Children who Refuse and Resist contact

Name: Children who Refuse and Resist contact
Start: 2026-05-25T17:00:00+10:00
End: 2026-05-25T17:00:00+10:00
Location: Rydges Hotel

About

The problem of children who refuse or resist spending time with one of their parents following parental separation is a common and often highly complex presentation before the Family Court. These matters frequently involve competing allegations, heightened emotional dynamics, and significant concerns regarding the psychological wellbeing of the child.
This presentation will examine the distinction between justified and unjustified rejection of a parent, including the important differences between situations in which a child’s resistance arises from genuine experiences of fear, trauma, family violence, abuse, neglect, or deficient parenting, as opposed to cases in which the rejection is disproportionate, developmentally incongruent, or influenced by broader relational and systemic dynamics.
The presentation will also explore the inevitable overlap between refusal–resistance dynamics and high-conflict separation, including the roles of attachment disruption, emotional contagion, triangulation, loyalty conflicts, enmeshment, coercive control, and maladaptive interparental dynamics. Particular attention will be given to the manner in which children’s behaviours may appear confusing, contradictory, or polarised, especially where children simultaneously demonstrate attachment needs, fear responses, anger, dependency, and alignment behaviours.
Drawing upon contemporary psychological, developmental, and family systems literature, the presentation seeks to provide a coherent framework for understanding these complex phenomena in a way that is clinically informed, legally relevant, and practically useful. It will also consider pathways for assessment and intervention, including therapeutic, forensic, and multidisciplinary approaches aimed at reducing harm, restoring emotional safety, and promoting healthier parent–child relationships where appropriate.