Hmm… for mediators…
Mediators are often the first contact point for the mental health system, they are the interface between the legal system’s dispute resolution and mental health communication and negotiation skills.
They are also the system’s first contact point for the presence of a high-conflict narcissistic-borderline-dark personality parent in the family, which expands into clinical concerns for possible psychological child abuse if there’s significant child pathology present.
Mediators are not qualified to make the diagnosis – it’s a sophisticated pathology of patterns. However, they should be qualified to recognize the initial patterns of concern and recommend additional clinical diagnostic assessment for the family.
What child symptoms should warrant a referral for a clinical diagnostic assessment?
Any attachment symptoms, i.e., problems in love and bonding with either parent should receive a clinical diagnostic assessment of the child’s attachment pathology to the differential diagnoses of concern for each parent.
When we have significant attachment pathology displayed by a child, child abuse concerns become a prominent consideration and need a proper risk assessment to the differential diagnoses of concern for each parent.
Whenever there is post-divorce attachment pathology displayed by a child, Dr. Childress wants to be reassured about possible child abuse.
A child rejecting a parent is a disorganized attachment – i.e., the child has no organized strategy to bond to the parent. Disorganized attachment is caused by abusive or psychotic range parenting.
So… if the child displays no organized strategy to bond to the parent, then there is abusive or psychotic range parenting somewhere in the family. That is the type of parenting that creates disorganized attachment.
Look at the targeted parent first. Is the targeted parent abusing the child in some way? If not, then it’s the allied parent who is causing the child’s disorganized attachment to the targeted parent (for secondary gain to the allied parent).
One or the other. That’s the ONLY thing that causes that set of child symptoms – i.e., a child rejecting a parent, a directional change in a primary motivational system. If a child is rejecting a parent (disorganized attachment), then there is abusive range parenting by one parent or the other.
Diagnosing a persecutory delusion is an affirmative diagnosis. It’s not made based on history, we pop the delusion out right in our session using a Mental Status Exam of thought and perception, a sweep of their frontal lobe linear-logical reasoning system.
See Diagnosis Series 4: Diagnosing a Persecutory Delusion
Diagnosing a factitious disorder imposed on the child is a diagnosis by rule-out. To diagnose a factitious disorder we FIRST have to rule out all possible real causes, then we only have one thing left…. that it’s not a true pathology, it’s a false disorder (for secondary gain).
See Diagnosis Series 5: Diagnosing a Factitious Disorder Imposed on a Child
When the person produces a false disorder in themselves for secondary gain (often for financial gain), it’s a Factitious Disorder. When they produce a false disorder in the child for secondary gain (typically for emotional gain), it’s a Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another.
Wikipedia on FDIA says the diagnosis of FDIA is given to the adult, and the child receives a child abuse diagnosis.
From Wikipedia FDIA: “In DSM-5, the diagnostic manual published by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013, this disorder is listed under 300.19 Factitious disorder. This, in turn, encompasses two types: Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self; Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (Previously Factitious Disorder by Proxy); the diagnosis is assigned to the perpetrator; the person affected may be assigned an abuse diagnosis (e.g. child abuse).”
Creating a delusional thought disorder in the child (a psychotic level pathology) that then destroys the child’s attachment bond to the other parent (a false/factitious attachment pathology imposed on the child for secondary gain to the allied parent), represents a DSM-5 diagnosis of V995.51 Child Psychological Abuse.
So? Is that what we have in this family? “I don’t know” is not a proper answer to the question. I’m asking if the child is being psychologically abused by a narcissistic-borderline-dark personality parent… that question needs a timely answer please.
In all cases of child abuse, we always protect the child.
All. Every time. We always protect the child from child abuse. Is there child abuse?
Mediators are the first contact point. There are two potential mediation topics – property and child custody. Financial property mediation is not a significant concern, get the accountants.
It’s the child custody concerns that raise possible child abuse issues. Is either parent worried about possible child abuse by the other parent?
If either parent is worried about possible abusive range parenting by the other (e.g., psychological child abuse), then a proper clinical diagnostic risk assessment for the child and family is warranted.
If you have a concern that the allied parent is psychologically abusing the child, tell the mediator. Tell the mediator you have an expert in clinical psychology who’s consulting on your family conflict and ask them to watch my YouTube video: Speaking to Court-Involved Mediators.
What video? The next one.
Craig Childress, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist
WA 61538481
OR 3942 – CA 18857
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