Parental Alienation Syndrome being considered for inclusion in the DSM: How will this effect custody disputes?

Reported In The Denver Post:
The Denver Post reported last Sunday, December 5th, 2010 that Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is being considered for inclusion in the fifth edition of the 2012 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).  The DSM is updated every decade or so and is a therapist's official catalog of mental disorders.

Emotional Damage to Children:
Experts state that when you look at the emotional damage done to children by alienation, it's really striking.  The children in such situations suffer tremendously, writes Reena Sommer, an authority on PAS.  Such children are made to feel their love and attachment for one parent is contingent on their abandoning the other.

PAS perpetrated by Men and Women:
Women used to be thought of as the main perpetrators of parental alienation, but no longer says Judith Ray, a licensed family therapist in Colorado Springs.  Those men tend to be narcissistic, characterized by a sense of entitlement, arrogance and low empathy.  Female alienators often have borderline personalities, marked by insecurity, neediness, a strong fear of abandonment and chronic emptiness.

The Denver Post looked at both sides of the issue and concluded that studies documenting PAS's long term damage make it clear that it belongs in this all-important catalog of officially recognized  mental disorders.

Inclusion in the DSM will support evidence in custody cases:
If PAS makes it into the 2012 edition of the DSM, it will only reinforce and strengthen evidence brought of Parental Alienation in child custody disputes in Colorado.  Evidence of PAS  has been used in Colorado family law cases for a number of years.  Inclusion in the DSM will enable therapists to testify that a child has an official diagnosis of PAS and a treatment plan can be recommended to the Court.  This takes alienation out of the realm of fairness between the parents and places it on solid ground as a concern for the best interests of the child's mental health and emotional development.

Heavy burden of proof to change primary parent:
In Colorado, if you are trying to change primary custody from one parent to the other, you have an uphill battle.  The standard to change primary custody is "does the present custody situation endanger the child's physical well being or endanger their emotional development".  This is a much higher standard than "the best interests of the child" standard used to assess initial parenting plans in a divorce.   Inclusion of Parental Alienation Syndrome in the DSM will provide parents the opportunity to bring evidence of damage to the children because of PAS.  This evidence could help to support meeting the burden of proving endangerment to the child's emotional development.

Time will tell how this change in the DSM will effect the results in custody disputes involving PAS.  In this attorney's opinion, the change can only increase the chances of being able to develop Court Ordered therapeutic interventions to support the healing process needed when children have been exposed to severe parental alienation.