Parenting the Alienated Child: Connecting with Lost Hearts

Loretta Maase | English, 2025

Parenting the Alienated Child was written to provide alienated parents with practical, evidence-based guidance specifically designed to help them understand and respond effectively to their children’s complex needs and bewildering behaviors. It fills this critical void by offering alienated parents the tools and understanding they need to navigate these challenging circumstances while prioritizing their children's well-being. It serves as an essential resource, a must-read for alienated parents seeking effective strategies, mental health professionals working with these challenging cases, and legal professionals who are tasked with helping these families navigate one of the most difficult experiences a parent and child can face. Practical interventions are provided that are grounded in developmental psychology, family systems therapy, attachment theory, and trauma-informed treatment principles. Specifically recognizing the unmatched influence that parents have over their children, Ms. Maase’s treatise provides the wisdom and encouragement needed by alienated parents for them to manage and inspire their children to better cope with their insufferable situation. With real-life examples from her practice, Ms. Maase keeps the reader engrossed in the book, motivating them to consider the most effective parenting strategies to address the many double-binds and crises that arise in alienation, and—most crucially—to understand the heart-wrenching pain that regularly confronts alienated children and their parents. For professionals working with high-conflict families and parents seeking evidence-based guidance, this book serves as both a theoretical foundation and a practical roadmap for healing damaged parent-child relationships while prioritizing the child's psychological well-being.