Understanding misinformation about parental alienation to better counter it
Marie-France Hirigoyen
Medical doctor, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst
Marie-France Hirigoyen.
The detractors of parental alienation are mostly people who are very involved in the fight against domestic violence. Neglecting the fact that this problem is not gendered and can be exercised by both a father and a mother, they consider that this concept could contribute to the concealment of male violence and, in particular, to the denial of incest.
As is the case whenever a subject is highly emotional, we are faced with cognitive biases that prevent us from thinking. These denials echo the denial of an alienating parent who is absolutely convinced, without any objective reason, that the other parent is dangerous for the child. Cognitive distortions are contagious because, through a conformity bias, people seeking information on the subject will lean on the opinion of the most radical people as they seem more convincing.
In my presentation, I will be analysing misinformation processes and suggesting ways of countering them.
Marie-France Hirigoyen is a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, family psychotherapist and victimologist in private practice. She is an associate researcher at Paris Descartes University, and a lecturer in victimology, medical ethics, and psychotraumatology.