is Head Stakeholder Liaison Alzheimer disease at Biogen.

is head of the OECD New Approaches to Economic Challenges Unit.

a Senior Clinical Advisor for Cohen Veterans Bioscience’s Trauma Research Programs. She serves as Strategic Advisor co-leading CVB’s Suicide Strategy Initiative.

Violence against women, which often results in 

 (TBI) and other acquired brain injuries (ABIs), has intensified during the COVID pandemic. Violence against women is a clear violation of human rights and a legal and moral failure of society. It likewise contributes to the brain health gap as well as presents as a major economic problem. As the world struggles to emerge from COVID-induced health and economic decline, women are a major key to the economic recovery. A comprehensive and long-term strategy is required to shed light on and address this dire issue and to ensure the mental well-being women as well as unlock the power of women to drive the economic recovery.

During July 2021, social media influencer Gabby Petito, aged 22, and her fiancé Brian Laundrie, aged 23, embarked from New York on a cross-country road trip captured on Instagram and YouTube.

 In September, Brian returned early from the trip—and alone. Weeks later, Gabby’s remains were found. It was determined that Gabby died from strangulation, and her case opened a national conversation about 

Tragically, Gabby’s case is just one of many. There has been an increase in IPV, illuminating a shadow pandemic within the COVID-19 pandemic.

, 1 in 3 women (approximately 1.27 billion individuals out of the 3.82 billion women in the world) are estimated to have experienced IPV.

 Further, more than one-third (30,000) of the women killed in 2017 were killed by their current or former intimate partner.

 COVID-19 has escalated the rates of IPV. Calls to helplines have increased five-fold in some countries in 2020.4In numerous countries, there has been a 300% increase in police reports of IPV, likely fueled by COVID-19 mitigation strategies.

 UN Women had projected that an additional 15 million women would be affected by IPV for every 3 months of lockdown.

Although this increase in violence will have multipronged effects, the neurological effects and IPV-related acquired brain injury (ABI), including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), is particularly devastating. Despite the increasing attention in the last 10 years paid to sports-related TBI, little attention has been paid to TBI resulting from IPV.

 Up to 90% of survivors of IPV report head, neck, and face injuries, many of which result in TBI.

 One study examining brain injury in women who experienced IPV found that 74% of the women sustained at least one IPV-related TBI and 51% sustained repetitive IPV-related TBIs.11 Moreover, the study found a higher brain injury score from IPV was negatively associated with memory, learning, and cognitive flexibility and positively associated with a number of measures of psychological distress.

IPV-related ABI also includes nontraumatic brain injuries. Research has shown that 1 out of 10 women have been strangled by an intimate partner,

 which can cause a multitude of neurological problems, including hypoxic-anoxic brain injury, with long-term implications. As Gabby’s case emphasized, strangulation can result not just in hypoxic-anoxic brain injury but also in death. Indeed, prior non-fatal strangulation has been found to be associated with greater than 6-fold odds of becoming a victim of attempted homicide, and more than 7-fold odds of becoming a victim of completed homicide.

 The high-profile fatal strangulation murder of Gabby underscores femicide in IPV, which devastatingly remains commonplace.

In addition to TBI, hypoxic-anoxic brain injury, and other forms of acquired brain injury, women who experience IPV also are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation, and many other health problems that can last even after the violence has ended, potentially detaching them from the labor market.

There is also a growing concern that women who experience repeated TBIs from IPV may develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease that cannot be diagnosed until postmortem.

 Unfortunately, the literature tells their tales. For instance, a report from 1990 identified a case of a women who apparently developed CTE from partner abuse.

 In 2021, during a postmortem examination of a woman aged 29 who died following a domestic violence incident, immunohistochemical staining for phosphor-tau revealed evidence of CTE-type pathology.

 This marked the first case of CTE pathology in a young woman who experienced IPV. However, there remains a lack of research investigating the long-term neurological consequences for women who have experienced IPV; research is needed to understand the potential for misdiagnosis, nondiagnosis, or the development of dementia and Alzheimer disease as a result of IPV.

 The latter is especially important since TBI has been identified as a modifiable risk factor for dementia.

 Thus, more research is needed to evaluate IPV as a potential risk factor for dementia.

The neurological effects of IPV extend to the entire family and remain under researched. A recent Brain Injury Australia report of the country’s first research into domestic and family violence (DFV) and ABI found that, out of the 16,000 survivors of family violence attending Victoria hospitals over a decade’s time, 2 in every 5 survivors had sustained brain injury.

 Further, nearly 1 in 3 of the survivors of family violence were children and, of those, 1 in every 4 had sustained a brain injury. Because this was not a study of IPV but instead a study of hospitalizations, it likely represents the tip of the iceberg. Similarly, a study of more than 100 clients of 5 domestic abuse shelters in Arizona found 9 in every 10 individuals reported a head injury with loss of consciousness from family violence in the preceding 12 months.24 Of those, 9 in every 10 reported “too many head injuries to quantify.” Yet only 1 in every 5 ever sought medical attention. Thus, community rates of IPV ABI remain radically under researched.

Currently, most domestic violence shelters and emergency department settings do not assess for TBI, non-fatal strangulation, or other brain injuries from IPV, despite the significant number of studies that demonstrate brain trauma among IPV survivors as well as those that show non-fatal strangulation as an important risk factor for homicide of women.

 Additionally, many women do not seek medical care for their IPV-related ABI.

 However, even when women do interact with social workers, physicians, or domestic violence advocates and shelter staff, there is a lack of training in these professions to adequately screen for and address IPV-related ABI.

Further, when developing criminal justice policy, histories of abuse and brain injury should be addressed. A study of women in prison found that 78% had significant head injury; 84% of these women had experienced repeated head injury largely as a result of domestic abuse that had occurred over many years.

 Yet screening and care for brain injury is not adequately accounted for in criminal justice. The staggering statistics of the number of women who have experienced abuse and are now in prison also further necessitates the development of a trauma-informed criminal justice system.

IPV-related ABI add yet another injustice to the Brain Health Gap, which highlights and frames the sex and gender gap in outcomes for brain health disorders across the lifespan, with strikingly negative outcomes for women.

 To address the Brain Health Gap, research institutions are calling for more women participants in preclinical development of medications, clinical trials, and clinical practice, as well as the expansion of research designed to focus on culturally relevant experiences specific to individuals who identify as female. This will enable more robust and representative data to be collected. Big data, real world evidence, and precision medicine approaches should be the tools used to respond to the call to action above. Furthermore, investing in leaders in health care and public health efforts is imperative to translate these data and perspectives into action. Women remain underrepresented in health care leadership, underlining the lack of gendered consideration in care. These efforts and initiatives are especially important for research, clinical care, and training related to IPV. The Brain Health Gap must address issues related to IPV-related ABIs.

Likewise, we have previously noted that the world is suffering a global brain capital collapse.

Brain Capital is a novel econometric asset that puts a premium on brain health and brain skills in our brain economy.

form of capital relevant to a complex, interconnected, and fragile global economy. Brain Capital needs to be integral to a new narrative of growth and progress that puts people and their well-being, health, interaction with others, and psychological resilience at the center of our economic system. Female empowerment—which includes preventing and addressing violence against women and better identifying and caring for the neurological effects in survivors—is a public and brain health imperative as well as the most effective way to build Brain Capital globally.

Addressing gendered violence and related ABIs can be remedied by integrating the social, medical, political, policy, and diplomatic levels. Taking sex and gender into account—including structural and social determinants—is critical for equality in brain health and precision medicine. The 

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development 

Unit’s Neuroscience-inspired Policy Initiative

 We aim to find new ways to reconceptualize and revitalize the economy and how it works, laying the groundwork to identify relevant metrics while building a transdisciplinary network of stakeholders. The effort draws on experts from medicine, neuroscience, gender analysis, economic policy, philanthropy, and business. The Initiative will rapidly refine and advance women’s brain health via a series of research projects, seminars, and clear policy analyses and recommendations. In doing so, we hope to address the Brain Health Gap, leading to greater health justice for all people and a new era of innovation and progress. We hope to help build a future where both men and women are equipped with the support, resources, and care they need to thrive and in turn build more a resilient society and world.

 is an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) (at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Trinity College Dublin), a Thiel Fellow at Stanford University and Steering Committee member for NIPI ( OECD, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) and the PRODEO Institute).

is an associate professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

is head stakeholder, Engagement Alzheimer's disease at Biogen and Pro Bono CEO and Co-founder of the Women's Brain Project.

is head of the OECD New Approaches to Economic Challenges Unit, Senior Advisor to the OECD Secretary General and co-lead of OECD NIPI.

is advisor to the chief of staff and gender advisor at OECD.

 is a Senior Clinical Advisor for Cohen Veterans Bioscience’s Trauma Research Programs. She serves as Strategic Advisor co-leading CVB’s Suicide Strategy Initiative. 

 is co-lead of OECD NIPI, strategic advisor to the HEKA Fund (Newfund Capital and Fondation FondaMental), steering committee member for the Brain Health Nexus at Cohen Veterans Bioscience, and holds adjuncts roles with IMPACT at Deakin University, GBHI and Baylor College of Medicine.

How the case of Gabrielle Petito galvanized the internet

October 20, 2021. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/20/style/gabby-petito-case-tiktok-social-media.html

Gabby Petito was strangled. Experts say such an assault is a red flag for intimate partner homicides

 October 12, 2021. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/10/12/gabby-petito-strangled-experts-say-its-common-intimate-partner-violence/8426282002/

A Pandemic within a Pandemic - Intimate Partner Violence during Covid-19

When pandemics clash: Gendered violence-related traumatic brain injuries in women since COVID-19.

5. Breiding MJ, Smith SG, Basile KC, et al. 

Prevalence and characteristics of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization--national intimate partner and sexual violence survey

6.United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 

Global study on homicide: Gender-related killing of women and girls

. 2018. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/GSH2018/GSH18_Gender-related_killing_of_women_and_girls.pdf

Gender-based violence: We must flatten the curve of this shadow pandemic

. November-December 2020. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/november-december-2020/gender-based-violence-we-must-flatten-curve-shadow-pandemic

Concussion in sport: Domestic violence victims show same brain injury trauma as athletes with CTE

Intimate Partner Violence and Traumatic Brain Injury: State of the Science and Next Steps

10.Liu LY, Bush WS, Koyutürk M, Karakurt G. 

Interplay between traumatic brain injury and intimate partner violence: data driven analysis utilizing electronic health records.

12.Monahan, K., A. Purushotham, and A. Biegon, 

Neurological implications of nonfatal strangulation and intimate partner violence

13. Glass N, Laughon K, Campbell J, et al. 

Non-fatal strangulation is an important risk factor for homicide of women

Adult experience of mental health outcomes as a result of intimate partner violence victimisation: a systematic review

. 2014;5:10.3402/ejpt.v5.24794. Published 2014 Sep 12.

Intimate Partner Violence, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Social Work: Moving Forward

Intimate partner violence and traumatic brain injury: a public health issue

17. Stern RA, Daneshvar DH, Baugh CM, et al. 

Clinical presentation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy

18. Baugh CM, Stamm JM, Riley DO, et al. 

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: neurodegeneration following repetitive concussive and subconcussive brain trauma. 

19. Roberts GW, Whitwell HL, Acland PR, Bruton CJ. 

20. Danielsen T, Hauch C, Kelly L, White CL. 

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)-Type Neuropathology in a Young Victim of Domestic Abuse

21. Livingston G, Huntley J, Sommerlad A, et al. Dementia

 prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission

Evaluating spousal abuse as a potential risk factor for Alzheimer's disease: rationale, needs and challenges

The prevalence of acquired brain injury among victims and perpetrators of family violence

. 2018. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.braininjuryaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/BRAININJURYAUSTRALIAfamilyviolencebraininjuryFINAL.pdf

Traumatic Brain Injury in Domestic Violence Victims: A Retrospective Study at the Barrow Neurological Institute

Head Trauma in a Community-Based Sample of Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: Prevalence, Mechanisms of Injury and Symptom Presentation 

[published online ahead of print, 2021 May 15]. 

. Brain injury in women experiencing intimate partner-violence: neural mechanistic evidence of an "invisible" trauma

27. McMillan TM, Aslam H, Crowe E, et al. 

Associations between significant head injury and persisting disability and violent crime in women in prison in Scotland, UK: a cross-sectional study

28. Aragam GG, Kawaguchi N, Hynes W, et al, Highlighting brain-based inequalities for women: from bedside and boardroom to policy. 

. May 5, 2021. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/brain-based-inequalities-women

29. Smith E, Kawaguchi N, Chapman SB, et al. 

Closing the brain health gap: addressing women’s inequalities

. Oxford University Press Blog. August 21, 2021. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://blog.oup.com/2021/08/closing-the-brain-health-gap-addressing-womens-inequalities/

30. Smith E, Ali D, Wilkerson B, et al. A Brain Capital Grand Strategy: toward economic reimagination. 

31. Eyre HA, Ayadi R, Ellsworth W, et al. 

32.Ellsworth W, Smith E, Champman SB, et al. 

Move over data, brain capital is the new oil

. 2021. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/move-over-data-brain-capital-is-the-new-oil

. January 13, 2021. Accessed November 20, 2021. https://www.oecd.org/naec/brain-capital/

Articles

In honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, 2021, let’s consider the impact of IPV on the neuropsychiatric health of women. 

Shedding Light on the Shadow Brain Pandemic: The Devastating Effects of Gendered Violence-Related Acquired Brain Injury

“ . . . but his mind was at home in the world”

Joachim Savelsberg wrote this quote on June 1st in the Guest Book for sharing memories of Carl Malmquist, MD, who died on May 24, 2021 at the age of 90. More specifically, he was at home in the world of forensic psychiatry, being involved in many high-profile legal cases, as well as being a consultant to the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

In Memoriam: Psychiatrists Who Helped Address Societal Challenges

A Deaf Football Team Sees a Way to Victory!

, which was rooted in clinical psychiatry and a consideration of those who kill. Surely, he would have been interested—and helpful—in all our current high profile homicides, including Kyle Rittenhouse, Ahmaud Avery, and the 2 men convicted of killing Malcolm X who are being exonerated.

We both shared a strong interest in social psychiatry. At the University of Minnesota medical and law schools, he served as a professor of social psychiatry, the only such academic position I have ever known.

Malmquist was also a great friend and contributor to 

. Indeed, the world was his home and he will be missed.

is an award-winning psychiatrist who has specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry. A prolific writer and speaker, he received the one-time designation of Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association in 2002. He is an advocate for mental health issues relate to climate instability, burnout, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism for a better world. He serves on the Editorial Board of

Carl Malmquist, MD: a man whose “mind was at home in the world.”

In Memoriam: A Mind at Home With the World 

is an outpatient psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate and clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville. He served on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry, and he currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion section editor and advisory board member for

Casteism remains alive and well in America. We need to look no further than yesterday’s verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. I hope and pray that Mr Rittenhouse is transformed by the events that took place and that he relies on his support system for healing. He, like all of us, is a human being; we are perfectly imperfect. 

I am not appalled by the verdict but rather the bigger optics at play. I keep asking myself the following questions: 1) How would an underage person of color be treated if they went to a protest with a rifle in hand? 2) What would be the outcome if that same person of color shot someone in self defense because they feared for their life? 3) What would the verdict be if this person were in front of a jury? 

In my mind, only in an utopian world does a person of color receive the same adulation from the dominant caste. One would hypothesize that the nonfiction story goes as follows: BIPOC individual/medic attending protest with a rifle was gunned down by law enforcement. He was not offered water nor was he thanked for his altruism. 

We continue to replay the same broken record in our country when it comes to injustice. If we truly believe that all citizens have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then the caste system must be deliquesced. 

In light of current events, how can psychiatry support rectifying social injustices and foster understanding and inclusivity?

Traumatic Wounds 

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) and APA Foundation recently announced that 

, MD, MS, DFAPA, DFAAGP, has been selected to receive the 2022 George Tarjan Award.


Established in 1992 and named for the APA’s first international medical graduate (IMG) president, the George Tarjan Award recognizes physicians who have made significant strides and contributions in enhancing the integration of IMGs into American psychiatry.

 The award will be presented to Tampi at the APA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 21-25, 2022. At this time, Tampi will receive an engraved plaque and a $500 honorarium (email communication, November 2, 2021).

“I am truly honored to have been selected to receive the APA’s 2022 George Tarjan Award,” Tampi told 

. “I would like to dedicate this award to all my psychiatrist colleagues and friends who have worked tirelessly to help international medical graduates like me have the good fortune of training and practicing as a psychiatrist in the United States.”

Tampi is chairman of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Cleveland Clinic Akron General; chief of the Section for Geriatric Psychiatry at Cleveland Clinic; a professor of medicine with Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University; and an adjunct professor of psychiatry in the Yale School of Medicine. He is a past president of the APA’s IMG Caucus, and a Distinguished Fellow of the APA and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Tampi is also the Geriatric Psychiatry Section Editor for 

. His clinic and research interests include managing psychiatric disorders late in life, legal and ethical issues in geriatric psychiatry, neurodegenerative disorders, and integrated geriatric-psychiatric care.

Award honors the contributions of those who support international medical graduates.

APA Names Recipient of the 2022 George Tarjan Award

As may be apparent in our weekday daily columns “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News,” as well as the companion weekly Wednesday video on “Psychiatry & Society,” I have been trying to convey that our unique knowledge and skills can contribute to society beyond the crucial importance of our clinical patient care, which inevitably spirals and ripples out into society. Let us also not forget that others have been contributing articles, poems, and videos on social aspects of psychiatry for 

This is not a new challenge and interest on the part of psychiatrists. Although the recent dominance of the biological in our 

has put the social in the background, we have role models from the past who have contributed much to the conversation, but have unfortunately passed away this year.

In the past, we have collected several eulogies in one article, some of these recently deceased psychiatrists made society a particular focus of their career. Therefore, we decided to use a few of our daily columns to eulogize them one at a time, including: 

, Charles Atkins, MD, and Richard Gerhardstein, MD. As usual, I’ll rely on my personal knowledge of them and public obituaries.

As our national Thanksgiving holiday approaches, what better time to thank them, as well as those psychiatrists who are still alive and carrying on their work? Moreover, given our current challenges of 

, if you will, what better time is there for others to join the cause? Solutions will take more than a village; they will need the world of psychiatry.

Is psychiatry doing enough to address societal challenges? We can honor those who have made a difference but have recently passed by taking up the charge.

During our morning family prayer my daughter prays for her favorite Disney characters, Aladdin and Jasmine. I admire her honesty and simultaneously chuckle at her attachment to these fictional characters. Full disclosure: I’m a huge Disney fan and may regress to a child of wonder and imagination when watching this movie. 

I quickly reverted back to my adult psyche and started to think about the themes in Aladdin that I did not fully appreciate as a child. Aladdin is referred to as “street rat,” which would be synonymous with a person who is homeless. Like Aladdin, individuals who are experiencing homelessness are ostracized by society. They are viewed as the untouchables. We forget that they are humans beings who, due to a multitude of factors, have fallen on difficult times. 

We must be mindful of our biases. I challenge us to reflect on this question: What does a person who is homeless look like? They are our neighbors, co-workers, friends, patients, and members of our faith communities. They are human beings who desire a whole new world, a wondrous place where inclusion is the norm. 

Thank you to my daughter for reminding me that the prayers of a child are innocent and honest. 

A child's perspective, innocent and honest, serves as a good reminder of our biases.

A Humanity Lesson From the Mouths of Babes

is a physician consultant and Certified Peer Specialist in the Department of Psychiatry at McLean Hospital and the Massachusetts General Hospital. She is the author of four books and a blog on managing depression, most recently 

Helping Others With Depression: Words to Say, Things to Do (December 2020)

mental health and wellness virtual coaching practice, opening in July 2021, known as 

and can be confidentially reached through her website at 

Susan J. Noonan, MD, MPH, give tips for navigating the 2021 holiday season. 

mental health and wellness virtual coaching practice, opening in July 2021, known as Noonan Wellness Coaching, and can be confidentially reached through her website at 

Videos

Holidays are joyous for some, but not for everyone. How can you help patients with mood disorders navigate the difficulties of the holidays?

Holidays: Beware "The Should List"

As a clinical and forensic psychologist, I have been involved in hundreds of cases of divorce and child custody. The topic of false allegations of abuse is a complicated and thorny one that deserves much attention. In particular, there needs to be a focus on the alienating beliefs that often underly and compel false allegations.

False allegations of abuse are an all-too-common phenomenon during divorce and child custody proceedings. One parent fabricates a false allegation against the other parent to gain leverage in court and to undermine the parent-child relationship going forward. The frequency of false allegations in custody cases is not fully understood, with estimates ranging from 2% to 35% of all cases involving children.

 Whatever the percentage, attorneys, judges, and mental health experts all know firsthand that it is a vexing problem in court cases. And nothing can disrupt, sidetrack, or impede a case more than an allegation of abuse that eventually proves to be false.

Parents never admit to their conniving and harmful behavior during a legal action. As such, proving an allegation is false can be extremely challenging. Why? Because a false allegation is hatched in the mind of the offending parent, who then enlists the help of their child to unwittingly carry out the plot. The intent is to harm the other parent, but to do so as if the offending parent is the real victim. Parents know that an allegation of abuse has the potential to help them win their case, which is their ultimate goal. Unfortunately, being honest and fair is not always a virtue in a contentious child custody case.

Detecting a false allegation is critical because judges can be swayed by the accusation, even if it is not substantiated by the evidence. More often than not, custody decisions go in favor of the accusing parent.

 So, uncovering and exposing a false allegation is vital in making sure the offending parent is not rewarded for his or her destructive behavior.

The surest way to prove a false allegation of abuse is to uncover the alienating belief system of the offending parent. Alienating beliefs often underlie a parent’s decision to fabricate a false allegation against the other parent. With careful interviewing and psychological testing, these beliefs can be brought to the surface. A mental health professional is best suited to address this clinical problem. It takes patience and a probing attitude by the clinician to elicit alienating beliefs that are being hidden from view by the offending parent. Sentence Completion Series is one psychological instrument that will elicit thoughts, feelings, actions, intentions, and motivations. In interviewing, hypothetical questions, a focus on nonverbal cues, and exploration of apparent discrepancies can be productive.

Here are 7 common alienating beliefs that occur in false allegations:

1. “I am afraid our child will love you more than me and will want to live with you.”

3. “If you don’t want me, you don’t get our child, either.”

4. “I want to exact revenge on you, and what better way than to deprive you of your child?”

5. “I don’t want my child to be anything like you.”

6. “I’ve been the real parent in this family, not you.”

7. “I don’t want my child to love their new stepparent because I might be pushed out.”

There are important implications to consider in cases of false allegations of abuse. First, the desire to alienate the child from the other parent is at the core of most false allegations of abuse. And, when a parent makes multiple false allegations during a legal proceeding, you can bet that alienating beliefs are in play. Yet, it is important to note that not all false allegations are due to alienating motives. Sometimes, for example, a parent may over-interpret a comment or report from a child, thereby jumping to an erroneous conclusion. Rather than clarifying the benign situation, the parent makes what proves to be a false allegation. Other examples exist where alienation is not a major component in a false allegation.

Second, a child needs to love both parents without impediment or interruption. Being caught in a loyalty fight is damaging, as a child’s long-term adjustment is dependent upon having a close relationship with both parents. Anything short of that is unacceptable. A false allegation of abuse can go a long way to disrupt a child’s relationship with the accused parent. Loving that parent may become strained or even impossible going forward. Thus, a false allegation against a parent can have a tragically negative impact on the child.

Third, offending parents tend to view their children as possessions to be controlled and manipulated. They see them as extensions of themselves. That is not parental love, but rather, narcissistic self-absorption. It is the offending parent’s hostile needs and motivations that are the real problem in these cases, not the rejected, victimized parent. Offending parents lodge false allegations against the other parent to meet their own needs, not their child’s. Teaching a child to be a victim under false pretenses can set the stage for a lifetime of victimhood for the child.

Fourth, vindictiveness is a malignant emotion that causes great pain, sorrow, and unhappiness in any relationship. Being consumed with vindictiveness is profoundly unhealthy. It has nothing to do with love and care for the child. Vindictiveness is common in false allegations of abuse. What is portrayed as protectiveness of the child is actually hostility and destructiveness toward the other parent, with little genuine concern for the child’s best interest.

Fifth, false allegations of abuse must be stopped as soon as possible for the child’s wellbeing. If they are not stopped, the offending parent’s pernicious behavior will gain steam and impact over time. False allegations cannot be condoned in any way. Several courses of action are reasonable: limited parenting time, supervised visits, change of custody, court-ordered therapy, and others. Turning a blind eye to a false allegation of abuse is not an option.

Finally, judges and attorneys need to be educated about the seriousness and deleterious consequences of false allegations of abuse. Mental health experts can help inform, explain, and guide during the legal proceeding or at trial. False allegations and alienation are highly disruptive to the wellbeing and mental health of the child.

It should be reassuring to know that alienating beliefs can be uncovered and exposed. That is the key to unlocking the “proof” of a false allegation. Without exposure, a child custody case can be hijacked by a false allegation, and the child’s wellbeing may be lost in the confusion. After all, a child’s future can be at stake.

This is the first installment in Dr Blotcky’s new column, “Forensic Practice.” Feedback and suggestions for future articles can be sent to 

 is a clinical and forensic psychologist in private practice in Birmingham, Alabama. His specialty is false allegations of abuse and parental alienation. He can be reached at 

Recantation and false allegations of child abuse

The National Children’s Advocacy Center

2. Meier JS, Dickson S, O’Sullivan C, et al. 

Child custody outcomes in cases involving parental alienation and abuse allegations

False statements and the differential diagnosis of abuse allegations

Psychological impact of being wrongfully accused of criminal offences: a systematic literature review

How can mental health experts help identify false allegations and alienation during divorce proceedings?

False Allegations of Abuse During Divorce: The Role of Alienating Beliefs

Charles Atkins, MD, was a psychiatrist, author, and clinical trainer, who passed away on November 3, 2021.

You may wonder what clinical trainer meant. I did, too. We get a sense of that from the Connecticut Women’s Consortium, who posted this on their official Facebook page:

In Memoriam: A Mind at Home With the World

“The Connecticut Women’s Consortium is deeply saddened by the loss of our trainer and friend, Dr Charles Atkins. From musical interludes to candy-filled hospital deadpans, Charlie knew better than anyone how to captivate a room full of people.”

He seemed to convey that same gift as a fiction and nonfiction author under both his given name and the pen name of Caleb James. Under Caleb James, some of the titles of his books are: 

As a triple threat psychiatrist, he surely had an impact on patients, the public, and society.

Charles Atkins, MD, knew better than anyone how to captivate a room full of people.

A Humanity Lesson From the Mouths of Babes

Holidays: Beware "The Should List"

False Allegations of Abuse During Divorce: The Role of Alienating Beliefs

In Memoriam: Charles Atkins, MD, aka Caleb James

Insomnia Sleep Supplement

Shedding Light on the Shadow Brain Pandemic: The Devastating Effects of Gendered Violence-Related Acquired Brain Injury

In Memoriam: A Mind at Home With the World

Traumatic Wounds

APA Names Recipient of the 2022 George Tarjan Award

In Memoriam: Psychiatrists Who Helped Address Societal Challenges