NPO: DSM-5 Strengthens Child Health in the Aftermath of Divorce

Article here. Excerpt:

'Family unity took a major step forward at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in San Francisco on May 18-22, 2013, with the inclusion of language that describes the serious mental health problem of parental alienation. For the first time, mental health professionals in the U.S. will have officially recognized concepts to diagnose children who experience parental alienation, strengthening the case against parents who strive to alienate children during divorce.

“This is an important advance for the psychological health of children and families” said William Bernet, MD. Bernet is a leader of the Parental Alienation Study Group, the international task force that submitted the proposal to include parental alienation in DSM-5. Bernet, professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said, “Including language that is specifically applicable to parental alienation empowers the mental health and legal communities to address this important problem more directly and with greater clarity. These revisions to DSM-5 will reduce the harm that parental alienation causes to families.”'