Michigan Judge Orders Intensive Therapy In Child Custody Case

A Michigan family law judge who had sentenced children in a child custody case to juvenile detention has now ordered intensive family therapy sessions. Oakland County Family Court Judge Lisa Gorcyca has orderd that the Tsimhoni children, ages 14, 10 and 9, take part in an intense “reunification program” to salvage their relationship with their estranged father. The judge had previously sentenced the children in the child custody case to a juvenile detention facility after they refused to have lunch with their father and accused him of verbally and physically abusing them and their mother.

Details of the Child Custody Case

The children’s parents, Omer and Maya Tsimhoni, have been involved in a bitter child custody case since their 2011 divorce. Both parties have hurled accusations at the other throughout the long child custody case. Mrs. Tsimhoni has accused her ex-husband of verbally and physically abusing her and the children. Mr. Tsimhoni has alleged that his ex-wife has done everything in her power to alienate him from their children’s affections.

Controversy Surrounds Child Custody Case

In July, Judge Gorcyca ordered the Tsimhoni children to have lunch with their father. When they refused, she took an unprecedented step in a child custody case: she held them in contempt of court. She sentenced the three children to stay in Children’s Village, a juvenile detention center that houses up to 200 offenders. The judge also barred the mother from visiting the children during their detention. The judge released the children from the detention center later that month and enrolled them in a summer camp.

Child Custody Case and “Parental Alienation”

The bitterness of the Tsimhoni child custody case has brought forth accusations from the father of the mother’s attempts at “parental alienation.” The phrase describes actions by one parent designed to cause the children to have strong negative feelings toward the other parent. While parental alienation is not recognized by mental health professionals as an actual mental disorder, parents in a child custody case have been known to influence their children toward having antipathy toward the non-custodial parent to the point of sabotaging the parent-child relationship.

Critics Argue Over Therapy In Child Custody Case

Critics have argued that the type of therapy Judge Gorcyca ordered in the Tsimhoni child custody case is both expensive and unproven. The therapy costs up to $40,000 and can involve live-in therapists. The sessions also involve children being in close contact with parents who have been accused of physical and verbal abuse. Dr. Annelies Hagemeister, a professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, told a Detroit newspaper that such methods risk “pathologizing the children.” Jennifer Roark, a professor of social work at Utah State University, said that the allegations of abuse are “what needs to be investigated, not the alienation.”

Sources: Detroit Free Press (1) (2)

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