Italian psychologists urge Justice Minister to ban parental alienation theory

The Equal Opportunities Committee of the National Order of Psychologists has issued an open letter to Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, calling for an end to the use of the “parental alienation” theory in legal proceedings involving children. The committee asserts that after forty years, there is no scientific evidence to support parental alienation as a valid diagnosis and classifies it as “junk science.”

Psychologists are requesting that the theory be excluded from court-appointed technical expert reports (CTU) and professional training. This move aligns with previous statements by Minister Nordio, who described the theory as anti-scientific and noted that it contradicts European Parliament guidelines and international organizations. The committee, led by President Maria Antonietta Gulino and Secretary Francesca Schir, aims to ensure that children who are victims of violence are not treated as symptoms to be corrected through forced reunification processes.