Poisoning Parent-Child Relationships Through the Manipulation of Names

Manipulating names can change the way children relate to and identify with their parents. Some parents use pejorative labels to refer to the target of alienation, encourage the children to refer to a parent by first name, or refer to the children by new names that mask their relationship to the other parent. This article describes how such practices influence children to align with one parent against the other, how parents' responses mediate the harmful impact of such practices, and how professionals can assist parents to help prevent name manipulation from contributing to the entrenchment of parental alienation.