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PAS in the NEWS 2004: Shooting of Dr. Rick Lohstroh

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Post #  000005e7
PAS in the News
From: Louisiana 
Remote Name: 68.114.121.226

Comments
Boy made into cause by group (www.helpstoppas.com) Advocates say father's death a case of alienation syndrome By ANDREW TILGHMAN Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle RESOURCES PARENTAL ALIENATION SYNDROME 

Although it has not been accepted as a true disorder, many parents and other advocates say Parental Alienation Syndrome can be caused by actions such as: 

• Taking a side: Asking a child to choose one parent over the other. 
• Passing the blame: Telling a child that the other parent is responsible for financial problems. 
• Collecting tidbits: Using a child to spy on or covertly gather information about the other parent. 
• Causing a split: Cultivating secrets, special signals or words with special meanings designed to alienate the other parent. Source: Douglas Darnall, Ph.D, author of Divorce Casualties 

A 10-year-old child accused of fatally shooting his father this summer has become a national poster boy for a controversial and unofficial psychiatric disorder: Parental Alienation Syndrome. Parents and others seeking formal recognition of the so-called syndrome have latched onto the death of 41-year-old Rick Lohstroh, who was killed on Aug. 27 outside his ex-wife's Katy home. After a bitter divorce in 2003, Lohstroh was picking up his two sons for a visit under a joint-custody agreement when the 10-year-old shot him from the back seat of the car, police said. Since then, advocates have pointed to Lohstroh's death to illustrate that acrimonious divorces can prompt an angry parent to turn a child against another parent. "He's become a martyr for Parental Alienation Syndrome," said Dr. William Narrow, who heads the American Psychiatric Association's research and classification division, which determines whether disorders are formally recognized as legitimate mental illnesses. Parents and others have flooded Narrow's office with e-mails in recent weeks, urging the APA to include Parental Alienation Syndrome in its diagnostic manual, Narrow said. Concern of fathers' group While the syndrome has been cited in many divorce cases and custody battles across the country, Lohstroh's case is the first in which advocates suggest that PAS led to a death. The emotional harm that embittered parents can inflict on a child is a long-standing concern for fathers' rights groups, which frequently complain that family courts unfairly favor women in cases of divorce, custody disputes and child-support litigation. "What happens in these PAS cases is so cruel and demented," said Glenn Sacks, the host of a nationally syndicated radio show called His Side, which focuses on fathers' issues. Lohstroh was the topic of one of Sacks' shows in November. "This case is so shocking and over the top that, now, people are starting to pay attention to Parental Alienation Syndrome," Sacks said in a recent interview. 

Medication's side effects 
Prosecutors have charged Lohstroh's son with murder in the juvenile justice system. The boy, whose name has not been released because of his age, remains in a Harris County juvenile detention facility. Other factors are expected to complicate the case, including family members' statements that the boy began taking Prozac shortly before the shooting. Prozac is an antidepressant suspected of inducing suicidal or homicidal thoughts. The boy's grandparents, Richard and Joanne Greene, of Columbia, S.C., are suing the maker of Prozac, Eli Lilly and Co., in a Galveston court. They contend that the company neglected to warn doctors and patients of the medication's risks and potential side effects, especially in young patients. During Lohstroh's bitter divorce from Deborah Geisler she alleged that Lohstroh had sexually abused the boy. Lohstroh, an emergency room doctor at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Gal-veston, adamantly denied the charges. Two polygraph tests indicated that he did not abuse his son, police said. Social workers in Harris and Galveston counties investigated the complaint and took no action. Parental Alienation Syndrome is one possible defense that attorneys could present at the 10-year-old's trial, legal observers said. A judge has barred attorneys and others directly involved in the case from speaking publicly about the pending trial. No trial date has been set. "Jurors are going to want to know what on Earth could possibly possess a 10-year-old boy to pull the trigger on his own dad," said defense lawyer Brian Wice, who is familiar with the case. "The defense is going to have to find somebody that the jury can hate more than this 10-year-old boy. "And that role might be filled by the mom." Discussion of PAS began in 1985, when Dr. Richard Gardner, a controversial child psychiatrist from New Jersey, introduced the term. Most mental health professionals do not believe PAS meets the formal criteria for a syndrome, which is a cluster of symptoms with a single underlying cause, Narrow said. As a result, he said, it is not likely to gain acceptance as a formal psychiatric disorder anytime soon. "It's something like road rage," he said. "Just because somebody thinks that a syndrome is out there doesn't mean that, scientifically, it would meet the criteria for a disorder." Psychiatrists usually are very conservative when adding disorders to their official diagnostic manual, largely out of concern for how they may be used in the courtroom, Narrow added. "The APA is generally very cautious," he said. "The potential for misuse is very great." Nevertheless, some psychiatrists testify in court about the significance of unofficial disorders such as PAS. Judges and jurors in divorce or custody battles often consider allegations of PAS, although it is not recognized by all psychiatrists, said Pamela George, a professor at Houston's South Texas College of Law. "Judges take this sort of thing very seriously when they consider what is in the best interests of the child," she said. "I have seen judges tell a mother, 'You have taken such incredible steps at alienating the child, I am going to give the child to the father.' "  (Last changed: February 26, 2006)

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REPLIES:

Post # 000005e9
Re: PAS in the News
From: Wisconsin Fathers
Remote Name: 152.132.8.194

Comments
Well Wisconsin is becoming the cash cow state for mothers who want to falsely accuse their counterparts of sexual abuse of their children. Divorce rates are rising, and the lawyers are getting richer. In southeastern Wisconsin their several lawyers well known for advising their clients on the legal way of getting the father out of the picture. Several of us in the health profession are victims of this legal extortion. The number one counties are Waukesha and Racine, so fathers watch out!!!!!!!!!!!! They hind behind the saying " IF ONE MUST ERROR, ONE MUST ERROR ON THE SAFETY OF THE CHILD", even though they know the mother lied, but that is after the father has past a lie detector test plus multiple other things. But still it goes on! Now lets talk about TPR or terminating your parental rights, YES our state has laws, but it's politcal suicide for a judge to grant it. As I was told, by a senior staff attorney for the state of Wisconsin. Well here we have it, the truth doesn't prevail, the liar wins, and the courts only follow the laws they want to. I'm truly sadden what did happen, I only hope that the brainwasher in this case actually goes to jail, not the child.  (Last changed: February 26, 2006 )

 

 

 

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