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Alienation: The Evolution of a Controversial Construct

By Jeffrey P. Wittmann

I recall a family in which a 5-year-old boy was refusing to see his mother, and the father claimed it was due to abuse. After getting to know the family and confirming, via interviews and a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation, that there likely never was abuse and that the mother and child had been quite close, the father was asked to bring the boy in for a session with his mother. When father and son arrived, the boy walked up the stairs like a robot, entered the room, and sat coldly across the office from his mother, muttering things about her being “cheap and always neglectful.” Within 15 minutes he was crawling into her lap, kissing her, stroking her hair, and laughing. The doorknob downstairs turned and creaked as the father returned an hour later and the boy stood, rapidly distanced himself from his mother, resumed his robot-like posture, and stiffly walked to the hall to meet his dad.

Alienation, as a concept, has been through many twists and turns over time with respect to its definition and whether or not it should be considered a diagnostic “syndrome.” What I witnessed was a real-time display of alienation dynamics.

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