Year-end Donations Appeal

Dear Everyone,

PAAO really needs your help and financial support.

We have greatly improved the level of general public awareness, but within the professional community there is still alot of demand for understanding how to deal with PA.  The PAAO Board and Advisory Committee members are determined to refocus attention on participating at as many major professional conferences and meetings as possible over the next 6 mths BUT we have reached that critical point.  (I couldn't resist this ancient cover from National Lampoon magazine in 1973.)

I should also mention that as PAAO is a registered charity in both Canada and the US - some of you who work internationally may have an added incentive.  Albertans should be aware that we have one of the most generous (combined Fed+Prov) Charitable Tax Credit's in the country that amounts to 50% above $200.

To make a direct donation with your Credit Card (VISA, MasterCard, AMEX or Discover) or through your PayPal account, just click on the tab above called "Donate" - or just click here.

The Good Karma Divorce

A judge in Chicago IL has written to a "guide" to divorce called "The Good Karma Divorce".  I have not read it but I heard her in an interview with PAAO President Jill Egizii.

Instructive video about the "Teen Betweener"

For more info goto www.teenbetween.ie.

Update from AACAP Conference in New York City - Oct 24-29

An update from Robert Samery - VP PAAO, who attended the 57th AACAP Annual Conference in New York City this week with PAAO President - Jill Egizi.  (AACAP stands for the "American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry" and is the pre-eminent professional association of many court appointed evaluators and behavioural assessors.)  In photo below Jill and Robert are shown engaging in discussion with one of the attendees at the Conference.  As a Board, we decided it was extremely important that PAAO be present at this event to help make the case for including PAD in DSM-V (the influential Handbook and Manual for Professional Psychiatrists).   We received tremendous assistance from many members of PAAO's Advisory Board including: Dr. Amy Baker, Dr Richard Sauber and Dr. Michael Bone (also Dr. William Bernet who despite not being on the Advisory Board was instrumental in pitching Jill on our involvement).  All  made themselves available throughout the Conference taking turns answering queries and even helped staff our information display.

[We are asking all PAAO Supporters for their help in covering the US$5,000 we have budgeted for this exhibition space and associated promotional materials.  Each conference attendee received our regular brochure and some extra material about PAAO.   Our two board members who attended, setup, staffed the display and "spread the word" all paid their own conference expenses including travel, lodging and incidentals.  I am going to boldly suggest a very generous donation of $100 per PAAO supporter.   (But of course, everyone must decide what they can afford.)  As PAAO runs such a tight ship unless we recoup this expense, we will not be able to fund any other upcoming events.  All are important in gaining acceptance of PAD for DSM-V.  And remember, PAAO qualifies for a charitable tax receipt in either Canada and the US, where ever the donor is resident.]

Here is Robert's dispatch:


Hello all,

From rainy New York I can report the following from the AACAP conference.

After a tiring day of both delayed travel, and heavy setup on Tuesday,
Jill and I met back at the exhibit hall this morning. We seemed to be
talking to at least 1 person interested in PA issues throughout the
entire day. We were helped enormously by Michael Jeffries, who is an
extremely articulate advocate.

We a small portion of the 4700 delegates at the conference, and they
came from all points in N. America as well as the UK, Sweden,
Portugal, Spain, Brazil, France, Peru, Costa Rica, (and I may have
missed a country or 2).

Of those that spoke with us, most were aware of the issue, and a few
were happy to learn there is a name to what they have been seeing.
Many also expressed a real joy in seeing that we were even on the list
of exhibitors. That gives me a tremendous confidence in knowing that
we have done a great deal of good by even just showing up.

I'm sending you a picture of Jill, Michael and me speaking to 1 of the
many who came by to hear about what we do.

I'll try and send more of an update tomorrow.

Psychiatric experts assess parental alienation

From article in AP Newswire:

Psychiatric experts assess parental alienation

By DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer

Oct 1, 2010
NEW YORK     (AP) -- The American Psychiatric Association has a hot  potato on its hands as it updates its catalog of mental disorders -  whether to include parental alienation, a disputed term conveying how a  child's relationship with one estranged parent can be poisoned by the other.

"We're gotten an enormous amount of mail - more than any other issue," said Dr. Darrel Regier, vice chair of the task force drafting the manual. "The passions on both sides of this are exceptional."

"There is not sufficient scientific evidence to warrant its inclusion in the DSM," Regier said in a statement.

In an interview, Regier - who directs the APA's research division - said the proposal technically remains alive pending final presentations by the end of 2011. But he described chances for inclusion of parental alienation as "slim" - given that it has not been selected for field trials that normally would be a prerequisite for official recognition.

Meier, the George Washington law professor, has urged judges to be cautious in how they allow the topic to be raised in cases where one estranged parent is accused by the other of abuse.

She said the initial impetus for recognition of parental alienation syndrome came in large part from the fathers' rights movement, but suggested much of the momentum now comes from psychologists, consultants and others who could profit if the concept had a more formal status in family court disputes.

"It's monetary," Kates said. "These psychologists and therapists make huge money doing the evaluations and therapies."

Obviously we are not making enough noise.

Upcoming Events/Conferences

This is a reminder to everyone about some of the important Upcoming Events taking place worldwide.

Sat Oct 2 + Sun Oct 3, 2010 CPAS Conference, Mt. Sinai Medical Center NYC
http://cspas.ca/program_times.shtml

Oct 28-30, 2010 AFCC's Ninth Symposium on Child Custody Evaluations, Cambridge/Boston MA.
http://afccnet.org/pdfs/AFCC%20Cambridge.pdf

Fri Nov 12 - Sun Nov 14, 2010 CEPC Conference - KEEP (Kids Expect Equal Parenting) Toronto ON
http://www.canadianepc.com/portal/index.php

Feb 25, 2011 - Richard WARSHAK in Calgary AB

February 25, 2011 Dr. Warshak will conduct an all-day continuing education workshop in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, at the request of The Psychologists' Association of Alberta (PAA). Topic: "Welcome Back, Pluto: The Psychology of Families with Alienated and Estranged Children and the ...Principles, Procedures, and Ethical Considerations of Effective Help." PAA's mission is to advance the science-based profession of psychology and to promote the well-being and potential of all Albertans. For more Info please click the link. 

 

http://www.warshak.com/events/index.html 

Dr. Demosthenes Lorandos - PA Legal Intrepretation Expert

I ran across Dr. Demosthenes Lorandos website - and found it to be an exceptional source on the science of PA and its mis-use within the court system.  As a clinical psychologist and lawyer he is well equipped to cover this tricky area.   Dr. Lorandos successfully represented Georgia kindergarten teacher Tonya Craft in her May 2010 acquital of sexual molesting her 5yr-old daughter during a child custody battle.  The case was high profile because it featured a number of shorcomings in the "so-called" professional evaluation process as well as behaviours of judge and state prosecutors.

Here is the introduction of his talk at the 2009 PAS Symposium in Toronto.


(Here is his YouTube Account - of particular note is Part 4 that deals with his arguments in favour of  determining the "Scientific Validity" of PA within the Court Room.)

Do qualitative methods and PAS meet the Daubert criteria? You know, whats considered to be science? Well what are they? Testability, falsifiability, error rates, peer review, general acceptance, validity, reliability.

Well, whats testability? Its proof by disproof. Can we test ideas about parental alienation? Yeah, sure we can. PAS is certainly testable. Gardner described eight factors, we can test whether they exist or not. In fact Bricklin and Elliot are trying to develop inventories that have some inter-rater reliability and some test-retest reliability that can be used in family conflict circumstances. They can certainly test whether those are accurate or not. They can test whether or not they speak to a phenomenon of interest accurately or not. They can test whether or not inter-raters or test-retests find them to be reliable or not. 

New PAAO President - Jill Egizii

(Part 2 of this impassioned address is here)
Address to DC Rally Fest 2010 for Family Rights - U.S. Capitol - West Lawn, Wash., D.C.
Jill Egizii, Author of "The Look of Love" and Illinois alderman in Leland Grove, Illinois

Plight of Rejected Parents - Welcome Back, Pluto DVD Chapter 6

From Dr. Richard Warshak - author of "Divorce Poison".   You can find out more about this DVD and place an order at:  http://www.warshak.com/alienation/pluto-dvd.html

New Directors

Just wanted to thank everyone who voted for me and Rhonda to become newest Directors of PAAO (the founding organization). It is an excellent organization and I hope we can continue to build a stronger network of concerned parents and extended families within Western Canada.

For more info go to www.PAawareness.org.

Canadian Bar Association opposes Bill C422

The Family Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association has just released their analysis and position on Bill C422. As expected they continue to oppose the suggestion of Equal Parenting. I suppose I should not be surprised that they will continue to line their own pockets, it is just disappointing that they do not the great harm they are promoting.

Here was the press release.

On the first anniversary of C-422 passing First Reading, The Canadian Bar Association( CBA) has made a submission to the Justice and Human Rights Committee(JUST) regarding C-422(Equal Parenting) prepared by the Family Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA).

The CBA continues in its historical opposition to shared parenting as encapsulated in the following extract:

We oppose passage of Bill C-422. As lawyers with centuries of combined experience in family law and the operation of the Divorce Act, we believe the Bill would be a tremendous step backward in the development of family law. The Bill would represent a disservice both to children and families by:

• taking the focus away from children in favour of parental rights
• detracting from the individual justice required by the Divorce Act and,
  
• promoting further and more fractious litigation.

Here is a link to that document.

Rubin vs Lippe PAS case grabs attention

This case in the US has caught national if not international attention from anyone concerned about PAS. The mother Lauren Lippe is facing losing custody and possible jail-time (although I would consider 6 weeks as nothing more than a slap on the wrist) for her PAS behaviour. There was shocking testimony that convinced the judge - except I find it mind-numbing (not to mention bank-account chilling) that it took 23 days of court appearances.

PA is a VERY controversial topic.

I just read the following post at the Fathers & Families blog (that became associated with Glenn Sacks last year).

Leading Opponent of Recognizing Parental Alienation Apologizes to Fathers & Families for Defamatory Remarks.

May 24th, 2010 by Glenn Sacks, MA, Executive Director

Clinical Psychiatry News board member Dr. Paul J. Fink makes a shockingly irresponsible assertion in his recent column. He writes that family court reform groups seeking to have parental alienation disorder seriously considered for inclusion in the DSM-5 are doing so because they “don’t like to be interfered with when they are sexually abusing their children”…

It is a perfect example of the difficulty facing many people who experience PAS - gender alignment and denial - by both "sides". It doesn't help to be so polarized.

We have strongly advocated for acceptance of PAS/D within the professional Psychiatric Community, and so has Fathers & Families/Glenn Sacks. This is the reason for heavy lobbying for inclusion of PAS/D into the DSM-V with the authorities in the American Psychiatric Association. It does not mean we believe it to ONLY effect Fathers. Clearly, mothers have experienced the pain of being alienated as well. As I am fond of saying "PAS is an equal-opportunity disease!" and it has no real gender preference. In the end "bad parenting behaviour" can occur anywhere.

However, it is another thing completely to "deny" that PAS/D exists - as Fink above seems to.

Here is Monika LOGAN's take on the dangers for women of denying that PAS/D exists.

Another unflattering tactic is to demonize the founder of PAS/D - Dr. Richard Gardner. That he was a prolific contributor to discovering and promoting the condition is not to be questioned, but his enemies have grotesquely distorted and taken out of context his work to imply he was in favour of paedophilia! I have seen the same outrageous slur conducted on men who propose they are subject to PAS. Unfortunately, as Dr. Gardner passed away in 2003 he can not defend himself. In addition, that he took his own life has caused these same opponents to imply he was mentally unstable, further reflecting badly on his work. Unfortunately we can never uncover the real truth of such scurrilous charges. But we can take heart that many others - like Warshuk, Bone and Baker - have continued to expand knowledge of this insidious form of child abuse.

May 25 is National Missing Children's Day in the US

Today is National Missing Children's Day in the US

Today marks the 28th annual National Missing Children's Day. First proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan and observed by each administration since, National Missing Children’s Day serves as a reminder to the nation about the importance of child safety and remembering children who are still missing.

May 25th marks the anniversary of the day when 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared from a New York street corner on his way to school. Etan's story captivated the nation. His photo, taken by his father, a professional photographer, appeared in media across the nation and around the world. As a result, Etan became the poster-child for a movement and his photo came to symbolize the anguish and trauma of thousands of searching families.

For three decades, the search for Etan has continued. Just as that day when President Reagan proclaimed the first National Missing Children's Day, Etan is still missing. The widespread attention brought to his case and others eventually led to a nationwide commitment to help locate and recover missing children.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) honors this commitment by reminding parents, guardians, and others to make child safety a national priority and encourages them to participate in the Take 25 campaign.

I, Psychopath

I came across the YouTube Series about Psychopathic personalities and was intrigued because it was broadcast on CBC, but appears to have been an ABC (Australian) production. Of course, the common threads is that many severe PA behaviours are perpetrated by people who appear to exhibit some aspects of Narcissistic Personality or Borderline Personality Disorders (N/BPD). Dr. Amy Baker has made that connection clear.

This video just demonstrates the interactions between a fully aware director and a very high-level functioning psychopath - who ultimately admits he bullies people on a regular basis and has a creepy understanding of how to do so effectively. He also explains that his degree is not as rigorously obtained as many expect - but then you really don't know what to believe from this fellow, which is why he is a diagnosed psychopath.

This led me to a womens blog who claims to have saved her marriage by getting her husband treatment for is NPD. I am wary of such sites, but must admit that only psychopaths seem to never admit they can be wrong. Anyways, there are different ways to skin a cat.

Amy Baker describes the difference between PA and PAS + what TP should do.

Dr. Amy J.L. Baker speaks about PAS from Amy Baker on Vimeo.

Here are some of the points I thought valid:

• PA are the strategies or behaviors that 1 parent uses to try to turn a child against the other parent.
• PAS is the term that describes a child who has succumbed to the pressure, has been manipulated to believe that that other parent is unworthy and should be cut out of his/her life.
  
• Vastly understudied area.
  
• PA targeted parents want to know - will I ever get my child back, they have rejected me, I haven't seen my child, what is this doing to him/her, what can I do to speed up the process to get them back?
• Baker says PA targets need to be proactive to stop PA before it gets bad by studying the 17 strategies she has identified. If they see them occurring they must document the incidents and engage a lawyer who recognizes this condition and understands that it can happen.
• Baker also suggests that parents help protect their children by teaching them critical thinking skills so the kids can't be manipulated.
• Is it as simple as both parents not speaking pejoratively of the other parent?
• Not exactly. Baker says these cases are so hopeless that the AP can't stop doing this. They want SO MUCH to punish the other parent and are so convinced they are right that even telling them this behaviour is abuse with major repercussions to their child - they will not stop.
• So Baker advises teaching the TP how to protect their relationship with their child.
• Baker found the long-term effects on PAS children were the same as people who were in a cult. Thought reform, emotional manipulation, control of the environment - are the same things cult leaders use.
• How do "victim parents" deal with a PA? 1) don't take the bait - be empathic with your child "you think I did that? - that must really hurt" - don't run upstairs and get the bank statements to disprove it. Be empathic, safe, loving and available to them - DO NOT fight with your kid about all those accusations, all the time.
• In a separate interview about the return of Sean Goldman of NJ - an 8yr old boy who was returned to his dad in Dec 2009 after being abducted by his mother to Brazil - Baker also suggests that TP can never "give up" on their children. The damage is that they begin to believe one parent doesn't want them, but even if the say otherwise - they desperately want that parent to fight for the right to be their parent. "Giving up" breaks that faith - and when confronted by the campaign of denigration by the AP, the child can surrender to it.
  

I recommend watching, or go to Amy Bakers website at www.amyjlbaker.com

Excellent Resource

Rhonda and Lou Anne passed on their discussions about this new blog - entitled Parental Alienation Disorder (aka PAD*) by Monica Logan , a social worker in the State of Texas Social Services - and I am very impressed with it!

In particular she provided a very thoughtful letter to the Committee Reviewing DSTM-V about including PAD* in the new diagnostic manual (we have been on this for some time, encouraging everyone to write in to advocate it's inclusion).

http://padsupport.wordpress.com/

* PAD = Parental Alienation "Disorder" is the NEW description that "downsizes" the psychological parameters of Parental Alienation "Syndrome" (PAS) to a lesser pathology consistent with others like Borderline Personality Disorder. PAS has been criticised because it does not manifest itself in specific actions or beliefs, and more accurately it only really describes the agent rather than the effected child or "subject". PAD is broader in referring to a spectrum of behaviours and more inclusive by the co-effects on subjects - children and targeted parents. It also appears this will be the new acronym to replace what we had been referring to as PAS (or PAB "Parental Alienation Behaviour").

Edmonton PAAD also a success!

Saturday April 24th at the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market was another successful event for Parental Alienation Awareness Day. The market was in full swing by 9 am with hundreds of people browsing through the stalls. Our Display table was set up at the back near the concession this year and we had a continuous stream of people stopping to gather information and share their own heartbreaking stories and experiences. We also had an interested psychologist who wanted to receive more information as well as workers from FCSS (Family and Community Social Services) as far away as Mayerthorpe. We handed out many brochures and had on hand lots of reference books and articles for people as well as information sheets to give then for further research.

Many thanks to Chris (Theroux), Jimmy, Renata, Wes, Jerry, Lisa, Johnny and others from ECMAS for their support and help. We could not have done without all of you.

A great and busy day to help raise awareness about PAS. It was very rewarding as many parents and even grandparents were so thankful to have help and direction on what they could do to try counter the problems of being alienated from their children ad grandchildren. Rhonda was also so pleased to have her ex-mother-in-law and two sons stop in to show their support.

See everyone next year at the same place on April 23. If you wish to help or contribute in any way let us know.

Rhonda Pisanello - Alberta PAAO & Panda Abuzz "Spokesperson"

Here are some photo's of the event:

From 2010 Edmonton

From 2010 Edmonton

Global PAAD - a success

Calgary PAAD Event a great success!

On Saturday April 24 and Sunday April 25, volunteers from Calgary area held the 1st Parental Alienation Awareness Day Event in that city at Crossroads Indoor Market, 1235-26 Ave SE from 9-5. As I have become to believe is normal the number of people who were spontaneously drawn to the display was sparse - but for those few, interest was intense. Unfortunately, mostly due to personal experience. For many of these supporters and new recruits it provided a much needed networking opportunity. Here are records of the event (including a enthusiastic "Panda Abuzz" teddy bear supporter. On Sunday the "bubble machine" acted like a kid magnet, immediately drawing any child within 25m to our table. Unfortunately, it created a very slippy surface right infront of our table that had to be mopped - so we could only use it sparingly.)

Also, I would like to thank my Alberta PAAO colleague - Rhonda Pisanello for acting as team-leader in Edmonton on Saturday - and then coming down to help with Calgary on Sunday. Also to volunteers Suzanne, Earl Silverman and Robert Thorne from Family of Men - my most sincere thanks.

I look forward to an even better event next year.

[I will add more photo's as they trickle in - as well as overview of the Edmonton event.]

Calgary PAAD set - Crossroads Market, 1235 - 26 Avenue SE

Due to the diligent efforts of Suzanne - we now have a Calgary PAAD location. We will be holding an Information Event at the Crossroads Indoor Market (1235 - 26 Avenue SE, Calgary) next Saturday April 24 and Sunday April 25 from 9am-5pm!

We shall have a table inside displaying information about PA (books, DVD's and resources) and will hand be handing out the PAAO pamphlet.

See you there!

(Here are some posters -#1 and #2 -to print and help promote the Event by posting somewhere.)

Edmonton set to go - Calgary PAAD Event is taking shape

Everyone, in addition to holding a PAAD Event on April 24 in Edmonton we now have some support in Calgary and so I am asking for volunteers to staff our table in Calgary. Details still being finalized but I will email the out ASAP. Calgary volunteers can email me their interest/availability.

In the mean time, if you can help staff the Edmonton Event at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market (103 ST + 83 Ave) from 10-2pm on sat April 24, 2010 - let us know by filling out this poll/schedule.

PAS Case File - Saskatchewan 2008

Sent by a member, this is a PAS influenced decision from Saskatchewan - case rendered in 2008. I recommend it to all as an example of court life - including what I would call an encouraging thread of acknowledgement that PAS exists. Of course the landmark PAS decision - Tremblay vs Tremblay rendered by (now retired Judge) M. Trussler of Edmonton was also mentioned.

What I found it abit disappointing that the Child Assessment study referred to a 1998 MSW article by Rhonda Freeman from The Canadian Journal of Family Law! Surely they have improved on child-parent assessment techniques since then! As least they also mentioned Douglas Darnell's 1998 reference text "Divorce Casualties, Protecting Your Children From Parental Alienation".

If any one else wants to share Case files, send in.

Action Alert: Write to APA to endorse including PAS in DSM-V

I received the following email request from Dr. Amy BAKER - the author and researcher of the well-received book about PAS entitled:

Adult Children of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Breaking the Ties that Bind by Dr. Amy J. L. BAKER

Wed Feb 24, 2010

Greetings,

I hope that this e-mail finds you well. I am inviting you to consider writing a letter to the committee that will decide whether to include parental alienation in the American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental disorders (DSM). The manual has not been updated in 20 years and may not be updated again for another 20 years.

A formal proposal presenting the research and clinical evidence for parental alienation has been submitted and is being considered by a working group. Letters from parents and other individuals personally or professionally affected by PAS can help persuade this group to take seriously this devastating problem affecting families today.

If you are interested, go the link below, *register, and write your letter.

Best Regards,

Amy J.L. Baker, Ph.D.

www.amyjlbaker.com

http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/ConditionsProposedbyOutsideSources.aspx

p.s *This is rather tedious but necessary. They need your full address and will confirm registration email address before allowing you to comment. I suggest a CLEAR endorsement of including PAS in the DSM-V, then an explanation and/or personal anecdote or experience that supports your position (of course only if you feel comfortable so doing).

International Abduction: Chasing the Cyclone by Peter THOMAS

Peter Thomas Senese went through the terrifying experience of having his son abducted by his ex-spouse and taken via Canada to New Zealand. In the process of winning his son back, he decided to write about his experience for the benefit of others. His book was entitled "Chasing the Cyclone" and he has now created a documentary.

Chasing Parents: Racing Into the Storms of International Parental Child Abduction' - What The World Needs To Know About International Parental Child Abduction.

(To find out more got to www.chasingthecyclone.com)

Lucy WARNER - A true story of parental separation and a lost childhood

Lucy WARNER contacted Real Fathers 4 Justice UK to offer her support to their campaign after years of alienation by her mum. After her mother passed away Lucy was eventually reconciled with her father, however they cannot replace the precious years that have been lost forever.

It is a touching story and again puts a personal face on the fallout from PAS.

Below is a brief excerpt of the intro, but to read the whole story you must go to the Real Fathers 4 Justice UK Blog.

www.realfathersforjustice.org

26 January 2010: A true story of parental separation and a lost childhood

From as far back as I can remember, family meant the world to me. I had an older half brother (from my mother), a twin sister, a baby brother and the two most important people in my world, my mum and dad.

I was as normal as any excitable little girl. As I grew up I realized not all mums and dads lived together. I was lucky mine did, not that it seemed to make much difference to my friends because many saw both parents despite being separated or divorced.

When I turned 12 my life changed, not because I was suddenly a teenager but because my mother had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.

Harsh as the situation was we tried to push through as a family.

Six months later my father left the family home.

He later said, “It was one of the worst times to leave”.

continued...

DIVORCE

Tough love from Texas

February 9, 2010Susan Pigg - LIVING REPORTER

When Richard Warshak whisked into Toronto last week from his native Texas, he brought along some tough-love advice for both divorcing parents and family court judges.

"Love your kids more than you hate your ex-spouse," the renowned expert on parental alienation said.

Be firm and fast at pushing toxic custody cases through the clogged courts, he advised judges attending a day-long seminar at the Four Seasons Hotel.

[continuted... ]

• Runs a PAS deprogramming service called "Family Bridges".
• Of the 23 kids he's personally helped reconnect with an alienated parent since 2005, 18 still maintain a relationship with both parents. Eight of those 23 children came from Canada.
• This spring he's coming out with a new, self-help DVD (Welcome Back Pluto, which he hopes to sell on his website www.warshak.com for $19.95 U.S.) for parents struggling to reconnect with kids who've been poisoned against them.
• Warshak has been training two Ontario psychologists to run the program in Canada and says a third is due to join him soon.
• "We find that most children under the age of 8 don't really need this kind of program to make the transition."

PAAD 2010 Volunteers Needed - Sat April 24

It is that time of year again.

2010 PAAD in Alberta will be Saturday April 24, 2010

I am hoping to organize the 3rd Parental Alienation Awareness Day (PAAD) Event in Edmonton and if volunteers flock to help me,coordinate other Events elsewhere in the province.

We are looking for volunteers to initiate a PAAD Event in Alberta community's or join one nearby. An event can be as simple or as complicated as you want (and your budget allows - as we have no funding, but we accept contributions). Our objective is to educate the general public about PA but how you do that is up to you.

Last year wasn't fancy. We set-up a display table with a PAAO Banner, various PAS reference, books, had some DVD's on the laptop and began handing out (b&w photocopied) PAAO pamphlets at Edmonton's Old Strathcona Farmers Market near Whyte Ave. Alot of people welcomed the opportunity to learn about PAS. It is an issue that many struggle to understand.

Since that event we have soldiered on gathering supporters across the province. They include many targeted parents, some "stranded" grandparents, adult "survivors" of PAS, Second Wives and others. Let's take advantage of recent Parliamentary action on C422 to focus attention on PAS and PA behaviours.

By concentrating our message about PAS for ONE DAY GLOBALLY we hope to breach the wall of official indifference about such child abuse.

To volunteer, please sign-in using this form. Our success depends on having "slack" resources as not every community can support an Event. Since your candour will not be ruthlessly exploited please be generous with your intentions. We hope to have Event Leaders/ Locations
after Feb 27 and updates will be emailed as required. Non-Alberta volunteers can check for other Events at www.PAawarenessDAY.org.

Regards,
Christopher JONES
Team Leader - Alberta
E albertapaao [at] mail.com

Online Webminars by PAAO

Parental Alienation Webinars 2010

PAAO (The Parental Alienation Awareness Organization) is proud to sponsor a series of webinars. Please fill out the information below in order to register. (To participate all you need is your web browser and your computer speakers.)



Dates: February 8, 9 & 10, 2010

Where: On the Internet!

Cost: $10/webinar

$50 for all webinars.

(Members get a discount - $40 for all webinars for Gold Members. Refunded $10 once you sign up.



February 8, 2010

1 PM - 2:30 PM EST - Dr. Reena Sommer - Custody Battle First Aid Kit

<http://www.drreenasommer.com/a_profile.html>

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM EST - Jeff Parks - TBD

February 9, 2010

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM EST - Dr. Michael Bone

<http://jmbconsulting.org/cv.htm> - Dealing with Parental Alienation; Remedies and Treatments

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST - Dr. Ken Lewis - TBD

3:30 AM - 5:00 PM EST - Charlie Asher

<http://www.uptoparents.org/> - Draining the Swamps: Reducing the

Parent Thoughts and Legal Processes that Nourish Parental Alienation

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM EST - Brian Ludmer - Legal perspectives on Parental Alienation

February 10, 2010

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST - Dr. Jayne Major - The Pathology of an Alienator

For more info/sign-up goto:

http://www.paawareness.org/webinarsignup022010.asp

Grandparents Requesting Access and Dignity (GRAND) Society

I came across this article in The Victoria Colonist (BC) that mentions the "echo" impact of PAS on grandparents who no longer see their grandkids. It quoted a group called GRAND of Ontario that has been lobbying on the issue.

On visiting their website blog they have come up with the term GAS (Grandparent Alienation Syndrome) - which I thought was very unique.

For more info goto:

http://cangrands.com

Fictional Portrayal of PAS in "The Look of Love"

"The Look of Love" by Jill Egizii

Although I have my doubts about the appeal of this novel to men, it will likely not deter women and may provide them insights into the harm and danger of PAS as well as entertainment.

[The title, "The Look of Love" was also name of a wonderful tune composed in 1967 by hit songwriter duo, Burt BACHARACH and Hal DAVID for soundtrack of James Bond movie "Casino Royale" starring Peter SELLERS and Ursula ANDRESS (also featured "What's new Pussycat" by Tom JONES). It has become well loved hit in many genre's - bossa nova, jazz, soul, pop and rap - by such stars as a Nina SIMONE, Sergio MENDEZ, Issac HAYES, Dionne WARWICK, (our own) Diane KRALL and JayZ.]