Powerless to parent; powerless to protect: The experiences of alienated parents in the UK

Parental alienation is the unwarranted denigration or rejection of a parent where there was a previous loving relationship. Despite thirty years of study establishing its aetiology, preva-lence, appropriate interventions and outcomes for children, parental alienation remains a highly contentious concept in the UK. Additionally, there has been minimal exploration of the experiences of alienated parents across the globe. A recent Q analysis uncovered the subjective and intersubjective experiences of British alienated parents. An unexpected con-sensus became apparent which merited further analysis of the data. Through this phenome-nological exploration of the participants’ narratives, a pervasive sense of emerged. The source of this felt sense of powerlessness is considered and recommendations for policy and practice are suggested.