Wednesday 4 September

17-19 Welcome Reception

Oslo Rådhus

• Short speech by mayor Anne Lindboe from Oslo City Council

• Ole Asbjørn Næss – stand up

• Hanne Ramsdal, an adult alienated as a child with two songs from her songplay called “Fa(r)en”

  In a yet not decided location

  19-20 Press conference, an erased mother and an adult, alienated as a child, introduce the topic of the conference. A brand new book will then be presented, a book to inform and inspire the millions of children and adults around every child harmed  by what is called parent alienation. Eivind Meland, medical professor from Bergen, Norway, and Lena Hellblom Sjögren, Swedish researcher and investigative psychologist, co-ordinators for PASG 2024 wish you all welcome to this international conference Thursday and Friday.

Thursday 5 September

Deichman Library

The child ́s legal and human rights

8.00 Registration starts. Coffee, tea, water, biscuits

8.30 Welcome greetings and some practical information

8.40 Lecture. William Bernet, guest of honour "So many perspectives: Can we have constructive dialogue with critics and deniers of parental alienation theory?"

9.10 Five minutes break 

9.15 Dialogue: An ex. judge at the ECHR and Geir Kjell Andersland, Norwegian politician and lawyer: How the ECHR has dealt with PA cases and how their judgement should influence other courts in Europe. 

10.25 Five minutes break

10.30 Dialogue: Philip Marcus, retired family court judge from Israel and Camilla Bernt, Norwegian law professor : Major challenges for the pursuit of the child´s best interests in the legal system 

11.20  Lecture: Ashish Joshi, lawyer Ann Arbor, US: In the Best Interests of Children: How American Family Courts Have Assessed the Role of Parental Alienation in Child Custody Cases

12.00 Lecture: Robert A. Simon, Forensic psychologist: Pathways towards conciliation, common ground, and a better understanding of parental alienation’s role in the broader problem of parent-child contact problems. 

12.30. Lunch

The child´s fundamental needs and health

14.00 Lecture: Edward Kruk, professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, Canada: The essential needs of children in situations of parental alienation:A responsibility-based approach to policy and practice.

14.40 Lecture: Jennifer Harman, psychologist and assistant professor Ft Collins, Colorado, US: The promotion of the child´s best interests – New research with relevance for practice. 

15.15 Ten minutes break

15.25 Lecture: Brian O´Sullivan, Founder Parental Alienation Europe, Founding Editor of the European Journal of Parental Alienation Practice:  Reunification work in Ireland. 

15.55 Videotaped lecture, and on Zoom link 10 minutes:  Pehr Granqvist, professor in psychology, Stockholm University. Attachment goes to court.

16.30 Lecture: Alan Blotcky, Clinical Associate Professor, Dept.of Psychology, University of Alabama: The ABCs of expert testimony in cases regarding making a formerly loved parent dangerous for the child

17.00 Participants, in smaller gatherings, discuss: How does a 

loss of a formerly loved and loving parent who is good enough affect a child? 

17.30 Panel of some of the day´s presenters and comments from the participants. Moderators: Sigga Sólan, Iceland and Sophie Roswall, Sweden/Norway.

18.00 END 

19.00 Supper arrangement for the conference members who have chosen to have a meal together with other participants at the conference, and have paid in advance.

Friday 6 September 2024, 9.00-12.00

Disturbed parent-child relations – damaging to the child

Deichman Library

8.30 Film by Paulo Chavarria: “The bothersome father”

9.00 THREE PARALLEL SESSIONS IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS

Research Break out room 1

Research, adequate help and adequate concepts for children at risk

Moderators: Else Marit Inderberg and Eivind Meland who work out a detailed program for these presentations, and also a panel discussion led by them.

9.05 Preludium, dialogue by Frode Thuen, psychology professor and family therapist, Robert A Simon, forensic psychologist, and Jartrud Sofie Frafjord, psychologist, family therapist, and leader of the national competence team for children in family protective services.

9.45 Norwegian and international researchers present their research relevant to promoting the child´s best interests.

12.30 Lunch.

2 Research  

Breakout room 2

Research and law (reform)

Moderators:  Øivind Østberg and Robert Sandholm who work out a detailed program for these presentations, and also a panel discussion led by them.

9.05 Preludium by William Fabricius, who in a youtube interview made  by Sigga Sólan and Brjann Jónsson, tells about Research that changed the law statutes in Arizona, USA 

9.15 Norwegian and international researchers present their research relevant to laws promoting the child´s best interests. 

12.30 Lunch.

3 Experiences and mastering

Breakout room 3

Targeted by the loss of a loved one, but not because of physical death

Moderators: Sigga Solán and Brjánn Jónsson who work out a detailed program for these presentations, and also summarize at the end. Summarizing translations from Norwegian to English is offered.

9.05 Preludium one: Hanne Ramsdal, a Norwegian adult who experienced the loss of a contact with a parent during her childhood

9.20 Preludium two: Bryan Souders. US-father with two adult daughters with a Swedish mother tells about his experiences presented in his book 

9.40 Experiences and knowledge needed presented and discussed by parents, grandparents, and adult children who were alienated when they were young 

12.30 Lunch. 

Friday 6 September 2024, 14.00-18.00

Relevant help for the child 

Deichman Library.

14.00 Reports from the three parallel seminars about research, law making, poster presentations  and experiences from Friday morning that gives ideas what can be helpful for a child  living under coercive control, learning to hate a formerly loved parent

Moderators: Eivind Meland and Lena Hellblom Sjögren

14.40 Lecture: Early interventions, scientifically based. Charlie Azzopardi, Family therapist in Malta and co-founder of the Masters program in Parental Alienation together with Brian Sullivan. 

15.20 Short break

15.30 Dialogue: Family reunification – failures and success.

Brian Ludmer, attorney, Canada, one of the drafters of Canada´s proposed shared parenting legislation and Marie-France Carlier, Judge of  the Court of First Instance of Dinant

16.10 Five minutes break

16.15 Dialogue: Social responses to the concept of family and violations of the  child´s human right to family life, Teresa  Silva, assistant professor, Mid University, Sundsvall, Sweden and Stan Korosi,  Phd, Fellow, School of Law and Society, UniSC, Australian Administrator – Family Bridges Workshop, Melbourne, Australia   

16.55 Five minutes break

17.00 Panel summarizing conclusions about what is most important to promote the child´s best interests

Moderators: William Bernet and Øivind Østberg

17.40 Closing remarks, 3 minutes each.

Eivind Meland, alienated child, targeted parent, targeted grandparent, Lena Hellblom Sjögren and William Bernet , founder and president for PASG, Parental Alienation Study Group: 

18.00 See you next year at the next PASG 2025 conference in Australia