A Court-Ordered Therapy That Separates Kids From a Parent They Love Stirs a Backlash

Article here. I can see the kids' POV in this one case. A father with mood/temper problems is scary and may well be an unfit parent. Plus the approach taken seems excessive: separating the CP (ie, the mother) from the kids entirely. All in all, it's just sad. Excerpt:

'The treatment the Nielsens underwent is part of an industry of intensive “reunification therapy” that has sprung up during the past decade and is ordered by family courts to settle custody fights. Services like Building Family Bridges, where the Nielsens were forced to go, use videos and exercises to try to break a child’s pattern of rejecting a parent. The child is then ordered to live with that parent for an extended period and barred from having contact with the other parent. A battle has erupted over the approach in courtrooms and statehouses across the country.

After Tori told her story at a hearing with Arizona lawmakers earlier this year, the Republican-led legislature passed a measure prohibiting courts from ordering any reunification treatment that cuts off a child from the parent they prefer unless both parents agree. It was signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in April.'