Divorce Related Malicious Mother Syndrome (DRMMS)
Adapted from "Relocation as a Strategy to Interfere with the Child/Parent Relationship," by Ira Turkat, M.D.

With the increasing commonality of divorce involving children,
a pattern of abnormal behavior in mothers has emerged:

A mother who unjustifiably punishes her divorcing or divorced husband by:
Attempting to alienate their mutual children from the father, involving
others in malicious actions against the father, engaging in excessive
litigation. The mother specifically attempts to deny her children: Regular
uninterrupted visitation with the father, uninhibited telephone access
to the father, paternal participation in the children's school life and
extracurricular activities. The pattern is pervasive and includes malicious
acts towards the husband including: Lying to the children, lying to others,
violations of law. The disorder is not specifically due to another mental
disorder, although a separatemental disorder may co-exist.

The number of children involved in divorce has grown dramatically. While the
majority of such cases are "settled" from a legal perspective, outside the
courtroom the battle continues. Everyday, attorneys and therapists are
exposed to horror stories in which vicious behaviors are lodged
against innocent fathers and children.

Serious attacks on divorcing husbands take place which are beyond merely
manipulating the children. Further, these actions include a willingness by
some mothers to violate societal law. There are mothers who persistently
engage in malicious behaviors designed to alienate their offspring
from the father, despite being unable to successfully cause alienation.

The range of actions taken by a mother to attempt to alienate her children from
their father is impressive. The goal of the alienator is crystalline: to deprive
the lost parent, not only of the child's time, but of the time of childhood.

For example: A mother manipulated a secretary at the children's school to
assist her in kidnapping her children. It is important to note that the
person manipulated by the angry mother has, in a way, been "alienated"
against the divorcing husband. Typically, the individual "fooled" takes
on a righteous indignation, contributing to a rewarding climate for
the mother initiating malicious actions.

Experts are in relative agreement that regular and uninterrupted visitation
with the non-residential parent is desirable and beneficial for children,
except in extreme circumstances. In fact, some states, such as Florida, have
laws written to reflect this view. Unfortunately, even when the father and
children have legal rights to visitation, individuals with Divorce Related
Malicious Mother Syndrome continue to interfere with it.

The President of the Council for Children's Rights (Washington, D.C.) notes
that such alienation is considered a form of child abuse.

Given the physical absence of one parent, the telephone plays an important
role in maintaining the bond between child and non-residential parent.

Individuals suffering from Divorce Related Malicious Mother Syndrome engage
in an array of actions designed to circumvent telephone access.

An integral part of the process of maintaining one's bond with one's child is
to participate in activities that one did before the parents separated.
School plays, team sports, and religious events are just some of the type of
activities of importance. Malicious Mothers frequently engage in maneuvers
designed to prevent participation in these activities.

Given their developmental status, children in a disputed divorce situation
are quite vulnerable when one parent decides to attack the other
by lying to the children.

Individuals suffering from Divorce Related Malicious Mother Syndrome may
engage a wide range of other individuals in their attacks upon the ex-husband.
The individual with Divorce Related Malicious Mother Syndrome specifically
lies to other individuals in the belligerency against the father.

Reports have been made on the difficulty imposed upon legal authorities when
confronted with someone who is an excellent liar. Consistent with research on
the inability of "specialists" to detect lying, a skilled fabricator can be a
compelling witness in the courtroom. While sometimes seen in borderline
personalities, pathological lying (Pseudologia Fantastica) is not
restricted to that particular character disorder.

Individuals suffering from Divorce Related Malicious Mother Syndrome, have few,
if any boundaries in their campaign against the divorcing husband. Violations
of law are common, in some cases, the violations of law may be quite serious.

Certain personality disorders, such as antisocial, borderline, and sadistic, may be
demonstrated by individuals with Divorce Related Malicious Mother Syndrome
who do not appear to meet official diagnostic criteria for an Axis II disorder.
Divorce Related Malicious Mother Syndrome could occur in individuals who
had no prior mental disorder diagnosis or treatment.

From a clinical perspective, families that involve a Divorce Related Malicious
Mother Syndrome are subject to serious episodes of stress and distress. Yet,
there is no scientific evidence on how to treat this phenomenon. Many of
these Malicious Mothers deny that there is anything wrong with them.

The issue of sex distribution of the disorder certainly needs to be addressed.
Although the majority of custodial parents are female, not even one case has
been documented of a father engaging in this type of abnormal behaviour.

Approximately 90 percent of all custody battles involve some aspects of parental
alienation. Further, up to 40 percent of maternal custodians denied visitation to
the ex-husband in order to punish him. 50 percent of a sample of divorce
fathers indicated that visitation was interfered with by the mother.

While the malicious actions may first be noted during a divorce process, it is
possible that maliciousness may have been present earlier but undetected.
Research on pre-divorce parental conflict supports this speculation. It may
also be that there are some cases of pre-existing mental disorder that
have not been discovered until the stress of the divorce itself unfolds.

Please help us pray for the safety and good health of these children !!!

Please help us save these young innocent and beautiful children !!!

Please help us bring these children back home !!!

Please email us at help@hatufim.org if you have any helpful information.

Thank you !!!

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