Description
According to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), parental alienation is "a strategy whereby one parent intentionally displays to the child unjustified negativity aimed at the other parent. The purpose of this strategy is to damage the child's relationship with the other parent and to turn the child's emotions against that other parent.” Forensic mental health evaluators involved in parenting/child custody cases should have a working knowledge of parental alienation, but knowledge of the phenomenon is not sufficient by itself. Evaluators must also have a working knowledge of how parental alienation is addressed, including the phenomena of parental reunification. This 6-hour workshop aims to provide this knowledge base.
Presenters will include experienced child custody evaluators, a judge, an attorney practicing family law, and a professional family coach.
The purpose of this training is to aid the professional in identifying when alienation is likely to occur, which parent is responsible, and how to address these parental alienation. Additionally, participants will learn about what judges and attorneys are looking for in terms of recommendations for addressing parental alienation.
Parents who are victims in coercive controlling situations often feel overwhelmed, uncertain, exhausted, and filled with significant self-doubt. They often feel as if they are working against the court system. Using the latest research and cutting-edge technology, we have developed specific and direct ways to teach these parents how to respond to the controlling parent to mitigate/limit problems for the children, as opposed to being baited and adding to the maelstrom of conflict. Utilizing tools to monitor and analyze communications have been effective in helping the families break the cycle, at times by proving to the court the alienating parent must not have unfettered access to manipulate the child unless or until the behaviors change.
Learning Objectives
- Identify signs of parental alienation.
- Provide appropriate recommendations for parental reunification.
- Answer questions posed by judges and attorney with respect to parental alienation and reunification therapy.
- Define, discuss, identify, and understand coercive control and coercive controlling language/behaviors.
- Identify communication examples and types that identify coercive control.
- Understand current research on coercive control and its impacts on families.
About the Presenters and Panelists
Gina Loratelli
A proud lifelong resident of Northern California, Gina attended Ripon schools in her early years and received her Bachelor's degree from Stanislaus State in 2001. While her area of study was economics, her focus within the major was consumer behaviors. Gina has always been fascinated by human behavior which has led her to her true passion of helping families and children achieve peace in this crazy chaotic world. Gina spent many years in sales and marketing positions before transitioning into mental health in 2016. She is not a licensed therapist, but has earned several mental health certifications and has many hours of volunteer and training experience. Experiential expertise is what makes her coaching so special. Gina has experience and training with issues of family violence, custody issues, family courts, and supervised visitation.
Judge Wilensky
Judge Wilensky was the Circuit Court Judge presiding over Family Law Division FM-D in Duval County, Florida. In Clay County he presided over the Dependency Division, Circuit Civil Division, Family Law Division, Domestic Violence and appeals from County Court.
As an attorney he concentrated his practice in Family Law and Mediation, and served as a Special Magistrate. He mediated approximately 1000 family law cases and was approved by the Supreme Court as a Primary Trainer for Family Mediation Certification. He was given the highest peer rating ( A.V.) by Martindale-Hubbell for competence and ethics. Judge Wilensky is the past President of the Florida Family Law American Inn of Court in Jacksonville and is a Master in the Inn. He has been a lecturer at Family Law CLE seminars and workshops, locally and at the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Florida conference and at Florida Coastal School of Law.
Judge Wilensky currently serves on the Board of Directors of Hope Haven in Jacksonville, Florida.
Kim Bannister, Esq.
Kim Bannister is a private attorney with a practice centering on family law, domestic violence, dependency and probate. She is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator. She is the former managing attorney for the family law division of Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, Inc. (CLSMF). During her tenure at CLSMF, she managed seven attorneys and support staff in twelve counties across Central Florida and was named Outstanding Supervisor of the Year.
Kim is also actively involved in a variety of community and professional organizations. She is the current President of the Volusia County Bar Association and a former Executive Board member. She is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Volusia Flagler PACE Center for Girls, serving for six years, and a past member of the Junior League of Daytona Beach.
She has also served as a two-term President as well as Vice President and Board Member for the Volusia Flagler Association for Women Lawyers, and served on the State Board for the Florida Association for Women Lawyers. She has served on the steering committee for the formation of Sally’s Safe Haven Visitation Center in Flagler County. Ms. Banister is a past volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America and served in leadership with the Girl Scouts of America for over seven years.
Dr. Tommy Black
Dr. Black is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has been in private practice since 1998. Currently he serves as a member of the Georgia Composite Board for Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage & Family Therapists. He also serves as the Chair of the Rules Committee and on the Advisory Panel for the National Board of Forensic Evaluators.
Dr. Black has extensive experience and training in Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, REBT, and DBT. He works with a myriad of life issues but has particular expertise in Grief/Loss, Depression, Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, Impulse Control Issues, Relationship difficulties, and Adjustment Difficulties.
Michael Holler
Michael Holler is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, a National Certified Counselor, a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Forensic Mental Health Evaluator, a Certified Child Custody Evaluator, a Qualified Parenting Coordinator, a Qualified Clinical Supervisor and a Certified Family and County Mediator. He serves as Chair of the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association (FMHCA) Ethics Committee. Michael has a private practice in Tavernier in the Florida Keys. Michael has been working with individuals, families, couples and organizations for over 25 years. Michael is also a Neurofeedback provider.
Michael has worked in inpatient psychiatric, community mental health and private practice settings; Michael has worked as an adjunct professor in psychology at Florida Keys Community College. Michael was President of the Upper Keys Interagency Council in 1997. Michael was the first Intensive Onsite Services Counselor in the State of Florida.
Dr. Norman Hoffman
Dr. Hoffman is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, and Founder and President of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators (NBFE). He is an experienced expert witness, forensic examiner, author, and jazz musician. Dr. Hoffman developed the Hoffman Organicity Test (HOT), which aids clinicians in differentiating between organic brain disorders, non-organic disorders, and psychotic disorders. Dr. Hoffman began his work with the Devereux Foundation in 1963, specializing as a music therapist for children. In 1969, he then completed a one-year clinical internship at the Menninger Memorial Hospital in Kansas. That experience led to his first book, Hear the Music! A New Approach to Mental Health. His work in the field of organic brain damage led to The Hoffman Organicity Test.
Dr. Aaron Norton
Dr. Norton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy serving as Executive Director of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators, Adunct Instructor at the University of South Florida, Southern Regional Director for the American Mental Health Counselors Association, Chair of the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association's Government Relations Committee, and the liaison between the American Mental Health Counselors Association's Ethics Committee and Board of Directors.
He has nearly 20 years of clinical and forensic experience in assessment and psychotherapy, was awarded Mental Health Counselor of the Year by the American Mental Health Counselors Association and Counselor Educator of the Year by the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2016, Researcher of the Year by Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2020, and has been published in several social science journals and professional magazines in clinical mental health counseling.
Cost
- $80 for NBFE members (i.e., CFMHEs and CFMHE applicants/candidates) and, for members of our partnering organizations (see Professional Partners for current listing)
- $110 for Non-members
