The term parental alienation syndrome originated with a psychiatrist named Dr. Richard Gardner. He was hired as a court expert to defend mainly fathers who were accused of sexually abusing their kids. Now, the mom has brainwashed the kids to falsely believe that they had experienced this abuse. Ty and Brinley Larson have locked themselves in a bedroom after being forced to reunite with a father that they say abused them.
Two siblings in Utah are defying a court order to reunite with their father, who they allege abused them. ProPublica’s Hannah Dreyfus explains a controversial concept known as “parental alienation.”
This episode was produced by Siona Peterous, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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