Therapist goes from foe to friend

I find it interesting that Jaffe still commands enough credence to get a call on his opinion of certain elements in social science. He is an ideologue perched in a secure position within academia who believes all men are abusers and women benign. This is the bald face of victim feminism. Yet, he is quoted for his so-called research, which only involves allegedly abused women, often in shelters, and he never delves into the Intimate Partner Violence perpetrated by the woman on the man in his published material. Is this not just propaganda supporting his belief system? For this, he gets kudos, awards, citations, and is apparently called to testify in court cases.


Pity any man who is involved in the case.

Mr. Makin proffers of Jaffe…"a professor at University of Western Ontario who specializes in child offenders and family violence."

This is overly generous. Jaffe, as stated above, is a women's advocate only not family and any violence that exists in his mind is that perpetrated by a man. He ignores the USA, Australian and some Canadian studies, which show the single mom to be the most likely perpetrator of harm and death to children.
"It is a hot debate in the field - and that is not changing," he said. "I think there is a concern about this doing more harm than good." 

Jaffe "thinks" but does not know. If he actually had any real knowledge, he would know the emotional harm to children if they are not removed from this form of Parental abuse and remedial action given.


Jaffe has opined, "…It's a step in the right direction, but I don't think anyone in their right mind would send a child to treatment based on that article." 

Jaffe does one-sided studies as a matter of course that do not stand up to scrutiny of his peers when questioned on the type of subjects and the kind on interview process he supervises. Ask how he avoids female perpetrated IPV, female killing of children and female physical and emotional abuse of children. The only relevant information he wishes is that to support his preordained beliefs. 

When asked to comment previously about Dr. Warshak's program he described it as "quackery." What is that saying about the pot calling the kettle black? In this case, the pot may not be knowledgeable enough to proffer an informed opinion let alone anything remotely approaching professional relevance.
Could it be Jaffe sees his lucrative contracts helping to train judges, through the National Judicial Institute are in jeopardy? 

Thank goodness, for professionals like Dr. Warshak who takes a non-gendered approach to his work. He wants to give children the tools to deal with a very broken and malicious parent.


The Honourable Justice John Gomery of Canada stated in 1991, "Hatred is not an emotion that comes naturally to a child. It has to be taught. A parent who would teach a child to hate the other parent represents a grave and persistent danger to the mental and emotional health of that child."
What is Jaffe doing for the children by hiding from the truth?MJM

Controversial technique for treating alienated children seems to be gaining acceptance

KIRK MAKIN 

From Monday's Globe and Mail Published on Monday, Feb. 08, 2010 12:00AM EST Last updated on Monday, Feb. 08, 2010 3:30AM EST 

JUSTICE REPORTER 

As a pioneer of a controversial method of rewiring children whose emotions have been inflamed by an alienating parent, Richard Warshak grew used to being disparaged as a flakey deprogrammer. 

He was nonetheless stung last year when there was widespread dismay in the wake of several Canadian judges ordering that alienated children - whose emotions toward one parent have been poisoned by the other - be forcibly taken to the United States to be treated by him. 

However, the Texas psychologist now believes that much of the concern has melted away, giving him impetus to bring his Family Bridges therapy to Canada.
Last week, Dr. Warshak helped train three Ontario psychologists in his techniques and held a closed-door educational session in Toronto with 130 judges who preside over family-law cases.

Both developments signal an end to the bad rap he has taken, said Dr. Warshak, author of a book on parental alienation - Divorce Poison.
"I think there is demand," he said. "I sure get a lot of e-mails from parents in Canada asking about whether they can get their children into the program. I also get a lot of inquiries from psychologists asking to be trained in the techniques. 

Dr. Warshak said that his talk to judges was warmly received. "I'm pleased that the judges are taking the time to learn about this," he said. "It was clear that these judges have seen these cases. Nearly every family court judge says they believe it is a real phenomenon." 

The four-day sessions - which cost from $8,000 to $22,000 - involve videotaped presentations of family situations, discussions about alienation techniques parents use, and lots of down time to enable children to reacquaint themselves with an estranged parent. 

Dr. Warshak said that what critics fail to see is that dramatic action is often essential to prevent an alienating parent from winning the exclusive affection of a child.


"The children we deal with are ones who have felt tremendous pressure to feel certain things, to see the world in a certain way," he said. "What we do is help them liberate themselves from that." 

Dr. Warshak conceded that many children resist coming to his sessions, and have to be transported by police or private security officers.


"But once the child gets to us, they have a choice whether to stay or not," he said. "What they find is that it is an enjoyable experience. They feel tremendously relieved that they have now been able to get out of this box they are in." 

He said that only one child refused to participate in the 23 sessions he has personally helped conduct. Eighteen children made tangible progress, Dr. Warshak said, while the remaining four "relapsed" after later coming under the influence of the alienating parent. 

However, concern about the therapy has not gone away, said Peter Jaffe, a professor at University of Western Ontario who specializes in child offenders and family violence. 

"It is a hot debate in the field - and that is not changing," he said. "I think there is a concern about this doing more harm than good." 

Dr. Jaffe acknowledged a recent journal article in which Dr. Warshak chronicled the positive results he has achieved, but said it was flawed. 

"The problem is, there is no comparison group," Dr. Jaffe said. "He is doing research on cases he has assessed himself. I think there is a major conflict of interest. It's a step in the right direction, but I don't think anyone in their right mind would send a child to treatment based on that article." 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/therapist-goes-from-foe-to-friend/article1459607/