Richard A. Gardner

Richard Alan Gardner (April 28, 1931 – May 25, 2003) was an American child psychiatrist known for his work in psychotherapy with children, parental alienation and child custody evaluations. Based on his clinical work with children and families, Gardner introduced the term parental alienation syndrome (PAS), which is now "largely rejected by most credible professionals". He wrote 41 books and more than 200 journal articles and book chapters. He developed child play therapy and test materials that he published through his company Creative Therapeutics. Gardner was an expert witness in child custody cases.

Gardner and his work have been criticized as a biased effort to justify the abuse of children, beginning with sexual abuse but now encompassing all forms of abuse. PAS has not been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association or any other medical or professional association, but its use in family courts has led to widespread dismissal of legitimate testimonies regarding abuse. Provided by Wikipedia