alienation. She works with all types of PA-affected families including those in which the alienated children are adults and completely cut-off from the targeted parent as well as those in which the children are under 18 and still have ongoing contact with the targeted parent. The coaching is tailored to the specific needs of each family and focuses on both parenting and co-parenting issues as well as working on maximizing interactions with legal and mental health professionals. Sessions are on the phone, last 60 minutes, and cost $230. For more information contact Dr. Baker at amyjlbaker@aol.com.
amyjbaker.com
Dr. Baker and colleagues are pleased to offer a new service for targeted parents and their adult alienated children: The Restoring Family Connections Program. The program is designed to be implemented by licensed mental health professionals on an outpatient voluntary basis. For more information about the program click here.
Publications
This article has been published online. It is in journal pre-proof stage and will be in hard copy print within the next few months.
Losses Experienced by Children Alienated from a Parent
Jennifer J. Harman, Mandy L. Matthewson, Amy J.L. Baker
Link >> https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X2100066X
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.05.002
Highlights
• Parental alienating behaviors are related to a child’s rejection of a parent for unjustified reasons.
• Children who have been alienated from a parent experience substantial losses across many areas of their lives.
• The alienated child’s loss of the parent-child relationship is often compounded by the loss of important social supports, leaving the child to manage their losses alone.
Abstract
Parental alienation occurs when a child aligns with one parent and unjustifiably rejects the other as a result of parental alienating behaviors. This paper provides an overview of current research and theory regarding the losses alienated children endure. Parental alienating behaviors alter the child’s beliefs, perceptions, and memories of the alienated parent, triggering a cascade of profound losses for the child. These losses include loss of individual self; childhood experiences; extended family; community; and activities and relationships essential for healthy development. Consequently, alienated children often experience ongoing and ambiguous losses and thereby suffer disenfranchised grief in isolation.
Keywords Parental alienation, parental alienating behaviors, grief, Loss, isolation
Please cite this article as:
Harman JJ, Matthewson ML, Baker AJL, Losses Experienced by Children Alienated from a Parent, Current Opinion in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.05.002.
DR AMY BAKER - MONTREAL SYMPOSIUM 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6R1kUaoPlk
DR. AMY BAKER - AUGUST 2018 PASG CONFERENCE IN STOCKHOLM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VwRtADtHjY&list=PLut7BFsGYt_I_PgcAizqWg-TtNMVpSDN8&index=6&t=0s
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/07/17/coparenting-after-divorce
The Cult of Parenthood: A Qualitative Study of Parental Alienation
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4dcc/f89a875ad58e8efa6d6289d23acf97fe4fcc.pdf
"THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOURS ABOUT PHYSICALLY ABUSED CHILDREN: A SURVEY OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS"
A study was conducted to assess clinician reports of behaviors and attitudes of physically abused children in order to determine whether they were described as generally behaving in a manner designed to maintain the attachment to the caregiver rather than disrupt the attachment, as alienated children do. Three hundred and thirty-eight clinicians were surveyed about the attitudes and behaviors of moderately or severely physically abused children. Some clinicians rated a specific severely abused child, some rated severely abused children in general, some rated a specific moderately abused child, and some rated moderately abused children in general. Half of the items on the survey pertained to attachment-enhancing behaviors (caring about the parent's feelings, staying connected the family of the parent, minimizing the harm, and so forth) and half of the items reflected attachment-disrupting behaviors (idolizing the other parent, being rude towards the parent, expressing trivial reasons for being hurt with the parent, and so forth). The attachment disrupting behaviors are those typically seen in alienated children. For each of the four samples, abused children were rated by their clinicians as expressing significantly more attachment-enhancing behaviors than attachment-disrupting behaviors. They were also found to exhibit more extreme attachment enhancing behaviors than extreme attachment disrupting behaviors. For the most part, characteristics of the rater and the child were not associated with ratings. Physically abused children were reported to want to maintain relationships with abusive caregivers, which presents challenges as well as opportunities for clinicians working with this highly vulnerable population. The paper was written by Amy J.L. Baker, Steve Miller, William Bernet, and Trinae Adebayo. The paper was published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies. We gratefully thank The Steel Partners Foundation for funding the study and making it possible.
The Eight Behavioral Manifestations of Parental Alienation
17 Primary Parental Alienation Strategies
Tactics Manipulators Use to Maintain Power and Control
The Emotional Life of the Targeted Parent
3 Degrees of Parental Alienation
11 Catalysts for Reunification
11 Arguments for Family Court Judges Taking Action in Cases Where Parental Alienation is Present