Joyanna Silberg, PhD (included for balance — critic of PA framing)¶
The most-cited US clinical critic of PA-driven custody decisions.
Why she matters here¶
Anyone serious about PA literacy must read Silberg — her critique is what good PA-recognition arguments have to answer. Her work argues that reunification programmes for "PAS" can cause foreseeable psychological harm and that "alienation" framings in family court can be used to override credible abuse claims. Lawyers, evaluators, and clinicians who fail to engage with this critique are vulnerable in court.
Credentials & affiliation¶
- PhD, clinical psychologist
- Executive Vice President, Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence
- Former Senior Consultant for Child & Adolescent Trauma, Sheppard Pratt Health System, Baltimore (to 2019)
Key contributions¶
- Mercer & Silberg (2016), "Recommended treatments for 'parental alienation syndrome' (PAS) may cause children foreseeable and lasting psychological harm," Journal of Child Custody.
- Silberg & Dallam (2019), "Abusers gaining custody in family courts," Journal of Child Custody — case series on overturned custody orders that is the headline document used by safeguarding groups and the Center for Judicial Excellence.
Where to find her work¶
Contact¶
- info@leadershipcouncil.org (publicly listed on Leadership Council site)
Why we include critics¶
Open-source means open to the field's real debates. PA is contested — including the framework's strongest critics in the same reference makes the resource more useful to courts, parents, and lawyers who need to anticipate and answer both sides.