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56 B.C. L. Rev. 803 (2015)
The Kids Are Not All Right: Using the Best Interest Standard to Prevent Parental Alienation and a Therapeutic Intervention Approach to Provide Relief

handle is hein.journals/bclr56 and id is 805 raw text is: THE KIDS ARE NOT ALL RIGHT: USING THE BEST INTEREST STANDARD TO PREVENT PARENTAL ALIENATION AND A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION APPROACH TO PROVIDE RELIEF Abstract: Parental alienation, when one parent engages in behaviors to turn a child against the other parent, is a serious problem. Such behavior can mani- fest following a parents' divorce or separation and can have long-lasting and damaging effects on children. Although both family law and tort law offer various remedies for parental alienation, this Note argues that parental aliena- tion is best handled through family law. Accordingly, the best interest of the child standard should be modified to include parental alienation to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Additionally, courts should utilize the thera- peutic intervention approach to mitigate the harms of parental alienation when it has already occurred instead of automatically modifying custody. INTRODUCTION Dad, this is James. Please check your voice mail and then come and get me either today or tomorrow and don 't call back, don't call back cause I get in trouble . . .. Don't tell them that I told you to come. Please just come and get me today or tomorrow, please ... and John ... he wants to come home too. Bye, Love you.1 -Voicemail message from one of the parties to his father In a later interview with the court, James denied that he actually want- ed to see his father.2 In fact, he had nothing positive to say about his father.3 James' siblings referred to their father by his first name, claimed to have no memories of their father, and were insistent that he had no redeeming quali- ties.4 In 2010, in Noland-Vance v. Vance, the Missouri Court of Appeals af- firmed the trial court's finding of parental alienation and awarded custody 1 Noland-Vance v. Vance, 321 S.W.3d 398, 409 (Mo. Ct. App. 2010). 2 See id. James claimed that he just wanted to go back to his father because of all my things and friends. Id. ' See id. See id. at 407, 409. 803

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