A SENIOR MANAGER at Tusla raised concerns over court assessors subjecting children to a controversial practice known as “immersion therapy”, which is used to encourage children to rebuild relationships with an estranged or abusive parent.
The practice is being used by some court-appointed assessors in dozens of cases where children are removed from the custody of one parent – usually the mother – with the assessors telling Irish courts that she is “alienating” the children from their father.
Immersion therapy is a technique that is used to manage anxiety for phobias, by exposing the patient to what they fear.
In this context, however, some court-appointed assessors have removed children from the care of one parent – usually the mother – after reaching a finding that they are turning the children against, or “alienating” the other parent.
Even where the children have alleged that a parent is physically, sexually or emotionally abusing them, some of these children are then placed in the care of that estranged parent, by order of the court.
By immersing them in the situation they fear, the therapist aims to reunify and reconnect them with the estranged parent.
The disclosure was provided to Noteworthy by Bernard Durkan, a long-serving Fine Gael TD for Kildare North, who has campaigned on behalf of parents accused of parental alienation. It came to his attention as part of a review he undertook of multiple cases.
In case notes seen by Noteworthy, a senior manager at Tusla expressed their concerns about the use of immersion therapy being used in these cases, writing:
Parental alienation is a contested theory and Tusla do not accept it as a diagnosis, focusing instead on the adult behaviours that are potentially causing harm to a child.
“However, in this case, [redacted] has accepted the view of its appointed assessor and implemented the recommendation for the children to experience what I understand to be called ‘immersion therapy’.
“Initial consultation with some colleagues within the agency informs me that this is a practice several other children have experienced through [redacted] in recent years. This is a worry.”
The senior manager said that immersion therapy is “contrary to the evidence informed [sic] approach that Tusla practitioners take in relation to safety planning with children with their birth families and has given rise to significant concerns about the impact on the child’s wellbeing.”
(Noteworthy understands that [redacted] refers to “the courts” – in particular, individual cases in family law cases that are heard in court.)
The manager said that they had forwarded their concerns to a working group which was set up by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to consider the issue of parental alienation.
Tusla said that the children they work with are a diverse group of individuals, whose trauma does not occur in a vacuum.
“It is influenced by multiple systemic, relational, and contextual elements,” said a spokesperson for the agency.
“Tusla primarily engages non-directive, trauma-informed, and child-led therapy practices that meet the individual child’s needs. Tusla does not use immersion therapy as part of its internal therapeutic services.”
Noteworthy, the crowdfunded community-led investigative platform from The Journal, supports independent and impactful public interest journalism.
Durkan and other TDs have raised concerns about the qualifications of some of these court-appointed assessors, whose testimony is often relied on in family law courts.
Addressing the Dáil, Durkan said: “Not all the people who make these reports are expert or have any competence at all in the particular area.”
In reply, Minister of State Kieran O’Donnell, speaking for the Minister for Justice, referred to the Department of Justice Policy Paper, which puts forward six recommendations to address the issues of parental alienation.
These include reforms to “improve the knowledge, skills and experience of all those involved in order to make the determination in each case on its own merits”.
He continued that such measures “include an examination of the role of expert reports… the commissioning of these reports, their content and use and the registration requirements to the various professions providing these services”.
The use of such experts in law, particularly family law, has been highlighted repeatedly over more than 15 years.
In June 2024, the Department of Justice published a review on the role of expert reports in the family law process.
This recorded that assessors often dismiss or discount concerns about child sexual abuse as “mischievous or malicious, and that they are rarely addressed fully”. It also stated:
Stakeholders say this can result in a pro-contact culture that prioritises access over safety and excludes the voice of the child regardless of abuse and risk.
The expert report also said: “Stakeholders expressed concern regarding welfare reports and the lack of regulations applicable to those preparing the reports. They submit that unregulated professionals can be authorised to compile reports.”
Multiple Irish and international organisations, which represent survivors of domestic violence, have stated that parental alienation is, in some cases, being used by abusers to silence and sideline women and children.
Parental alienation is not recognised by the World Health Organisation.
But proponents say that it happens when a parent – usually the mother – deliberately and systematically alienates children from another parent, usually the father.
Commenting on concerns raised by the Tusla staff member, Mark Smyth, who is an independent senior clinical psychologist, said that immersion therapy is the wrong treatment in certain situations, particularly where there are allegations of abuse or where a child is estranged from a parent.
“We know that a predicted factor for recovery from abuse is that, when they make an allegation, they are believed,” he told Noteworthy.
“To expose the child to that person, particularly if they have alleged abuse, tells them that the world is not a safe place.
“Having worked with children in care and with Tusla, these situations need to be managed in a safe, controlled way.”
Last year, the Department of Justice published a research report and policy paper on how to address the concept of parental alienation.
Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, is now putting forward legislation that will, she told the Dáil, effectively ban parental alienation being “part of any decisions that are taken in a private court”.
Since speaking publicly on this issue, Durkan said that he has dealt with over 100 cases of people who were accused of parental alienation, primarily women from professional backgrounds.
“Many of whom lost custody or access to their children when the judge took the word of the assessor,” he told Noteworthy.
Noteworthy is aware of cases where a mother lost custody of her children to their father after a court heard from a therapist that she was “alienating” the children from him.
One of these women, however, reluctantly declined to continue talking about her case out of fear that she would be in breach of the in-camera rule, whereby family law takes place in private and cannot be reported upon if there is any risk that the report could identify the parties to the case.
Noteworthy has been careful not to include any identity information, in compliance with the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013.
The Department of Justice has commissioned research from UCC academics on the in-camera rule, which is expected to be completed in six months.
Coercive control and abuse can be a factor in separation and family law cases.
Noteworthy is aware of cases whereby domestic abuse is acknowledged in court, but the abused partner nonetheless loses custody of the children to their alleged abuser.
Safe Ireland, a coalition of organisations that represents women and children affected by violence and abuse, addressed this in briefing notes provided to Minister McEntee.
The organisation’s CEO, Mary McDermott, said that “in-camera proceedings risks transparency and consistency in fairness and protection” for survivors of domestic abuse, and that “the rules should be reviewed and revised”.
Key recommendations from the review on the role of experts in the family law process included producing guidelines on the commissioning, content and use of expert reports.
Establishment of a panel of assessors to oversee its management and the establishment of the role of a Children’s Court Advocate, on a pilot basis, to assist children in having their voice heard during family law proceedings were also recommended.
A spokesperson for the DOJ said that, following publication of this report, McEntee will move to “implement the recommendations as soon as possible”.
“The intention is for a group to be established this year to commence work on producing guidelines on the commissioning, content and use of expert reports.”
But Mary-Louise Lynch, founder of SiSi (Survivors Informing Services and Institutions), said that she and many women who she supports have grave concerns about some findings in the review.
“It increases the role that ‘experts’ could play in family law, and is not looking at the issue through the crucial lens of domestic abuse,” she said.
“Perhaps most worryingly, it affirms that ‘assessors are best placed to make recommendations for appropriate therapeutic input’ – but many assessors have accused mothers of parental alienation and recommended immersion therapy as the appropriate therapeutic input.” She added:
I hope that survivors and children will be listened to before any legislation is drafted.
A spokesperson for Tusla acknowledged that there appeared to be increasing claims of parental alienation in family law proceedings in Ireland.
“This is similar to other courts internationally, particularly in custody and access disputes and in cases involving allegations of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
“While the Department of Justice recognises that parental alienation is a contested concept and one for which there is little scientific evidence, it is implementing a set of recommendations which emphasise the importance of the voice of the child, judicial training, and better data.”
The spokesperson said that allegations of behaviour associated with parental alienation are considered in their overall response to protecting children from harm. They added:
“Behaviours which seek to damage/undermine the relationship a child has to a parent can be classified as potentially emotionally abusive as defined by Children First; the threshold is when the impact of such behaviours are seen to cause significant and ongoing harm to a child.”
Read more articles in this series >>
Are children being left in the hands of sexual abusers?
By Peter McGuire for Noteworthy
Noteworthy is the crowdfunded investigative journalism platform from The Journal. This project was proposed and funded by our readers alongside significant support from our investigative fund.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say