Reunification Therapy Works: Landmark Study Proves Custody Reversal Can Heal Alienated Children
New Empirical Research from Ontario Confirms Parental Alienation Is Real, Reversing Custody Restores Relationships, and Reunification Programs Work
Reunification therapy is not a questioned solution unless questioned by someone with a bias against such help; more so, it's now backed by empirical evidence from the first and only long-term follow-up study of custody reversals in parental alienation cases. In an era where disinformation campaigns and ideological agendas attempt to delegitimize reunification and even deny that alienation exists, the 2025 study by Rachel Birnbaum and Nicholas Bala provides something rare and irrefutable: data from the lived experiences of children and parents after court-ordered custody reversals. The results are clear — custody reversal paired with reunification programs can and does restore healthy parent-child relationships in cases of severe parental alienation.
Research published April 10th, 2025, “A Retrospective Study of Outcomes of Custody Reversal in Parental Alienation Cases” (2025, University of New Brunswick Law Journal), is the most definitive study to date on the outcomes of alienation cases involving custody change and therapy. Despite the politically charged debate surrounding the concept of alienation, this research doesn’t just defend reunification — it proves its necessity.
ALIENATED CHILDREN RECOVER AND REUNIFY
The study reviewed 67 Ontario cases from 2010–2022 where a judge made a finding of parental alienation. In nearly half (49%) of these cases, custody was reversed — usually from the mother (favored/alienating) to the father (rejected/alienated). Researchers followed up directly with families, interviewing 13 parents and 6 children who experienced the reversal.
All six children had a good relationship with their previously rejected parent years after the reversal. None had a relationship with their previously favored parent — often due to continued alienating behavior or that parent's choice to cut contact. As the researchers summarized:
“Although opposed at the time of the order reversing custody, with hindsight all [children] appreciated the court’s decision.”
They further observed that:
Children felt unsafe expressing interest in the alienated parent due to manipulation, threats, or false claims by the alienating parent.
All of them regretted not being heard in court and wanted judges to understand the complex psychological bind they were in.
Several reported that therapy helped them understand the manipulation they'd experienced.
Children who originally resisted the custody change later expressed gratitude for it, saying it “saved” them emotionally.
“Never take a kid away from your parent. It is the most cruel thing... But I've actually thought many times back on how thankful I am for the decisions [the judge] made because I know that... I wouldn't be who I am today.”
KEY DATA: REUNIFICATION WORKS IN SEVERE CASES
The study focused on the most extreme cases — where courts had already confirmed parental alienation, not merely allegations. These were not ambiguous or borderline disputes. Findings include:
58% of cases involved court-ordered counselling or reunification therapy
100% of interviewed children who went through therapy and custody reversal now had strong relationships with the once-rejected parent
0% of children interviewed wanted to return to the care of the alienating parent, despite often expressing sadness at the loss of that relationship
Notably, even among those who had a difficult or delayed start in therapy, the long-term outcome was positive. While some criticized the timing and communication of therapeutic processes, none said the reunification harmed them. In fact, most recommended therapy for others in their situation.
REALITY CHECK: MISINFORMATION VS. EVIDENCE
Despite the data, some advocacy groups continue to lobby against recognition of parental alienation in courts. For example, the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) in Canada has pushed to prohibit use of the concept in custody cases, calling it a tool used by abusive fathers.
This study directly contradicts that narrative. The study confirms that alienated parents were not abusers while affirming that Alienation is not gender-specific (“usually the mothers” as detractors assert is claimed when they are trying to undermine the reality of this abuse). In fact, 40% of the alienated parents in this case were mothers themselves.
The idea that all alienation claims are "junk science" is itself a form of misinformation. As the authors write:
"Parental alienation is a concept that is widely used by lawyers, judges, mental health professionals and parents... in Canada and many other countries.”
Multiple peer-reviewed sources support this, including:
Harman & Lorandos (2020), showing that only 33% of alienation claims are substantiated in court, undermining claims of rampant misuse.
Warshak (2010), who found that structured reunification programs like Family Bridges were generally safe and effective in severe cases
PARENTS PAY A HIGH PRICE
AND SAY IT'S WORTH IT - BUT IT SHOULND’T BE SO
Alienated parents in the study reported devastating emotional and financial tolls:
Years in court
Legal costs exceeding $250,000 or more
Constant allegations, police involvement, and court delays
And yet, most described custody reversal as the only thing that worked. One father, who endured 34 police investigations in three years, said:
"I finally got custody… the court was extremely slow, but I believed in my child."
And that sentiment reveals what many experience, a challenge ALSO used by detractors denying Alienation, to claim this is an expensive scheme through which Family Courts put parents. The reality is that this ends up being expensive because of the lack of clear laws protecting children from psychological abuse, the ongoing entertainment of debate about alienation, abusive parents and supporters continuing to fight to deny its existence, and courts slow to move, often taking months or years to make decisions.
For parents whose children have been abused as they themselves have experienced this family violence, no financial cost is too great save their children, but the greatest cost of all is that law makers, attorneys, and abusive parents, put children in the middle of their pretext.
CHILDREN'S MESSAGE TO THE WORLD: LISTEN TO US
Children in this study had a message for the legal system: stop ignoring us.
They asked for:
More say in the court process, including being able to speak directly to judges
Peer support programs for children enduring alienation
Faster and more transparent therapy so they can reunify with their alienated parent without fear
Their voices are clear. The court's intervention worked — but it came too late.
What we’d stress adding to the plea of the children themselves, is protections, with psychiatrists and counselors involved who know how to identify and work with alienated children; all too often, their manipulated say, “whatever we need to say to protect our [alienating parent],” sounds to the untrained ear as though nothing is wrong, when in fact the child is psychologically abused, afraid, and even perhaps rewarded by an alienating parent for helping defend them.
THIS STUDY PROVES REUNIFICATION PROGRAMS WORK
This is the first and only peer-reviewed study to:
Follow up directly with children and parents years after custody reversal
Confirm positive outcomes of reunification in severe alienation cases
Provide qualitative and empirical data to counter claims that reunification therapy is abusive
The study urges caution: not all custody reversals are appropriate, and more research is needed. But it also leaves no doubt — in the right cases, custody reversal and reunification save relationships and protect children from psychological abuse - lawmakers, or the courts, acting on opinions that reunification programs are themselves harmful are actually complicit with causing abuse. Support research into what works better, how to train professionals, and how to ensure the courts are never left with a question of when children are being abused.
“This study suggests that in some cases custody reversal may promote the best interest of an alienated child and that Ontario courts have had some success in identifying such children.”
Parental alienation is psychological child abuse and therefore custody decisions to protect children from such abuse, isn’t a punishment nor unfair allocation of time between parent and children, it’s a rescue mission.
Family courts must stop hesitating. Delays cost years. Misinformation costs lives. Reunification therapy, custody reversal, and early intervention are not just valid, they are vital.
If you’ve been impacted by parental alienation — as a parent, therapist, judge, or advocate — it’s time to reframe the debate. Share this research. Speak to your legislators. Demand better court training. Most of all, fight for the children trapped in psychological warfare between the people they love most.
This study doesn’t just prove that reunification therapy can work. It proves that disagreement, silence, delay, and doubt are the threats, and acting against such programs is actively causing harm to children.