The Documented Record · Part I
The Correspondence Archive: 2016–2017
What follows is the retained correspondence between Kenneth Gottfried and the American Psychological Association — its North Carolina council representative, its Public Affairs office, its Board, and its President — reproduced in chronological order. Every reply the APA ever sent is on this page, verbatim and complete. The sender's emails appear as sent; lengthy attachments are excerpted with bracketed notes, with complete originals retained in the evidence file. Read how the question was asked. Then read how it was answered. That is the point of this page.
I. The Council Representative
October 31 – November 17, 2016 · James Travis Colwell, the APA's North Carolina representative on the APA Council
Hi James, What is the official position on Parental Alienation? Ken
Mr. Gottfried, Again I am sorry but I am unaware of APA's official position on Parental Alienation. I would suggest that you visit APA's website and/ or contact the Public Relations office regarding such. Also, honestly speaking as I am not a family or child therapist I have limited knowledge and have rarely worked in the area. Good luck with your request and search through APA.
Mr. Gottfried, No apologies and you were not misled. I am North Carolina's representative on the APA council. But still, "Parental Alienation" is not something that has recently been discussed and even if it were, council members do not "speak" for APA unless a general policy statement is presented… A search on APA's website suggest similar information presented in the book you mentioned, which I believe may have been discussed around 2008. However additional or further discussion of this has not occurred since my service on council.
Reader's note: the APA's own council representative confirms — the topic "has not occurred" in council discussion during his service. He refers the question to Public Affairs. It is November 2016; the APA's own journal published the harm in October 2014.
Hi Travis, FYI, did that (tried to communicate on APA's website) with no response. During which time another father blew his brains out because of Attachment based PA. Ken
II. Public Affairs: The Relabel, and the Closed Door
December 9–12, 2016 · Michael Shulman, Public Affairs Specialist · Jim Sliwa, Director of Public Affairs · Kim Mills, Interim Senior Communications Advisor
Ken: Thank you for speaking with me earlier. Please see the following statement we have on parental alienation syndrome. If you have any further questions, please contact my colleague Jim Sliwa (Public Affairs Director)… http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2008/01/pas-syndrome.aspx Very kind regards, Michael
Exhibit: the 2008 statement itself — the APA's only statement, in full
"January 1, 2008 — Statement on Parental Alienation Syndrome. The American Psychological Association believes that all mental health practitioners as well as law enforcement officials and the courts must take any reports of domestic violence in divorce and child custody cases seriously. An APA 1996 Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family noted the lack of data to support so-called 'parental alienation syndrome', and raised concern about the term's use. However, we have no official position on the purported syndrome."
The leading scientific organization's entire contribution to the question, then and for years after: an official statement of having no position.
Hi Michael, Thank you for that information. Now if you can answer the question about "Attachment Based Parental Alienation" that would be good. Thank you
Mr. Gottfried, The statement you were referred to is the only statement the APA has on parental alienation of any type. Jim Sliwa, Director Public Affairs
Mr. Gottfried: My staff has given you all the information that APA has to offer on this topic. Our positions are based on scientific evidence, which explains APA's position with respect to parental alienation. Cordially, Kim I. Mills, MA Interim Senior Communications Advisor
Reader's note: within four days — a question about a DSM-5 category answered with a 2008 statement about a different term; the confirmation that this is "the only statement… of any type"; and the door closed: "all the information that APA has to offer." Two years earlier, the APA's own press release had reported this abuse rivals sexual abuse, including suicidality.
III. The Board, and the Framework Delivered
December 2016 – February 2017 · The full Board of Directors, copied by name
Dear APA, I have a major dilemma and would like to ask your professional advice. There is an abundance of information that states Attachment Based Parental Alienation is child abuse… The simple question I have is: When there is an epidemic of child abuse that people believe is happening, How does the APA not even respond. Not a correction of fact. Not an immediate investigation. Not a warning: Stop this while we look into it. NOTHING! Not a response. At what point is the APA liable because of its own negligence, and allowing this to continue?… The APA has more than enough evidence to investigate and put out a warning about Attachment Based Parental Alienation and it does nothing. Your response would be very much appreciated.
Hi Jim Sliwa and APA Board members, I would like to receive a notification for receipt of this email and a time for a response/ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY THE APA. Again this concerns Child abuse… I have included in this email requested information by Jim Sliwa: DSM-5 diagnosis of V995.51 Child Psychological Abuse, regarding the parenting practices of the allied narcissistic/(borderline) parent… Pathogenic parenting that is creating significant developmental pathology in the child (diagnostic indicator 1), personality disorder pathology in the child (diagnostic indicator 2), and delusional-psychiatric pathology in the child (diagnostic indicator 3) represents a DSM-5 diagnosis of Child Psychological Abuse, Confirmed. Pathogenic parenting is not a child custody issue, it is a child protection issue. Diagnosis guides treatment.
Reader's note: whatever one thinks of the sender's tone by this point — two months of asking — the record now shows the APA's board was handed the clinical question, in clinical language, with citations to the foundational literature of the field. What follows is the entirety of the institutional response.
Good afternoon, Thank you for contacting the American Psychological Association. We have received many messages about this issue and are exploring the best way to address concerns that have been raised. Jo Anne
Reader's note: "many messages." "Exploring the best way." Eight weeks after this sentence — April 5, 2017 — the APA wrote to the Secretary of Homeland Security opposing the separation of children from parents at the border. The documented record contains nothing further from this "exploration." Ever.
IV. The President, Directly
January – March 2017 · Antonio E. Puente, PhD, President of the APA
Hello Mr. Puente, I would like to schedule in a 30 minute taped conversation about attachment based parental alienation. Please let me know when you are available. Sincerely, Kenneth Gottfried
Dear Antonio Puente, I need your help. I am trying to get an answer to Attachment Based Parental Alienation from the APA. And, yes I am a father of 3 beautiful girls that I have not had time alone with since Oct 26th 2013. It's hard to imagine that as a father you believe that your children are & have been abused, and there is NOTHING you can do about it… If you can PLEASE give me some kind of response I would very much appreciate that. Thank you, Kenneth Gottfried
Hi Antonio, Here is a video that goes into Child Abuse much more eloquently than I can write or come across. I hope you find it educational… When you have a parent that states my child is being abused, is it your policy to shut them out and pretend that nothing is happening? This is not a custody issue, it is a child protective issue. Kenneth Gottfried
Reader's note: the sitting President of the American Psychological Association received a father's request for one recorded half-hour conversation, repeated across three months, accompanied by the clinical framework and the DSM-5 category. The number of replies he sent, of any kind: zero. He was the first president in what would become a ledger of ten.
What happened next: the APA's June 2018 letter to the President of the United States — invoking "decades of psychological research" on the trauma of separating children from parents — and the July 5, 2018 letter that quoted it back to them, paragraph by paragraph. It has never been answered.
The Full Record & Timeline US Psychology Organization →Every APA reply on this page is reproduced verbatim and complete. The sender's emails appear as sent; bracketed notes mark excerpts made for length only, with complete originals retained in the evidence file. This page invents no statement and attributes no crime to any person or organization. © Kenneth R. Gottfried.