A mother accused of alienating her children from their father has won an appeal to overturn a decision by a district judge to instruct a psychological expert in her case.
The lower court had been wrong to make an order inviting the expert to undertake psychological assessments of the parents and two children and for doing so without giving proper reasons, according to a more senior judge.
The successful appeal at Watford family court is significant because it follows new guidance from Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the family division of the high court in England and Wales. This stipulates that a decision on whether or not a parent has alienated a child should be a question of fact to be resolved by the court – and not a diagnosis offered by a psychologist.
Allowing the mother’s appeal, Middleton-Roy noted that no facts had been found by the court on the issue of parental alienation and that the experienced district judge had failed to consider a number of factors and failed to give a judgment.
The Observer first reported on the use of parental alienation experts in the family court in June 2021 amid concerns the concept was being used as a litigation tactic by perpetrators of abuse – with the result that children were removed from their mothers.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/sep/09/uk-mother-accused-of-alienating-children-from-father-wins-appeal-over-psychological-assessment