If you've noticed your child becoming distant, hostile, or afraid — and you suspect the other parent is driving that change — you are experiencing something that family courts in Texas take seriously, even when it is difficult to name and even harder to prove.
There are legal tools available to you. This site will explain what courts look at, what you can do right now, and what realistic expectations look like. The goal here is honesty, not alarm.
When one parent consistently undermines a child's relationship with the other parent — through negative messaging, interference with visits, or drawing the child into adult conflict — courts and mental health professionals describe a pattern of alienating behaviors. Whether this rises to what some evaluators call "parental alienation" depends on the severity, persistence, and impact on the child.
You may have heard the term "parental alienation syndrome." It is important to know that this phrase does not appear in the DSM-5 or ICD-11 — the diagnostic manuals used by mental health professionals. Courts in Texas do not require a clinical diagnosis to act on alienating behaviors. What courts look at is the evidence: the behaviors themselves, their effect on the child, and what arrangement best serves the child's long-term wellbeing. This site will explain how that works.
This site is also written for both sides of this issue. If you are a parent who believes you are being alienated from your child, it will explain what to document and what courts can do. If you are a parent who has been accused of alienation, it will help you understand what courts actually look at — and how to respond thoughtfully. And if you are a mental health professional or a court seeking background, this resource aims to be careful and accurate.
Parental alienation is one of the most emotionally charged areas of family law. Accusations of alienation can themselves be used as a litigation tactic. A thoughtful attorney will help you present the evidence clearly — not escalate the conflict.
Each section below covers one aspect of parental alienation in Texas family law. If you are new to this subject, What Courts Look At is the right place to start.
Parental alienation cases almost always involve a mental health dimension that pure legal strategy cannot reach. Lynda Landers has spent 29 years developing an integrated approach that coordinates legal strategy with the work of mental health professionals — custody evaluators, reunification therapists, and counselors who specialize in high-conflict family dynamics.
This matters because courts respond to evidence, and in alienation cases the most persuasive evidence often comes from qualified mental health professionals who can describe what they observed, what it means for the child, and what intervention is likely to help. Lynda works to ensure that the legal and therapeutic tracks reinforce each other — not work at cross-purposes.
If you are in a high-conflict custody situation involving parental alienation, the attorney you choose should understand both the law and the human dynamics at play. That is what this practice is built on.
Lynda Landers represents parents in Collin County, Denton County, Dallas County, and surrounding North Texas communities. Cases are handled in McKinney, Plano, Frisco, Allen, Prosper, Celina, and throughout the region.
A consultation with Lynda Landers begins with listening — to the facts of your situation, without judgment, and without oversimplifying what is genuinely complicated.
Schedule a Consultation (972) 529-5707