Aliénation parentale : un concept à haut risque

The article describes why some children fiercely refuse to have any contact with one of their parents during a long period of time, after their separation. It also depicts serious phenomena that are sometimes bound to this refusal (child abduction, allegation of child abuse, etc.). Then, we evoke the risk of reducing these complex phenomena to the only expression of “parental alienation syndrome”, as the Northern-American psychiatrist R. Gardner and his school have promoted it. Finally, the article explains in details ways of behaving when confronted with such refusal situations, which often have important systemic implications. Each times adapted to original situations, they most often include psychological, social and judicial components and require a lot of energy, coordination and persistence.