Abstract

In recent years, there have been discussions within the scientific and professional communities in the fields of psychology, psychiatry and law about the application of the concept of parental alienation. The Croatian scientific and professional literature is dominated by texts in which “parental alienation” is seen as a science-based construct. What is missing are texts that question the scientific soundness of “parental alienation” and examine the possible consequences of using the concept that has still neither been sufficiently defined nor operationalized in the best interest of our patients. This paper presents a number of difficulties related to this concept in the context of evidence-based practice and describes potentially adverse consequences of using “parental alienation” in working with women victims of violence and the application of “parental alienation” as yet another strategy of coercion and control over victims.