Luthmann Calls Out Dr. Jennifer Jill Harman: ‘Why Won’t You Talk to Me About Parental Alienation?’

I still haven't made up my mind. I’m not an advocate; I’m a reporter. My audience and I want an expert to answer some basic questions on the record so we can have the facts to form our own opinions.
-Richard Luthmann

By Richard Luthmann

There is a famous saying attributable to various sources:

First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you.

I’m under attack. But that’s nothing new.

The latest is from Dr. Jennifer Jill Harman of Colorado State University. She wants to burn me.

She says that I’m a nasty dude. Depending on who you ask, this may or may not be true. (Don’t ask my ex-wife).

I woke up this morning to this diatribe on my LinkedIn feed:

Maybe I’m the scum of the earth? But Parental Alienation (PA) and Reunification Therapy are under attack by large segments of the population.

My popularity has little to do with the scientific truth.

Linda J. Gottlieb, LMFT, LCSW

For the past few months, I have tried to secure an interview with Linda Gottlieb, a leader in the field, about PA and Reunification Therapy. They have a “credibility problem.” Reunification Therapy is controversial and has been banned in five states.

Journalists Michael Volpe and Megan Fox recently joined me on “The Unknown Podcast” to discuss the matter. Volpe broke one of the stories we talked about.

Tori Nielsen recounted her traumatic experience with a Reunification Therapy “Camp” to Volpe.

In September 2023, Michael Volpe interviewed Tori Nielsen.

Nielsen described the journey as terrifying. She said she and her brother were threatened during the ride.

“They told us that if we didn’t do what they said, we’d never see our mom again,” she said.

Fox has covered similar cases and compared reunification therapy camps to the “tough love” camps of the 1990s, which were later widely considered abusive.

Paris Hilton made a documentary about “tough love camps.”

“This is going to be another dark chapter in history,” Fox predicted. “We’ll see documentaries exposing these reunification camps, just like we did with those tough love camps.”

Luthmann’s Investigation

I am trying to explore this PA “credibility problem” as a journalist.

Whether or not I am a “bad dude” has nothing to do with the science or underlying facts. Dr. Harma should know better. I responded directly to her on her LinkedIn page:

You are making ad hominem attacks against me. It detracts from your argument. Yes, I was taken out in a political case - much like Donald Trump.

"Get Trump" Grand Jury Blueprint is Luthmann's 2018 Case

I have made my statement to my detractors. I'm happy to discuss my past.
I believe that PA - or at least underlying root causes - do exist.
But Linda Gottlieb won't answer simple questions about PA and Reunification Therapy.

Psychologist Behind Reunification Camps Exposed: Lies, Greed, and Courtroom Scandals

So now I ask the same of you, good doctor:
A) Why does parental alienation have a medical/clinical basis, and what is it? Opponents say PA isn’t in the DSM, but at least five of the underlying conditions defining PA are.
B) Why are those who deny PA are mistaken? Albert Einstein said in his letters that he was “alienated” from his son based on his ex-wife’s actions. Einstein is a pretty good spokesperson for your cause.
C) How is PA medically/clinically diagnosed?
D) How does PA as a clinical condition differ from PA as a legal doctrine?
E) What is reunification therapy, and how does it affect/treat PA?
F) What is the methodology for treatment?
G) What is your response to those who claim reunification therapy is a form of coercive control and child abuse?
I'm available any time.

I have kept an open mind, mainly because I believe that I experienced PA alienation when I was younger during my parents’ divorce.

Richard A. Luthmann, Sr.

My father, a pharmacist of 50 years, a man of science, believes that PA is a scientific fact:

Richard Luthmann SR

Aug 27

“Richard I don’t understand why Parent Alienation Syndrome has a credibility problem. I lived through it 30 years ago with a ruthless and vindictive wife who did everything to discredit me and disallow any contact as a parent. The proof in the damage of this behavior is not being able to see or contact my son Stephen since he was 8. He is now 42. What damage was done to him by this creepy and vindictive wife. He also chose not to have anything to do with his mother years later. Parent Alienation Syndrome is a collection of bad behaviors and a collection of bad behaviors in this case are criminal.”

I still haven't made up my mind. I’m not an advocate; I’m a reporter. My audience and I want an expert to answer some basic questions on the record so we can have the facts to form our own opinions.

My podcast mate, Michael Volpe, believes that Parental Alienation (PA) is a “baseless” theory.

Michael Volpe
Let me ask you a few questions. Does the American Psychological Association recognize parental alienation?

Richard Luthmann
No, they do not. And neither does the DSM-V. And in groups like the FCVFC...

Michael Volpe
People who recognize it are people like Linda Gottlieb because she's made a career out of it.

Richard Luthmann
Ok, but here's the point. Groups like the United Nations Human Rights Commission and their statements about parental alienation not having a basis. Groups like the Foundation for the Child Victims of the Family Courts and Jill Jones Soderman have said that they do not - right on their website - they'll say, we do not agree with parental alienation, it has no medical basis, and we do not even entertain that as part of any of anything we do. That being said, the advocates for parental alienation point to the DSM and say that there are five or six characteristics of parental alienation that are accepted in the DSM as actual medical type issues. So I want to get Linda Gottlieb. I want to have an interview with her. I want to ask her, what is your best argument?

Michael Volpe
The problem with parental alienation is that it's what each person wants it to be. I've heard many, many people describe their dealings with parental elimination. All the stories are different. So what basically happens is whatever happens to you feels wrong, and you feel like your relationship with your child or children is bad, and you blame the other parent. You'll say it's parental alienation. There's no rhyme or reason. There's no set standard on what exactly parental alienation is; whatever happened, in your case, that's parental alienation. That's not real. That's blue unicorns, gray unicorns, whatever you want to call it.

Michael Volpe
Everyone gets to say something different about it. Whatever happened in their case. Sometimes it's coaching the child, sometimes it's bad mouthing. And here's the thing: if you believe your ex is coaching the child, I believe that could happen. I've definitely seen that happen. I don't understand why you can't just say my ex is coaching the child. I don't know why you have to say that's parental alienation. If your ex is saying you're a terrible person, why can't you just say my ex is saying I'm a terrible person? Why do you need to say parental alienation? So, if you could just describe exactly what's going on, that, I think, would get us much farther than just saying everything is parental alienation.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Richard Luthmann
Michael, there is. There are two points here, and I agree with you to the extent that it's a Rorschach. But I think it's a legal Rorschach. To a certain extent, we have to look and see parental alienation, both as a legal doctrine and as a medical condition. So I want to know...

Michael Volpe
That's my other problem. So here's my other problem with parental alienation. I can never tell if it's a legal term, it's a psychological term or a layman's term. See, sometimes people use it in the legal sense, and what does that mean? Sometimes, people use it in psychological terms. Sometimes, the layman just uses a layman's 'I feel alienated.' Look, if you feel alienated, who am I to tell you not, not to feel that? That's how you feel. That's how you feel.

Cher in Moonstruck (1987)

Richard Luthmann
Unless you're Cher in Moonstruck. "Snap out of it!" Right?

Michael Volpe
But look, you know PTSD is, is one thing and the other thing, I always use this, a torn ACL. If you tear your ACL, there is a specific X-ray that will know if it is partially torn.? Is it fully torn? Is it the ACL? Is it the UCL? Is it the MCL? You're going to know with the exact 100% certitude how bad it is, how long you're out with parental alienation. You go to one of these people, like Linda Gottlieb, and you tell your story, and they decide purely, in a subjective manner, whether or not it's parental alienation.

Richard Luthmann
I want to interview Linda Gottlieb. I've talked to many people who think she's a brilliant woman. She has medical credentials, or she actually has educational credentials that support her. And I want to hear her side of things. But the problem is that everybody against her says that she's the "Queen of Broken Hearts" and that the Reunification's Queen of Broken Hearts is not helping any families with her camp. She's actually hurting people. In the article, I have sixteen-year-old Mia's testimony before the California Senate. I talk about some of the other individuals who talk about these camps and what they do to kids. For them, it's almost like another form of abuse.

Frank Report has published a litany of articles about Parental Alienation as little more than a profit center for unscrupulous practitioners, causing harm to the spouse with fewer resources who cannot afford to “play” the court money game.

Dr. Jill Jones Soderman

Groups like the Foundation for the Child Victims of the Family Courts and Jill Jones Soderman explicitly reject PA:

FCVFC ANNOUNCEMENT

View the United Nations Special Report on Custody, Violence against Women, and Violence against Children

The FCVFC is adding financial experts to the FCVFC assessment team to audit and evaluate controversial family court machinations, to litigate, prosecute, and remunerate victims of family court corruption and abuse.

Visitors to this website need to understand the Foundation’s view of the state of family court corruption, which directly emanates from the theories of Richard Gardner, MD. Gardner generated the concept of “parental alienation” that has spawned a family court system viewed by this organization as a source of racketeering and child trafficking. Read the article “Richard Gardner, Father of ‘Parental Alienation,’ in His Own Words.”

A Simple Ask

I have but a simple ask. And I won’t ask you to build me a monument.

Dr. Jennifer Jill Harman

Dr. Harman, you’ve written and lectured extensively on these issues. Will you go on the record with me about PA and Reunification Therapy? Will you answer my questions and correct the factual record?

I promise to be respectful and courteous. I promise you will have a fair opportunity to be heard.

Millions of parents and affected persons will benefit from this discourse.

Give me a call.

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