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{{Short description|American child psychiatrist}}
'''Richard Gardner, M.D.''' ([[April 28]], [[1931]] - [[May 25]], [[2003]]) introduced the term ''[[Parental Alienation Syndrome]]'' (PAS) in 1985. He has published more than 40 books and more than 250 articles in a variety of areas of child psychiatry. His contributions to the field of general psychotherapy with children, psychotherapy with children of divorce, and custody evaluations, are considered classic works in the field and are cited often in the professional literature and in psychotherapy textbooks. One indication of Gardner’s stature among his colleagues is that he was invited to contribute several chapters to the standard reference work in his field, the Basic Handbook of Child Psychiatry, whose Board of Editors includes many of the world’s leading experts in child psychiatry. Most authors are flattered to be invited to contribute only one chapter.
{{Infobox scientist
Gardner wrote the first self-help book for children of divorce; it was lauded by Time magazine, 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 curriculums and listed as one of 35 significant events in the history of play therapy, along with contributions from luminaries such as Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, and Jean Piaget. In addition, he originated an entire 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. One noted expert in psychotherapy called Gardner’s creation “one of the most popular therapeutic games available” and a Website for therapeutic resources claimed that, “Most child therapists consider it an indispensable part of their playroom equipment.” Gardner’s books and therapeutic games have been translated into nine languages. The American Psychological Association, in addition to citing three of Gardner’s books in a highly selective list of references pertinent to child custody evaluations, honored him by selecting him as one among a few professionals included in a series of training videotapes by “distinguished psychotherapists."
|birth_name = Richard Alan Gardner
Gardner suffered from [[reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome]] and he took his own life in 2003. His final ambition, to have PAS included in the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|DSM]], was not realized in his lifetime.
|image =
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|birth_date = {{birth date|1931|4|28|mf=yes}}
|birth_place = [[The Bronx]], [[New York City]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|2003|5|25|1931|4|28|mf=yes}}
|death_place = [[Tenafly, New Jersey]]<ref name="obituary"/>
|residence =
|citizenship =
|nationality =
|ethnicity =
|fields = [[Child and adolescent psychiatry|Child psychiatry]]
|workplaces = [[Columbia University]]
|alma_mater =
|doctoral_advisor =
|academic_advisors =
|doctoral_students =
|notable_students =
|known_for = [[Parental alienation syndrome]]
|author_abbrev_bot =
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|influences =
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|awards =
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|website = [http://richardagardner.com/ richardagardner.com]
|footnotes =
}}
'''Richard Alan Gardner''' (April 28, 1931 – May 25, 2003) was an American [[child and adolescent psychiatry|child psychiatrist]] known for his work in psychotherapy with children, [[parental alienation]] and [[child custody]] evaluations.<ref name="Warshak1">{{cite web |last1=Warshak |first1=Richard |title=The Gardner Library |url=https://www.warshak.com/resources/gardner.html |website=Dr. Richard A. Warshak |access-date=August 8, 2018}}</ref> Based on his clinical work with children and families, Gardner introduced the term [[parental alienation syndrome]] (PAS), which is now "largely rejected by most credible professionals".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Meier|first=Joan S.|date=January 2, 2020|title=U.S. child custody outcomes in cases involving parental alienation and abuse allegations: What do the data show?|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2020.1701941|journal=Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law|volume=42|issue=1|pages=92–105|doi=10.1080/09649069.2020.1701941|s2cid=213753390}}</ref> He wrote 41 books and more than 200 journal articles and book chapters.<ref name="Warshak1"/> He developed child play therapy and test materials that he published through his company Creative Therapeutics. Gardner was an [[expert witness]] in [[child custody]] cases.<ref name=Hoult2006>{{cite journal | last = Hoult | first = J. A. | year = 2006 | title = The Evidentiary Admissibility of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Science, Law, and Policy | journal = Children's Legal Rights Journal | volume = 26 | issue = 1 | ssrn = 910267 }}</ref>


Gardner and his work have been criticized as a biased effort to justify the abuse of children, beginning with sexual abuse but now encompassing all forms of abuse.<ref name="Bernet2013">{{Cite web|title=Talan—Richard A. Gardner's PAS theory|url=http://leadershipcouncil.org/1/pas/talan.html|access-date=January 21, 2021|website=leadershipcouncil.org|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308192410/http://leadershipcouncil.org/1/pas/talan.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> PAS has not been recognized by the [[American Psychiatric Association]] or any other medical or professional association, but its use in family courts has led to widespread dismissal of legitimate testimonies regarding abuse.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Silberg |first=Joyanna |date=September 30, 2013 |title=Crisis in Family Court: Lessons From Turned Around Cases. Final Report submitted to the Office of Violence Against Women, Department of Justice (online) |url=http://www.protectiveparents.com/crisis-fam-court-lessons-turned-around-cases.pdf |access-date=September 29, 2021 |website=protective parents}}</ref>
== Selected Books ==


==Work and career==
* Doctor Garner's Modern Fairy Tales (1977) ISBN 0933812094
Gardner graduated from [[Columbia College, Columbia University]] in 1952 and [[SUNY Downstate Medical Center]] in 1956. After internship at [[Montefiore Medical Center|Montefiore Hospital]], he completed residencies in adult psychiatry and in child psychiatry at the [[New York State Psychiatric Institute]]. He was certified as a psychoanalyst in 1966 after training at the [[William Alanson White Institute]].<ref name="cvsummary">{{cite web |last1=Gardner |first1=Richard A. |title=Summary of Curriculum Vitae |url=http://richardagardner.com/cvsum }}</ref>
* Protocols for the Sex-Abuse Evaluation (1995) ISBN 0933812388
* Psychotherapy With Sex-Abuse Victims: True, False, and Hysterical {1996) ISBN 0933812418
* Sex-Abuse Trauma?: Or Trauma from Other Sources? (2001) ISBN 0933812477


From 1960 to 1962, he worked as director of [[child psychiatry]] in the U.S. Army Hospital, [[Frankfurt am Main]], Germany.<ref name="cvsummary"/>
== External Links ==
* [http://www.childcustodycoach.com/pas.html List of 40 Gardner writings] mostly dealing with PAS
* See the [[Internet Archive]]'s Wayback Machine for additional information about Gardner via his old web site http://www.rgardner.com/
* [http://cincinnatipas.com/ Cincinnati PAS]
* [http://www.warshak.com/ Dr. Richard Warshak]


Gardner's professional affiliations included memberships in the [[American Psychiatric Association]], the [[American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry]], the [[American Academy of Psychoanalysis]], the [[American Medical Association]], the American Society of Psychoanalytic Physicians, and the [[American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law]].<ref name="cvsummary"/>
{{bio-stub}}

From 1963 until his death, Gardner was a clinical professor at [[Columbia University]]'s medical school, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.<ref name="obituary">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/09/nyregion/richard-gardner-72-dies-cast-doubt-on-abuse-claims.html | title = Richard Gardner, 72, Dies; Cast Doubt on Abuse Claims. | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = June 9, 2003 | access-date = November 27, 2011 | last = Lavietes | first = Stuart }}</ref> He also held academic teaching appointments at the [[William Alanson White Institute]] (1966–83), the [[Université catholique de Louvain|University of Louvain]], Belgium (1980–82), and at the [[Saint Petersburg State University|University of St. Petersburg]], Russia (1989-1997).<ref name="cvsummary"/>
Gardner wrote about false allegations of sexual abuse in his 1990 book ''Sex Abuse Hysteria: Salem Witch Trials Revisited''.<ref name=ipt>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume2/j2_4_2.htm|title=IPT Journal - "Sex Abuse Hysteria - The Physicians"|website=www.ipt-forensics.com}}</ref><ref>http://jaapl.org/content/jaapl/21/2/255.1.full.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume2/j2_4_br1.htm|title=IPT Journal - Book Review - "Sex Abuse Hysteria: Salem Witch Trials Revisited"|website=www.ipt-forensics.com}}</ref> He assisted the defense team of Margaret Kelly Michaels, which successfully appealed her prison conviction in the [[Wee Care Nursery School abuse trial]].<ref name="obituary"/>

In 1970, when divorce was becoming more common in the United States, Gardner wrote ''Boys and Girls Book About Divorce'' to provide children with suggestions on how to cope. In 1973, he created one of the first board games for use in [[child psychotherapy]].<ref name="obituary"/>

==Controversy==
{{Main|Parental alienation syndrome}}

Gardner's positions have caused considerable controversy among academics and those involved in the detection and treatment of child abuse. He has published rebuttals to these criticisms.<ref name="Gardner2001b">{{cite journal | last = Gardner | first = Richard | title = Commentary on Kelly and Johnston's The Alienated Child: A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome | journal = Family Court Review | volume = 42 | issue = 4 | pages = 611–21 | year = 2004 | url = http://coleur.googlepages.com/GardnerrRichardACommentaryonKellyand.pdf | doi = 10.1177/1531244504268711 | access-date = 2009-09-18 | archive-date = 2020-05-26 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200526033241/https://792fb18b-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/coleur/GardnerrRichardACommentaryonKellyand.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7crgitlG-j4lXXvKzQYyDh6CBNTZ0rQ_NYONoGHsJHKRTFv55nKaZKW_DetGjCxyaNeUFpPqL68tMMC7TdcqtJMU9DuaKIxOxjziZ7G4OaJv7LMaYkNloKp6yhk-7gyLGJH0lpa3LdgcDwUyzr8HBeNcNzpBLmru-XNqi-u74lg4tTr-SuujTfRLGDgLq-UaEFjNXjhFiubT38Nw1kazz-5URXuD83ZV2EZHzNJc9nMooRXpvIA=&attredirects=0 | url-status = dead }}</ref> He has been accused by the Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence of expressing sympathy towards people with an attraction to minors. At the same time, he is said to harbor a disdain towards women.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gardner: A Review of His Theories|url=http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/dallam/2.html|access-date=September 29, 2021|website=www.leadershipcouncil.org|archive-date=November 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116075945/http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/dallam/2.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Further, he has been accused of devising his alienation theory "not based on any research but on his personal beliefs and biases, with an interest in providing a weapon for lawyers seeking to undermine a mother's credibility in court."<ref name="obituary"/> He is said to have estimated deliberate false reporting among mothers at 90%, which experts have disputed, citing research commissioned by the [[United States Department of Justice]] that found an actual rate less than 2%.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 6, 2019|title=Why are judges unaware of custody court crisis?|url=https://stopabusecampaign.org/2019/05/06/why-are-judges-unaware-of-custody-court-crisis/|access-date=January 21, 2021|website=Stop Abuse Campaign}}</ref>

Gardner's observation 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 [[Psychotherapy|psychotherapists]].<ref name=waldron>{{cite journal | last = Waldron | first = K. H. |author2=Joanis D. E. | url = http://fact.on.ca/Info/pas/waldron.htm | title = Understanding and Collaboratively Treating Parental Alienation Syndrome | journal = American Journal of Family Law | volume = 10 | pages = 121–133 | year = 1996 }}</ref> PAS has not been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association or any other medical or professional association. It has been extensively criticized by scientists and jurists, who describe it as [[Admissible evidence|inadmissible]] in [[child custody]] hearings based on both science and law.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wood |first=C. L. |year=1994 |title=The parental alienation syndrome: a dangerous aura of reliability |journal=Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review |volume=29 |pages=1367–1415 |url=http://fact.on.ca/Info/pas/wood94.htm }}</ref> Gardner asserted that PAS is scientifically valid and legally [[Admissible evidence|admissible]]. Proposals to include PAS in the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]] have been controversial. PAS was not included in [[DSM-5]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/06/parental_alienation_dsm.php | title = 'Parental Alienation Syndrome' Unlikely to Be Included in DSM-5 | publisher = [[SF Weekly]] | last = Jamison | first = Peter | date = June 10, 2011 | access-date = July 30, 2012}}</ref><ref name=Bernet2013/>

The [[American Bar Association]] (ABA) published a review of Parental Alienation and concluded that it is without scientific basis in an article entitled "Parental Alienation Syndrome: 30 Years On And Still Junk Science (https://www.americanbar.org/groups/judicial/publications/judges_journal/2015/summer/parental_alienation_syndrome_30_years_on_and_still_junk_science/). The ABA has since published a book acknowledging the phenomenon of distorting perception in a child. For example, when a child maintains that the mother never did anything for them, and yet there is "independent information that shows the mother did everything from breastfeeding to teaching the child how to read".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Shepherd |first1=Diana |last2=CDFA®|date=November 22, 2013|title=Children Held Hostage: Crafting Solutions in Parental Alienation Cases|url=https://familylawyermagazine.com/articles/stanley-clawar-discusses-brainwashing-in-his-book-children-held-hostage/|access-date=September 29, 2021|magazine=Family Lawyer Magazine}}</ref> However, this is different than a child's claims of abuse. Trocme and Bala studied over seven thousand abuse investigations and found that of the allegations that had been ultimately determined to be false, none had come from the children themselves.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APA PsycNet|url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-15814-002|access-date=2021-09-29|website=psycnet.apa.org|language=en}}</ref>

[[Carol S. Bruch]], Research Professor of Law at the 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 observations.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bruch |first=Carol |title=Parental Alienation Syndrome and Parental Alienation: Getting It Wrong in Child Custody Cases |journal=Family Law Quarterly |volume=35 |issue=3 |date=Fall 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117021243/http://www.americanbar.org/publications/family_law_quarterly_home/family_law_quarterly_archive/family_flq_abstract3503.html |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |url=http://www.americanbar.org/publications/family_law_quarterly_home/family_law_quarterly_archive/family_flq_abstract3503.html |access-date=October 29, 2011 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

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.<ref name="misinformation">{{cite journal |last1=Gardner |first1= Richard |year=2002 |title=Misinformation Versus Facts About the Contributions of Richard A. Gardner, M.D. |journal=American Journal of Family Therapy |volume=30 |issue=5 |pages=395–416 |doi=10.1080/01926180260296305|s2cid= 143694690 }}</ref><ref name="misperceptions">{{cite web |url=http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/pas/misperce.htm |title=Misperceptions versus facts about Richard A. Gardner, M.D. |first=Richard |last=Gardner |date=June 9, 1999 }}</ref>

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]], against immunity from prosecution of individuals reporting child abuse and for the creation of programs with federal funding designed to assist individuals claimed to be falsely accused of child abuse.<ref name=Hoult2006/>

==Personal life and death==
Gardner was born in [[The Bronx]] on April 28, 1931. He had three children with Lee Gardner before their divorce.<ref name="obituary"/>

He committed suicide by stabbing himself at his home in [[Tenafly, New Jersey]] on May 25, 2003, at age 72. His son said that Gardner had developed type I [[complex regional pain syndrome]], a neurological syndrome formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a syndrome known for severe, intractable pain.<ref name = "obituary"/>

==Works==
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=Dr. Gardner's Modern Fairy Tales|year=1983|publisher=Creative Therapeutics|isbn=978-0-933812-09-3}}
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=The Boys and Girls Book About Divorce|year=1985|publisher=Bantam|isbn=978-0-553-27619-0}}
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=Therapeutic Communication With Children: The Mutual Storytelling Technique|year=1986|publisher=Jason Aronson|isbn=978-0-876-68856-4}}
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=The Parental Alienation Syndrome and the Differentiation between Fabricated and Genuine Child Sex Abuse|year=1987|publisher=Creative Therapeutics |isbn=9780933812178 |url=https://archive.org/details/parentalalienati00gard|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=Sex Abuse Legitimacy Scale (Sal Scale)|isbn=9780933812192|year=1987|publisher=Creative therapeutics }}
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=Sex Abuse Hysteria: Salem Witch Trials Revisited|isbn=9780933812222|year=1991|publisher=Creative Therapeutics }}<ref name=ipt/>
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=True and False Accusations of Child Sex Abuse|year=1992}}
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=Protocols for the Sex-Abuse Evaluation|year=1995|publisher=Creative Therapeutics|isbn=978-0-933812-38-3}}
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=Psychotherapy with Sex-Abuse Victims: True, False, and Hysterical|year=1996|publisher=Creative Therapeutics|isbn=978-0-933812-41-3}}
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=The Parental Alienation Syndrome: A Guide for Mental Health and Legal Professionals |year=1998 |publisher=Creative Therapeutics|isbn=978-0-933812-42-0}}
* {{cite book|author=Richard A. Gardner|title=Sex-Abuse Trauma?: Or Trauma from Other Sources?|year=2001|publisher=Creative Therapeutics|isbn=978-0-933812-47-5}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Richard}}
[[Category:American forensic psychiatrists]]
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2003 suicides]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Columbia College (New York) alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia Medical School faculty]]
[[Category:People from Tenafly, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Suicides by sharp instrument in the United States]]
[[Category:Suicides in New Jersey]]
[[Category:SUNY Downstate Medical Center alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from the Bronx]]
[[Category:New York State Psychiatric Institute people]]
[[Category:20th-century American psychologists]]

Latest revision as of 23:10, 4 December 2024

Richard A. Gardner
Born
Richard Alan Gardner

(1931-04-28)April 28, 1931
DiedMay 25, 2003(2003-05-25) (aged 72)
Known forParental alienation syndrome
Scientific career
FieldsChild psychiatry
InstitutionsColumbia University
Websiterichardagardner.com

Richard Alan Gardner (April 28, 1931 – May 25, 2003) was an American child psychiatrist known for his work in psychotherapy with children, parental alienation and child custody evaluations.[2] Based on his clinical work with children and families, Gardner introduced the term parental alienation syndrome (PAS), which is now "largely rejected by most credible professionals".[3] He wrote 41 books and more than 200 journal articles and book chapters.[2] He developed child play therapy and test materials that he published through his company Creative Therapeutics. Gardner was an expert witness in child custody cases.[4]

Gardner and his work have been criticized as a biased effort to justify the abuse of children, beginning with sexual abuse but now encompassing all forms of abuse.[5] PAS has not been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association or any other medical or professional association, but its use in family courts has led to widespread dismissal of legitimate testimonies regarding abuse.[6]

Work and career

[edit]

Gardner graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1952 and SUNY Downstate Medical Center in 1956. After internship at Montefiore Hospital, he completed residencies in adult psychiatry and in child psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He was certified as a psychoanalyst in 1966 after training at the William Alanson White Institute.[7]

From 1960 to 1962, he worked as director of child psychiatry in the U.S. Army Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.[7]

Gardner's professional affiliations included memberships in the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Psychoanalytic Physicians, and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.[7]

From 1963 until his death, Gardner was a clinical professor at Columbia University's medical school, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.[1] He also held academic teaching appointments at the William Alanson White Institute (1966–83), the University of Louvain, Belgium (1980–82), and at the University of St. Petersburg, Russia (1989-1997).[7]

Gardner wrote about false allegations of sexual abuse in his 1990 book Sex Abuse Hysteria: Salem Witch Trials Revisited.[8][9][10] He assisted the defense team of Margaret Kelly Michaels, which successfully appealed her prison conviction in the Wee Care Nursery School abuse trial.[1]

In 1970, when divorce was becoming more common in the United States, Gardner wrote Boys and Girls Book About Divorce to provide children with suggestions on how to cope. In 1973, he created one of the first board games for use in child psychotherapy.[1]

Controversy

[edit]

Gardner's positions have caused considerable controversy among academics and those involved in the detection and treatment of child abuse. He has published rebuttals to these criticisms.[11] He has been accused by the Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence of expressing sympathy towards people with an attraction to minors. At the same time, he is said to harbor a disdain towards women.[12] Further, he has been accused of devising his alienation theory "not based on any research but on his personal beliefs and biases, with an interest in providing a weapon for lawyers seeking to undermine a mother's credibility in court."[1] He is said to have estimated deliberate false reporting among mothers at 90%, which experts have disputed, citing research commissioned by the United States Department of Justice that found an actual rate less than 2%.[13]

Gardner's observation 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 psychotherapists.[14] PAS has not been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association or any other medical or professional association. It has been extensively criticized by scientists and jurists, who describe it as inadmissible in child custody hearings based on both science and law.[15] Gardner asserted that PAS is scientifically valid and legally admissible. Proposals to include PAS in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders have been controversial. PAS was not included in DSM-5.[16][5]

The American Bar Association (ABA) published a review of Parental Alienation and concluded that it is without scientific basis in an article entitled "Parental Alienation Syndrome: 30 Years On And Still Junk Science (https://www.americanbar.org/groups/judicial/publications/judges_journal/2015/summer/parental_alienation_syndrome_30_years_on_and_still_junk_science/). The ABA has since published a book acknowledging the phenomenon of distorting perception in a child. For example, when a child maintains that the mother never did anything for them, and yet there is "independent information that shows the mother did everything from breastfeeding to teaching the child how to read".[17] However, this is different than a child's claims of abuse. Trocme and Bala studied over seven thousand abuse investigations and found that of the allegations that had been ultimately determined to be false, none had come from the children themselves.[18]

Carol S. Bruch, Research Professor of Law at the 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 observations.[19]

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.[20][21]

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, against immunity from prosecution of individuals reporting child abuse and for the creation of programs with federal funding designed to assist individuals claimed to be falsely accused of child abuse.[4]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Gardner was born in The Bronx on April 28, 1931. He had three children with Lee Gardner before their divorce.[1]

He committed suicide by stabbing himself at his home in Tenafly, New Jersey on May 25, 2003, at age 72. His son said that Gardner had developed type I complex regional pain syndrome, a neurological syndrome formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a syndrome known for severe, intractable pain.[1]

Works

[edit]
  • Richard A. Gardner (1983). Dr. Gardner's Modern Fairy Tales. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-09-3.
  • Richard A. Gardner (1985). The Boys and Girls Book About Divorce. Bantam. ISBN 978-0-553-27619-0.
  • Richard A. Gardner (1986). Therapeutic Communication With Children: The Mutual Storytelling Technique. Jason Aronson. ISBN 978-0-876-68856-4.
  • Richard A. Gardner (1987). The Parental Alienation Syndrome and the Differentiation between Fabricated and Genuine Child Sex Abuse. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 9780933812178.
  • Richard A. Gardner (1987). Sex Abuse Legitimacy Scale (Sal Scale). Creative therapeutics. ISBN 9780933812192.
  • Richard A. Gardner (1991). Sex Abuse Hysteria: Salem Witch Trials Revisited. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 9780933812222.[8]
  • Richard A. Gardner (1992). True and False Accusations of Child Sex Abuse.
  • Richard A. Gardner (1995). Protocols for the Sex-Abuse Evaluation. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-38-3.
  • Richard A. Gardner (1996). Psychotherapy with Sex-Abuse Victims: True, False, and Hysterical. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-41-3.
  • Richard A. Gardner (1998). The Parental Alienation Syndrome: A Guide for Mental Health and Legal Professionals. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-42-0.
  • Richard A. Gardner (2001). Sex-Abuse Trauma?: Or Trauma from Other Sources?. Creative Therapeutics. ISBN 978-0-933812-47-5.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Lavietes, Stuart (June 9, 2003). "Richard Gardner, 72, Dies; Cast Doubt on Abuse Claims". The New York Times. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Warshak, Richard. "The Gardner Library". Dr. Richard A. Warshak. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
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