The International Academy of Practice with Alienated Children is working with the psychoanalytic and structural therapeutic literature, to enable a greater understanding of the problem of a child’s alignment and rejection behaviour after divorce and separation. This allows for development of treatment routes for the problem, which address the core dynamic of induced psychological splitting,which causes the child’s behaviour during a crucial developmental phase. The focus on the child as the subject of their own lived experience, rather than the object of a parental dispute, allows for a detailed and nuanced refinement of understanding of the aetiology of each child’s entry into the use of psychological splitting defence. Treatment routes in response to this stratified understanding, are based upon structural therapy.
Working with children suffering from induced psychological splitting is a risky and challenging role for mental health practitioners, both inside and outside of the family court system. This is because induced psychological splitting in children of divorce and separation, is not well understood and litigation models such as parental alienation theory are the subject of much controversy. Clinical practice with children who are affected by induced psychological splitting, is a conflicted field to work in and can be hijacked at times, by the very same primitive defences which are seen in families where children become alienated. When such hijacking occurs, it is often deliberate, drawing those who are involved in this field into endless rounds of fighting to correct misinformation. Just like parents who influence children, blame and shame and false claims are projected onto practitioners, in order to obfuscate the reality of what is happening to children. Building understanding of these dynamics and connecting practitioners to the need to help these children, requires tenacity and clarity of purpose and it is this which the International Academy of Practice with Alienated Children intends to achieve in the coming years.
IAPAC has set itself goals which are focused upon prevention of harm and protection of alienated children through education, training and treatment.
IAPAC will, raise public awareness of the harms which are caused to children when they are exposed to behaviours which induce psychological splitting and to provide resources to prevent this harm and protect children, as well as assist them in recovery.
IAPAC 2022
IAPAC activities are aimed at ensuring the development of a skilled workforce in this field using evidence based, accredited training routes. The Academy is small and tightly focused, drawing upon the expertise and skill sets of established clinicians in the field, we aim to drive up clinical standards of practice and provide evidence based evaluation of successful intervention.
IAPAC also aims to provide education, training, supervision and support to those involved in clinical practice through the holding of conferences and other training events. A peer reviewed journal of clinical practice, which is being developed now, will provide a platform for development of clinical excellence in this field.
Conference Headlines
This hybrid conference is being hosted and streamed by Western Galilee College in Acre, Israel. Accommodation rates for hotel accommodation in Haifa have been specially arranged for delegates who wish to attend in person. Details
Physical presence at the conference is open to professionals from the worlds of therapy and law only. The conference will be streamed and tickets are available for all interested parties including parents.
This conference is focused on development of clinical practice and the legal management of cases of alienation of children. Delivered by experienced clinicians, each section of the conference is designed to offer immediate takeaways to help practitioners to immediately build new ways of working with families affected by alienation. The conference is designed to showcase best practice in this field of work and to offer support to clinicians to encourage a greater confidence in understanding and dealing with the challenges in working with psychological and emotional abuse of children in divorce and separation.
Programme and Speakers
The programme will be finalised in the coming weeks but we already have a powerful group of speakers with extensive experience in this field of work. Our headline speakers are well known in this field, highly experienced and well respected, we are delighted to welcome them to Israel in person, to open each day for us.
Day One – Headline Speaker – Barbara Jo Fidler, Ph.D., C.Psych., Acc.FM.
Dr Fidler is a clinical developmental psychologist. She has worked with high conflict separating/divorcing families conducting assessments, professional consultations, expert testimony, mediation, arbitration, therapy and parenting coordination for over 30 years. Dr. Fidler provides training to judges, lawyers and mental health professionals and has presented at numerous conferences. She is co-author of four books: Child Custody Assessments (2008), Challenging Issues in Child Custody Disputes (2008), Best Practice Guide: Responding to Emotional Harm & Parent-Child Contact Problems in High Conflict Separation (2013), and Children Who Resist Post-Separation Parental Contact: A Differential Approach for Legal and Mental Health Professionals (2012).
Day Two – Headline Speaker – Benjamin D. Garber, Ph.D.
Dr. Garber is a New Hampshire licensed psychologist, parenting coordinator, expert consultant to family law matters across North America, speaker and author. He is also a former Guardian ad litem. Dr. Garber has advanced degrees in psycholinguistics, developmental and clinical child psychology from the University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. He completed an internship in clinical child and family psychology at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. He is co-founder of the Parenting Coordination Association of New Hampshire, winner of the March of Dimes “Distinction in Media Excellence” award, and an acclaimed educator and author in numerous areas of child and family development and family law.
Conference Programme Includes –
- Understanding Child Psychological and Emotional Abuse
- Alienation – the psychoanalytic framework for understanding
- Attachment and developmental trauma in divorce and separation
- The role of coercive control
- Power over children and its impact
- Transgenerational trauma in divorce and separation
- Working with primitive defences in divorce and separation
- What does the neuroscience say – the risk of ‘social thinning’ in relational trauma
- Legal management of cases of alienation of children
- Building successful treatment routes using structural therapy
- After care treatments for residence change children
- Therapeutic parenting for alienated children
- Research and clinical perspectives
- Practitioner safety
Other speakers include
Inbal Baron-Kivenson (Israel), Nick Woodall (UK), Gordana Bjulan Flander (Croatia), Claire Francica (Malta), Tirtza Joels (Israel), Mia Roje Đapić (Croatia), Teodora Minčić (Serbia), Karen Woodall (UK), Benny Bailey (Israel), Sietska Dijkstra (Netherlands), Alice Berkowitz (USA), Leilani Sinclair (USA), Judith M. Pilla (USA), Joan Long (Rep of Ireland), more speakers will be added as we progress to finalising the programme.
BOOKING
The cost to attend in person and the cost to watch via live stream is the same. Please choose your option when booking tickets (below).
Ticket for both days:
$210.00 USD
(incl tax)
Approximate cost:
₪690.00
€190.00
£160.00
Check exchange rates here:
https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/
*please note, currency exchange rates change
Ticket for one day:
$108.00 USD
(incl tax)
Approximate cost:
₪355.00
€98.00
£84.00
Check exchange rates here:
https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/
*please note, currency exchange rates change
Notes:
1. All tickets charged in USD
2. A booking fee of $1.50 USD will be made per booking (not per ticket)
3. Those wishing to attend in-person will be asked to provide limited information to help verify professional status. This information will not be shared.
Karen Woodall 