Professionals

Please refer to the below professionals. These professionals frequently contribute content for Family Access Fighting for Children’s Rights, including presentations at conferences, webinars, and Families Divided TV episodes.

  • William Bernet, MD

    William Bernet, M.D., a graduate of Holy Cross College, summa cum laude, and Harvard Medical School, is a professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.  He is board certified in general psychiatry, child psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry.  As an expert in forensic psychiatry, Dr. Bernet has testified about 300 times in 24 states.  Dr. Bernet has written professional articles and book chapters on a variety of subjects, including: group and individ­ual therapy with children and adolescents; humor in psychother­apy; forensic child psychiatry; child maltreatment; true and false allegations of abuse; satanic ritual abuse; reincarnation; child custody and visitation; parental alienation; testimony regarding behavioral genomics; and risk management.  In 2007, Dr. Bernet and Judge Don R. Ash published Children of Divorce: A Practical Guide for Parents, Therapists, Attorneys, and Judges.  Dr. Bernet edited Parental Alienation, DSM-5, and ICD-11, which was published in 2010.  Dr. Bernet and his colleagues edited Parental Alienation: The Handbook for Mental Health and Legal Professionals, which was published in 2013.  He is the founder and first president of the Parental Alienation Study Group.

  • Bill Eddy, LCSW, ESQ

    Bill Eddy is co-founder and chief innovation officer of High Conflict Institute. He pioneered the High Conflict Personality Theory (HCP) and is the world’s leading expert on methods for managing disputes involving people with high conflict personalities.


    Bill has worked as the senior family mediator at the National Conflict Resolution Center, a certified family law specialist representing clients in family court, and a licensed clinical social worker therapist. In 2021, he received the Lifetime Achievement award from the Academy of Professional Mediators.


    He serves on the faculty of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law in California and is a conjoint associate professor with the University of Newcastle Law School in Australia. He has delivered talks and trainings in more than 30 U.S. states and thirteen countries and is the author or co-author of 20 books. His popular blog on the Psychology Today website has more than 5 million views. He trains lawyers, judges, and mediators, and regularly consults on issues of alienation, family violence, and false allegations in family court cases.

  • Edward Kruk, PhD, MSW

    Edward Kruk is an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where he specializes in child and family policy. With a career spanning both Canada and the United Kingdom, he has extensive experience as a welfare rights worker, child protection worker, school social worker, hospital social worker, and family services worker. His research and practice focus on family mediation and addiction, areas in which he continues to teach and work.

    Kruk has made significant contributions to the field of social work, particularly in child welfare and family dynamics. His work addresses key issues such as child protection, welfare rights, and the challenges faced by families in crisis. He is actively involved in developing policies and practices that support vulnerable families and children, drawing from his deep understanding of social work in both practice and academia.

    In addition to his teaching role, Kruk is recognized for his hands-on approach to family mediation, helping families navigate complex dynamics and conflict resolution. His commitment to child and family welfare continues to shape his teaching, research, and practice at UBC.

  • Chris Smith

    ​Chris Smith is a Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent peer-review-rated attorney that has been recognized as a Journal Record Achiever Under 40 and has been named to the Super Lawyer Rising Star list from 2014-2020 as well as the most recent issue of Super Lawyers, in addition to being identified by Best Lawyers in America in the area of Family Law.


    He represents individuals located throughout Oklahoma, Texas, and the Western United States in high-conflict family law and custody litigation and appeals, and he does not shy away from complicated cases including ones that involve: highly contested custody matters, parental alienation, parental rights, sexual abuse allegations, high-stakes property division, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, family businesses, and child support.


    Chris’s experience combined with his genuine compassion allows him to break down complex legal matters in a relatable way for his clients. He is a tireless advocate for parental equality and helped write 2021’s House Bill 1151 which strengthened the public policy for equal rights for parents in Oklahoma.
    Outside of the office Chris is committed to multiple civic organizations, and has served on the board of Oklahoma Institute of Child AdvocacyOklahoma Christian National Alumni Council and has been a member of the Oklahoma Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, and he serves a Senior Counselor with Oklahoma American Legion Boys State the last week of May.
    Chris is the author of Faithfully: Marriage, Divorce, & Family in the 21st Century Church which is available on Amazon.

  • Lisa Rothfus, LCSW, MSW, BED, BA

    Lisa Rothfus is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 35 years of experience working with families and children in private practice. She earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from Simmons School of Social Work in Boston, Massachusetts, and completed internships at two Harvard teaching hospitals. To further her expertise, she pursued post-master’s training in Structural Family Therapy at the Cambridge Family Institute in Boston.

    Lisa specializes in counseling families navigating various stages of divorce and high-conflict family situations. Her work includes the assessment and treatment of families impacted by Parental Alienation, offering Reunification Therapy for cases ranging from mild to severe. She has been appointed by courts across numerous Texas counties to assess and provide counseling for families dealing with alienation or estrangement issues. In addition to her clinical work, Lisa has served as a Guardian Ad Litem, Mediator, and Parent Facilitator/Coordinator in the Texas court system. She has also been appointed as a Reunification Therapist for out-of-state families when the child resides in Texas.

    Lisa offers a unique 4-day Intensive Reunification Program out of Austin, Texas, designed for severely alienated parents who have been granted custody of their alienated child. This program, which requires a “no contact order,” integrates structural family therapy, psychoeducation, experiential therapy, and includes a comprehensive aftercare protocol for the alienating parent.

  • Sue Cornbluth, PSY.D

    Dr. Sue Cornbluth is a certified parenting expert, coach and thought leader with international recognition, specializing in high conflict divorce and parental/grandparent alienation situations.

    In 2013 Dr. Sue established Dr. Sue & You LLC, a consulting & coaching firm working with parents to help them successfully move through their high conflict divorce situations and reunite with their children. She has reunited hundreds of families with her tools and techniques. Her passion and goal is to heal family conflict with compassion. She accomplishes this through her work educating and guiding parents and professionals.

     Dr. Sue has served as a child abuse and victims’ rights expert. The exposure she gained as a lead expert during the Jerry Sandusky trial directly contributed to the growing demand for her expert opinion. She has gained global recognition and is contracted for speaking engagements around the world. The Women’s Distinctive Business Magazine recognized Dr. Sue as One of the Country’s Most Distinctive Women. She is a regular contributor as a mental health expert for network television stations including NBC, Fox and CBS.  She has contributed to several national publications.

    Dr. Sue resides in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. She holds a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and has worked as a Psychology Professor at Temple University. 

  • Lynn Steinberg, PhD

    Description goes hDr. Lynn Steinberg has been a psychotherapist for fifty years. She has focused her career on working with families.

    Dr. Steinberg now devotes her time to being an expert witness in the courts and testifies regarding domestic violence, coercive control, sexual abuse, false allegations and parental alienation. Parental alienation is when there is a separation between the parents and one parent turns the child or children against the other parent as retribution for leaving the relationship. That parent, the less functional parent, weaponizes the children against the rejected parent.

    There are approximately 3.9 million children living in North America who are alienated from a parent. This problem is not specific to mothers or fathers.

    Dr. Steinberg testifies worldwide, has spoken publicly about this issue, testified in the legislature and writes about it. Her book, “You’re Not Crazy: Overcoming Parent/Child Alienation”, is for parents and professionals and explains the phenomenon, the laws in different countries, the family law courts and how an alienated parent can navigate these systems.

    Dr. Steinberg also conducts a four-day reunification therapy. It is similar to what the FBI does for abducted children and their families.ere

  • Joshua Coleman, PhD

    Dr. Coleman is a psychologist in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area and a Senior Fellow with the Council on Contemporary Families. He has written for major outlets like The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Psychology Today, and has given talks at institutions such as Harvard and Weill Cornell. He is also a frequent guest on shows like the Today Show, NPR, and Good Morning America and has been featured on Sesame Street, 20/20, and various major news networks.

    Dr. Coleman is the author of four books, including The Rules of Estrangement and When Parents Hurt. His works address family dynamics, parenting, and estrangement, and have been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Korean, and Russian. He has co-edited seven online volumes of Unconventional Wisdom with historian Stephanie Coontz, focusing on contemporary family and work-life issues.

    In addition to his work in psychology, Dr. Coleman composes music for film and television, with his compositions featured on popular shows like Lethal Weapon, Chicago Fire, Shameless, and RuPaul’s Drag Race.

  • Randi FIne

    Randi Fine is a dedicated pioneer in the narcissistic abuse movement, an internationally renowned Narcissistic Personality Disorder Abuse Expert and Recovery Coach. She is a podcast host and author living in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  Through her wealth of experience, insight, and wisdom, she offers hope, compassion, and healing to others.
    Randi is the author of the groundbreaking book, Close Encounters of the Worst Kind Second EdItion: The Narcissistic Abuse Survivors Comprehensive Guide to Healing and Recovery Second Edition, its official companion Close Encounters of the Worst Kind Comprehensive Workbook for Survivors of Narcissistic Abuse, and the compelling memoir about her rise from childhood narcissistic abuse, Cliffedge Road.
    As a Coach, Randi specializes in (but is not limited to) helping others work through issues relating to relationship codependency, narcissistic personality disorder abuse, parental alienation, emotional boundaries, letting go of the past, and letting go of unhealthy guilt.
    Her blog Narcissistic Abuse Awareness and Guidance with Randi Fine is read in 180 countries around the globe. She has hosted the podcast, A Fine Time for Healing: A Sanctuary for Your Emotional Well-being for over twelve years. On her popular show she interviews the top people in their fields, discussing self-help and spiritual life-skill topics that heal and enhance the life experiences of others.

  • Josh Mulvihill, PhD

    Josh Mulvihill is deeply passionate about family discipleship and helping children develop a biblical worldview. As the Executive Director of Church and Family Ministry at Renewanation, Josh works with churches, families, and schools to integrate biblical principles into daily life. Through speaking, preaching, writing, and consulting, he equips others to nurture children’s faith and encourage spiritual growth.

    On a personal level, Josh has been married to Jen since 2000, and they homeschool their five children while living on a hobby farm in Victoria, MN. Together, they enjoy spending time with family, renovating their farmhouse, and mentoring younger parents. Their family life is centered on faith, community, and raising their children to know and love Christ.

    Growing up in a ministry family, Josh was influenced by a strong foundation in discipleship and Christian education. This background led to pursuing a Ph.D. in Family Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has authored several books on parenting and grandparenting, contributing significantly to the Christian grandparenting movement and continuing to inspire families across the U.S. and Canada.

  • Mandy Matthewson, PhD, BA

    Mandy Matthewson is a clinical psychologist and senior lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Tasmania (UTAS). Dr Matthewson is the lead researcher in the Family and Interpersonal Relationship Research Lab at UTAS; a senior clinical psychologist in private practice; and a director of the Director, Eeny Meeny Miney Mo Foundation. Her work focuses on the fields of family relationships, family violence and parental alienation. She is co-author of the highly acclaimed book Understanding and Managing Parental Alienation: A Guide to Assessment and Intervention. She has also published extensively on the topic of parental alienation in well-respected peer review journals. She was past Chair of the Parental Alienation Study Group Research Committee and is editor-in-chief of Parental Alienation International. 

  • 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.

  • Carol Golly, PhD, LCSW, RPT_S

    Dr. Carol Golly has a special interest in parent and grandparent alienation.  She is a founding board member of Alienated Grandparents Anonymous, Inc. (AGA) and completed her doctoral work on grandparent alienation in 2019.  She has 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist for children, adolescents, and families.  

  • Rev. John Killinger

    Dr. John Killinger, noted author, minister, and professor, has pastored eight churches, including the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles and Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, and has taught at such major universities as Vanderbilt, Princeton, and Chicago. His wife Anne was the author of A Son Is a Son Till He Gets a Wife: How Toxic Daughters-in-Law Destroy Families, the book that spawned the alienated parents and grandparent movement in America. He himself has written more than 70 books, including three volumes of From Poppy with Love: Letters from a Grandfather to the Grandchildren He Isn’t Allowed to See. He has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs across the U.S., and served for many years as a special seminar leader for chaplains in all branches of the American Armed Forces.

  • Mark D. Mosk, PhD

    Dr. Mosk earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Western University in 1982 and began his career at the UCLA School of Medicine. He later developed and directed The Life Skills Center, a treatment program for patients with serious mental illnesses within California’s psychiatric hospital system. Over the past few decades, Dr. Mosk has offered professional services to individuals, organizations, and legal parties undergoing significant transitions.

    As a forensic evaluator and expert witness for over 30 years, Dr. Mosk has conducted more than 1,000 forensic examinations for courts in California and Illinois. He specializes in court-ordered evaluations related to child custody, disability, and competency, and provides litigation support to attorneys. His recent focus is on developing the Parenting Profile Assessment System, a tool to assess and define normative parenting behaviors, especially in cases involving parental alienation.

    Dr. Mosk also consults with behavioral healthcare companies, advising on clinical service delivery, strategic planning, and leadership development. His expertise spans clinical protocols, population health strategies, and integrative medicine, and he has lectured extensively on these topics.

  • Susan Heitler, PhD

    Susan Heitler, PhD, is a clinical psychologist. Formerly of Denver, she currently lives in Israel. She has written over a dozen blogposts for psychologytoday.com to educate the general public and psychotherapy professionals about alienation.  For a list of these articles, scroll down in the alienation section of her therapyhelp.com website.

    In her clinical work, her blogposts on psychologytoday.com (which have attracted over 23 million reads), and her books, Dr. Heitler focuses in particular on how people deal with the conflicts in their lives.  

    Her book From Conflict to Resolution was the first to bring understandings of the art of win-win conflict resolution into the general psychotherapy literature. In addition, she has written a useful workbook for the general public entitled The Power of Two. Related to the workbook, her website features a module called PowerOfTwoMarriage.com that teaches collaborative communication, anger management, and conflict resolution—skills that sustain both personal well-being and positive family relationships.

  • Judge Philip Marcus (Retired)

    Philip Marcus was appointed a Judge of the Jerusalem Magistrates Court in 1995 and served as a Judge of the Family Court from its opening in 1997.  For five years he served as Chief Judge of the Jerusalem Family Court. He retired from the Bench in 2012.

    He has lectured on five continents and his articles and papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals.

    He is consulted by governments and organizations around the world about family law and family court system reform, therapeutic jurisprudence, and prevention and handling of child psychological maltreatment, including parental alienation. He has most recently been consulted by organizations and individuals in India, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Ukraine, USA, South Africa, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Malta, etc.
    He also directs courses and seminars for training of professionals and students with a view to multidisciplinary prevention programmes, early identification of possible problems and immediate remedial intervention, and speedy and effective court action when needed.

    His approach is characterized by emphasis on parental responsibilities, especially the need for separating parents to focus on the long-term wellbeing of their children as their central concern.

  • Dean Tong, MSC, CFC, RCFI

    Dean Tong holds a Master of Science degree in Psychology and the Law, specializing in child forensic studies. He is the author of three books, including Elusive Innocence: Survival Guide for the Falsely Accused, which was featured in The American Journal of Family Therapy. Tong has also conducted research on men and fathers at risk in alleged child sexual deviancy cases, published in the same journal.

    With nearly 30 years of experience as a Forensic Trial Expert, Tong has assisted attorneys and parents in high-conflict child abuse and custody cases nationwide. He is a nationally certified child forensic interviewer and forensic consultant, having testified as an expert witness over 65 times in courts across 19 states. He has been approved as an expert for indigent defendants in numerous criminal cases.

    For the past 15 years, Tong has provided pro bono advice to parents on social media facing difficult legal battles. His work has been recognized with the Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and 2019. He has appeared in national media outlets including ABC Prime Time Live, Dateline, CNN’s Nancy Grace, Court-TV, CBS 48 Hours, and Dr. Phil.

  • Lena Hellblom Sjögren, PhD

    Dr. Lena Hellblom Sjögren is the mother of 4 children, a grandmother of 5 and the oldest of 8 siblings.


    Dr. Sjogren started to study medicine, changed to psychology, worked as a school psychologist in a suburb to Stockholm in a development project to prevent criminalization of children with the school as a base, wrote a thesis in 1985 on the transformation of the democracy within the Swedish labour movement after having researched the communication between the members and their leaders in the union since they started until the late 1960s in two iron industry communities where she was involved with the study circles when the workers lost their jobs. She wrote books about these experiences “School in a suburb” and “The fight for work” She helped start a pedagogical magazine that she worked with for ten years parallel with taking a PhD and working extra as a not educated teacher for all grades, from first graders to university level. When having given birth to her youngest son in 1990, she took a one year post doctorial course in “Interpretation methods and Witness psychology” and founded her one woman independent company called “Testimonia”. That is still her base for her research and the psychological investigations she does and mostly is asked by a lawyer to follow up in court. When Dr. Sjogren started, she found in her research that not reliable figures of sexual abuse were presented and that many children were treated as victims although the allegations had been found to be false, she wrote a book presenting four cases and the research about memory and suggestibility: “Secrets and Memories. How to investigate reliability in sexual criminal cases.” For more than 25 years, Dr. Sjogren's focus has been on parental alienation and to try to put attention to the fact that many children and families – also grandparents and other family members - are harmed for life through this phenomenon to without a justified cause cut off a child from the child´s family roots. Dr. Segren is also a member of PASG Board of Directors.

  • Linda Nielsen, Ed D

    Description goes hereLinda Nielsen is a nationally renowned expert on father-daughter relationships and shared physical custody for children of divorce. For more than 25 years, she has taught the only known college class in the U.S. devoted exclusively to father-daughter relationships. Her latest book, Father-Daughter Relationships: Contemporary Research and Issues, is written for college students and professionals who work with families.  Click HERE  read more 

    Her research on shared physical custody is widely cited worldwide, having an impact on custody law reform in the States and abroad. She has presented her research in State Bar Association magazines and in seminars for family court lawyers and judges. She was one of the keynote speakers in the 2016 International Conference for Shared Parenting Research. Her research has been cited in more than 13 countries, 16 states and 10 recent books on family law. She has been vetted in five states as an expert research witness in child custody hearings.

    Among the many media outlets that have interviewed Nielsen and featured her research are: the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Star Tribune, USA Today, Time magazine, The Atlantic, U.S. News & World Report, Oprah magazine, National Public Radio, British Broadcasting Company, CNN, and the Public Broadcasting System (documentary).

  • Gregg Woodnick

    Woodnick Law, PLLC

  • Melanie Gill

    Melanie Gill is an attachment expert, specialist psychologist and forensic consultant. She has over 15 years’ experience working as an expert witness assessing very complex cases involving parental alienation. She has a broad range of training taking in attachment and forensic assessment which yields very detailed and nuanced analyses of all family members. She has been a very vocal campaigner on PA for years. Over the last two years she has been targeted by women’s groups, radical feminists, and a group of psychologists who have aligned with PA deniers and domestic violence campaigners. She has been accused of being a charlatan, fraud, and a danger to the public so must be doing something right. In the last month, the accusations came to a head in the High Court in England in a landmark case in which PA was described as pseudo-science. She and PA were exonerated. Not in the eyes of the media though so misinformation still abounds.

  • David Kieghley

    David Keighley is a  proud Yorkshireman and a graduate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. His early career was spent in newspapers, radio and TV. He cut his teeth in weekly journalism, worked for the BBC as a news producer and executive, and became director of public affairs for the ITV breakfast television company TV-am. For the past 30 years, he has worked as an independent consultant in the TV  news industry. He was a prime mover in setting up the world’s first regular international conference for news broadcasters,  worked as chief executive of an organization developing public service broadcasting in Africa and is an acknowledged expert in surveying and fighting media bias in all its many types. His website in that domain is www.news-watch.co.uk.
    In 2007, David bec
    ame a magistrate (in the UK, a voluntary public service role as a lawyer-assisted lay judge) and quickly decided he wanted to train in family court cases. He served in that role for 13 years and dealt with hundreds of cases.

    In 2010 – intrigued and concerned by what he saw happening in the family courts and determined to try to help  – he studied for a postgraduate diploma as a psychotherapist, qualified in 2013 and now divides his time between his continuing role in the news industry  and seeing around 20 private practice clients a week, both individuals and couples. He works using psychodynamic exploration, schema therapy, EMDR, and speciality couples therapy,  and has worked extensively with clients experiencing parental alienation, as well as those who have suffered childhood trauma through sexual abuse and attachment neglect. Another speciality is helping those suffering from chronic pain.

    His qualifications are that he is an accredited member of the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy,  a member of the International Society of Schema Therapists, and has a diploma from the EMDR Europe organization. He is also trained as a clinical supervisor of other psychotherapists.    

Note about professionals

This section is devoted to sharing and exploring the findings, opinions, and recommendations of specialists in alienation. We have many seeking to hire someone with a vast knowledge in the subject of alienation. In assessing the expertise in alienation of the applicant who wishes to publish here—and in accordance with the standard criteria relied upon to determine an applicant’s expertise in any specialty— we require that applicants provide documentation of their education, training, and experience in alienation. Such documentation should include, but is not limited to, providing their CV that documents extensive background in alienation, the names of the known specialists in alienation with whom they collaborate and a referral letter from them, a list of the clinical literature and research that they have read on alienation, the names of continuing education workshops in which they have participated or for which they were the presenter, conferences and workshops they attended that were specifically devoted to the topic of alienation, titles of articles and books they have published on alienation, the name of their website, if any, devoted  to the topic of alienation, and other such information that they believe qualifies them as a specialist in alienation. It also is important that all licenses be in good standing.

Given the profoundly complex and counterintuitive nature of alienation cases, we trust you will understand why we are dedicated to providing accurate and useful information about alienation—information that only a specialist has acquired.